Galleries - September 2011

wood terracotta, an early Paolozzi bronze, a rare 60s Jan Haworth large, sewn ‘Lindner Doll’ and, into 21st C., rising star Phyllida Barlow’s striking mixed media sculpture of quasi-Surrealistic character. Clearly a radically alter- native view of Britain’s 20th C. sculptural riches. Autumn in Cornwall In the great demographic scheme of things it’s well known that St Ives in Cornwall is home to more than a fair few artists. Not all will be exhibiting in September but many will be contributing to group shows. At the Mariners Gallery the St Ives Society of Artists unveil their new exhibition on the 7th while downstairs in the Crypt, the scrabble for a bargain in the £50 donated works show begins on the 10th. The Porthminster Gall- ery’s ‘St Ives Summer’ lasts until September 26 while at the historic Penwith Galleries autumn begins on the 1st. If an antidote to St Ives is needed, a trip to Kestle Barton for their celebration of Ray Ex- worth’s monumental sculptural oeuvre would be the thing, whilst in Truro, Lemon Street are show- ing ‘Tree: Gwedhem’ – new paint- ings by Cornwall’s favourite son Kurt Jackson, surely too good to miss. Pip Palmer Graham Crowley The last decade has seen land- scape, specifically the landscape of the west coast of Ireland, be- gallery to opening his own space ( Galerie d’art ) and, with advice from veteran Folkestone gallerist Neville Pundole, showing other artists as well. This is a bold move after 50 years of working privately, so to speak, and, with Folkestone currently in full contemporary triennale mode, Frank’s insistence on more traditional or mainstream art, a marvellously contrarian one too . . . Form, Matter, Material Having marked the ‘back to school’ moment for the London art scene for 24 years, 20/21 British Art Fair (14 to 18 September) looks in fine fettle with the 56 galleries taking part amounting to a full house. To see what many are showing turn to our feature on p32, but mention must be made here of the thoughtful and inno- vative special item, a sculpture trail in which a dozen galleries present 22 outstanding pieces of 20th Century British Sculpture. Entitled ‘Form-Matter-Material’ and curated by Rene Gimpel and Peter Osborne, it takes as its point of departure the RA’s eponymous show at the beginning of the year by placing a particular emphasis on those artists and groupings that show chose largely to ignore. Most notably this includes the 50s ‘Geometry of Fear’ artists – Armitage, Clarke, Butler in par- ticular – all represented by sem- inal, museum-quality, 1950s pie- ces. Much else catches the eye too – an exuberant 30s Under- ANTENNAE 10. GALLERIES SEPTEMBER 11 Another Opening . . . The gallery season always seems to swing from August ‘gone away’ signs to September full-on, ‘here we go again’, bustle with an astonishing swiftness. This year, economic and social woes not- withstanding, it appears no differ- ent to any other – not just the 20/ 21 British Art Fair – which we will come to in a moment – but all sorts of new or relaunched spaces around the country. Among the more significant, certainly, is the opening of a London branch of Russia’s ‘biggest non-govern- mental museum of contemporary art’, St Petersburg-based Erarta, in Mayfair’s Berkeley Street. The initial show (from 15 September), ‘Peter and the Wolf’, brings to- gether six artists, three from the older, or unofficial, generation. In short, an intriguing addition to London’s ever-diversifying and internationalised art scene. Less an opening, more a major relaunch, is Caroline Skyrme’s Le Mur Vivant in Pimlico. First opened in 1996, the gallery has been comparatively low-key more recently as she pursued other art- world ventures. Now, with a brand- new stable of artists, working in big and bold, abstract and ex- pressive styles, she starts this month with a mixed show, then has solo exhibitions of painters Alan Senior and Liz Calthorpe before Christmas. Meanwhile, Folkestone based sculptor Frank Magnus-Hirshfield moves from a one-man on-line