Against the Smooth, a new exhibition featuring Ian Andrews, Sarah Fortes Mayer, and Paul Newman. At the Hive Gallery in Jewellry Quarter, Birmingham.

The smooth is synonymous with notions of beauty and the virtual world, such as the smart phone and contemporary ideas of perfection. Artists Ian Andrews, Sarah Fortes Mayer and Paul Newman explore notions of friction and the transformation with dynamic and melancholy dialogues with the body and environment. Ian, Paul, and Sarah react against the smooth and seamless notions of perfection in the atomic level, the cellular and the psychological and physical worlds we inhabit.

Open from 3rd April to 24th April. Tues – Fri 10.00 – 3.30 pm. The Hive Gallery, 43-47 Vittoria St, Birmingham, B1 3PE

@sarahfotesmayer
@ianandrewsfineart
@paulhnewman

@thehivejq

From commission to conception to creation, my painting Rumination Beetle in Mel Sq for outdoor group show Surreal Solihull curated by Ruth Millington

‘Surreal Solihull’ exhibition is now open and free to visit along Solihull High Street and runs until 31 May. Exploring Surrealism, Solihull It also celebrates the life and work of pioneering British Surrealist Emmy Bridgwater, and her legacy today.’

‘Paul Newman’s art involves drawing, painting and performance. His pictorial interests range from historical landscape painting to local urban scenery, and he explores themes including architectural and psychological ruins. Newman also incorporates movie-based monsters in a body of work called English Gothic. Newman grew up in Solihull and his interests and nostalgia play a part in this fantastical depiction of Mell Square. The giant beetle is from a series inspired by a visit to the Ashmolean Flemish Still Life gallery, these mysterious insects often appearing in the periphery
of the paintings. The creature here is like a super-imposed monster from a 1970s Dr Who episode’

This is the website with links to each artist/performer’s bio: Surreal Solihull – Outdoor Exhibition

https://www.thecoretheatresolihull.co.uk/whats-on/all-shows/surreal-solihull-outdoor-exhibition/27467

Local colleges have had the opportunity to also respond to the theme Surreal Solihull and the students’ work will be displayed in the unit opposite Starbucks at the entrance to Touchwood

Project curated by Ruth Millington @ruth_millington

@culturesolihull , @solihullcouncil , @westmids_ca, #surrealsolihull

2 works head to 2 group shows in East Sussex; A van to Assembly a group show curated by Contemporary British Painting at The Old Gym, Rye Creative Centre and a Birmingham Wholesale Wastelands skip painting to ‘Landscapes (not landscapes?) at Rouge Gallery, St Leonards on Sea

Assembly is a compelling & timely exhibition curated to reflect a new geography of contemporary art practice as artists shift their focus away from the capital. Members of the artist-led group Contemporary British Painting – @paintbritain – come together from across the UK & Ireland with invited artists from Rye & the surrounding counties. Rye is uniquely situated at the mid-point of the creative artery that extends along the South Coast from Brighton to Margate linking important public art institutions, independent, & artist-led venues. Assembly creates a platform for engagement & dialogue with an exciting range of artists whose energy, & significant & diverse histories of making, animate this exhibition.

3-18 May 2024, The Old Gym @ryecreativectr New Rd, Rye TN31 7LS, Preview 6-8pm Fri 3 May,  Artist talks 3-5pm Sat 4 May & Sat 18 May, Exhibition continues 10am-5pm Thurs-Sun & by appt

@paintbritain

assembly.rye@gmail.com

Landscapes (not landscapes?)

From the Midlands to the South East ‘The Green Skip’ goes to ‘Landscapes (not landscapes?’) at Rogue Gallery in St Leonards . 20 artists from across the South East exhibiting 30+ artworks stretching the meaning of Landscape

21^st June -28^th July. Rogue Gallery 65 Norman Rd, Saint Leonards-on-sea TN38 0EG

@roguegallerystleonards

https://www.rogue-gallery.co.uk/

CONCRETE NATURE

Featuring; Carolyn Blake, Jen Dixon, James Fowkes, Paul Newman

The Showcase Gallery, 130 Pershore St, The Jubilee Trade Centre, Birmingham, B5 6ND

Dec – Jan 2024 by appointment. Contact; phnewman73@hotmail.com 07766187030

Concrete Nature explores four individual relationships with urban concrete, through walking, commuting and recording experiences, memory and re-imagining.  Their documents are translated through collage, painting and photography. Each artist presents alternative and overlapping perspectives; interpreting modernist infrastructure and its juxtaposition with nature, the romantic notion of the ruin as explored in art histories and the translation of urban concrete with materials including cardboard and paint.

@carolynblake  @jennifdixon @Jfowkes_art  @paulhnewman

The Visitation, Don Quiote II: Yellow Mountain, & After the Storm are featured in;

Worlds Away: Art, at The Midlands Arts Centre; mac birmingham. @macbirmingham.

2 Sept – 26 Nov.

Featured Artists: Cheryl Beer, Frank Brangwyn, Dalziel + Scullion, Ming de Nasty, Joan Eardley, Ufuoma Essi, Madge Gill, Frederick Hubble, Juneau Projects, John Kippin, Dame Laura Knight, Rona Lee, Richard Long, Lisa Milroy, Rebecca Moss, Mariele Neudecker, Mary Newcomb, John Newling, Paul Newman, Kathleen Ryan, Ian Skoyles, Sir Stanley Spencer, Sarah Taylor Silverwood, Mimei Thompson, Georgia Tucker, Alfred Wallis, Grace Williams, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye.

Curated by Rachel Bradley

This exhibition brings together artists who have been inspired by the natural world and its power to stimulate feelings of belonging, mental and physical wellbeing. Artworks consider a range of views from the romantic vision of nature as a therapeutic companion to a new contemporary era of ‘climate anxiety’ and its enormous global challenges.

Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Condor and The Mole, 2011. Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London © Lynette Yiadom-Boakye.

Kindly supported by The Grimmitt Trust in Memory of Marjorie Welch, MK Rose Charitable Trust, Roughley Trust, Arts Council England, and players of People’s Postcode Lottery.