Grande Jorasses

Last weekend my mum and my sister opened their brand new venture The Gallery William's Yard in Melbourne, Derbyshire to wonderful response, it was a really great opening weekend and everybody who popped by was really positive about how the gallery looked and the work on display. Perhaps it was the excitement of the weekend but after catching sight of the above painting during the hanging on the morning of the opening and then admiring it for the rest of the day, Dulcie and I felt unable to restrain ourselves and have thus acquired our very first piece of art. The painting is by sheffield artist Joe Mallia, whose work draws its inspiration from his other pursuit, mountaineering, and there was just something about the colours and Ruscha-esque imagery and also the particular choice of framing that drew us to it. The painting is of the north face of the Grande Jorasses mountain in the Western alps. He's got a number of works on show at the gallery and will also be running photography and art workshops alongside my mum. If you around the area pop by and check it out, it's definitely worth a visit!

Gallery talk

Some point soon I'm hoping to make a trip to Southend-on-Sea to visit the Focal Point Gallery. Founded in 2009 with support from the Art Council, it's one of numerous similarly funded galleries that are popping up around the country that is putting on relevant, exciting exhibitions, bringing contemporary art to an audience outside of London in a genuinely positive way. Their current show Anti-Photography features a number of big names, from Walead Beshty to Wolfgang Tillmans and Ed Ruscha, reflecting on the nature of the photographic image. Along with the likes of Nottingham Contemporary, who hosted the recent British Art Show 7 and an exhibition of David Hockney's work, and the forthcoming Hepworth gallery in Wakefield, a mix of good architecture and a programme of compelling exhibitions are coming together to prove that perhaps the arts can thrive in spite of the cuts.