Galleries - August 2022

Gustav Metzger Earth Minus Environment 25 June – 4 September 2022 Kestle Barton Manaccan Helston Cornwall TR12 6HU 01326 231 811 info@kestlebarton.co.uk www.kestlebarton.co.uk About Gustav Metzger (1926–2017) Gustav Metzger was a visionary artist, radical thinker, and political activist, whose work and activism spanned over 65 years. Born to Jewish parents in Nuremberg, Germany in 1926, Metzger and his brother came to England on the Kindertransport as a refugees, yet tragically lost their parents and most of their extended family in the Holocaust. At the heart of his thinking and art was a tension between the opposing yet interdependent forces of destruction and creation, which Metzger mobilised to expose the destructive systems and ideologies of the modern world. Throughout his life, Metzger was heavily involved in anti-capitalist, anti-nuclear and anti-consumerist movements. In his work he strove to bring together revolutionary content with radical form. Metzger was deeply interested in science and new technologies such as computing as destructive tools that could be misused to exploit and damage the earth and natural systems, but also as potentially revolutionary forces to enact a more democratic, peaceful society. An enduring theme in Metzger’s work was protecting nature and preventing the extinction of species. In 2015 Metzger initiated an ongoing project called Remember Nature , where he urged arts professionals and students around the world to participate in a 'Day of Action' every year on 4th November (the anniversary of Kristallnacht) to do just that. In the face of climate breakdown, biodiversity loss, war and persecution across the world, Metzger’s art and ethics are evermore urgent. About the venue Kestle Barton is an ancient Cornish farmstead situated above the Helford River. Following an award-winning conservation and conversion project the beautiful old farm buildings have new uses, one of the barns becoming an elegant gallery that opened in 2010. From early April to late October each year, the gallery, garden and wildflower meadow beyond, hosts a programme of three free exhibitions and a number of other events. Surrounding barns and the old farmhouse have been converted into stylish and comfortable holiday accommodation, all profits from which go towards funding the exhibition and event programme. Open 9 April – 29 October 2022: Tuesday – Sunday and Bank Holiday Mondays, 10:30am – 5pm.