Here are some exhibitions that are on right now across the city:
Mandy Barker: Hong Kong Soup – CCFCA
October 2018 – January 2019
Concerned about the un-settling truth of waste pollution in the world’s ocean and beaches, Barker collected waste debris from over 30 beaches in Hong Kong between 2012 and 2015. She then separated the marine plastic she found into different categories relating to the traditions and material cultural of Hong Kong such as manufactured toys, retail items, household waste and even hazardous medical objects. Barker then worked in her studio to compose vivid photographs by overlaying images of the waste materials collected.
Barker purposefully uses the contradictory, aesthetic quality of these manipulated images to encourage visitors to look closer and through this engagement consider their own social responsibility. A key aim of the project is to raise local and global awareness of environmental issues around waste management.
Prints of Darkness: Goya and Hogarth in a Time of European Turmoil – The Whitworth
July 2018- August 2019
Francisco José de Goya Lucientes (1746-1828) and William Hogarth (1697-1764) were the most remarkable artists of their times. Both were famous painters, but their most compelling works are the prints that they made and published themselves. Often produced in serial format, like graphic novels, the prints were aimed at a more popular market than their paintings. This is the first exhibition to show Goya and Hogarth’s works together.
It features a hundred prints, selected from the stellar collections of the Whitworth and the Manchester Art Gallery, and provides a unique opportunity to compare their extraordinary graphic work.
Reframe – Manchester Art Gallery
October 2018-January 2019
Artists Caroline Broadhead and Maisie Broadhead are mother and daughter who both work as artists independently. However, this is the second time that they have collaborated. The exhibition presents new works in response to historic paintings of women by famous male artists who are represented in Manchester Art Gallery’s collections, including Lord Frederic Leighton and John William Waterhouse.
The artists interrogate how the pictorial conventions of historic paintings and their elaborate frames affect our perceptions of the women depicted. By blurring, transgressing and stretching the frames and edges of images, the artists disrupt the relationship between the picture and its surrounding. These interventions raise questions about how the women have been represented and create dialogues between the past and the present.
David Ogle: Land/Lines – HOME MCR
September- November 2018
Land/Lines is a solo exhibition by artist David Ogle collating new and recent works that explore his interest in the contours, shifts and movements within the natural landscape. Using light, colour and form as his core tools, Ogle has created works that subtly draw our attention to areas that may not normally be highlighted.
Over a 3-year period (2015-17), Ogle visited numerous outdoor, remote landscapes across the UK, creating work inspired by his surroundings. Allowing the environmental conditions to form, meld and shape the work, he employed materials – including LED light, coloured smoke and glowing spheres – to create subtle interventions and experiential encounters. These artworks were then documented via photography and video to form an extensive body of work entitled Loomings.
Lowry and The Pre-Raphaelites
November 2018 – February 2019
This exhibition explores LS Lowry’s passion for the Pre-Raphaelites, bringing together works by his two favourite artists, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Ford Madox Brown, alongside Edward Burne-Jones as well as many other big names in the PRB.
As a young man Lowry admired the pictures produced by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, even when they fell out of fashion, and once he became successful he began to buy their work. From well-known classics to pictures rarely displayed in public, this exhibition includes works formerly owned by LS Lowry alongside some of his favourite pictures in public and private collections.
Subi – Manchester Art Gallery
September- November 2018
Subi is a Korean word which when used in a ceramics context refers to the process of refining clay. The exhibition that takes its name is a programme located in three venues across Manchester, featuring artists, designers and makers from Korea and the UK who work clay or are inspired by its uses and materiality. Subi is presented to be timed with the Asia Triennial Manchester 5 – 21 October 2018. Subi is a Korean word which when used in a ceramics context refers to the process of refining clay.
Manchester Art Galley highlights its small but fascinating Korean ceramics collection. Korean ceramics have influenced potters worldwide, but there are very few works in international public collections, due to the country’s historic isolation.
The Women Who Shaped Manchester – The John Rylands Library
September 2018 – March 2019
Women Who Shaped Manchester captures the passion and strength of these pioneers. You will be astounded by the actions of women as they engaged in politics, scientific debate and culture and this exhibition will allow you to explore the history of the women whose hard work fuelled Manchester’s booming cotton industry.
Read Emmeline Pankhurst’s stirring letter that speaks for those prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice in the name of equality and gaze at the beautiful scroll presented to Enriqueta Rylands, the first freewoman of the City of Manchester. Be inspired by the Women Who Shaped Manchester- this exhibition is not to be missed!
The Booth Centre: Arrival – HOME
September 2018 –January 2019
The Booth Centre brings about positive change in the lives of people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, and helps them plan for and realise a better future.
The artwork for Arrival was created throughout the last few months during the weekly art and textile sessions that take place at the Booth Centre. Sessions are open to anyone who comes to the centre and the artists displaying their work here have explored their own themes and interests and have worked with session leaders to develop their skills and ideas. Using different mediums has enabled the artists to experiment, in turn building their confidence and self-esteem. People attending the sessions can be putting pen to paper for the first time or returning to something they haven’t been able to do for a while.
William Kentridge: Thick Time – The Whitworth
September 2018- March 2019
South African artist William Kentridge weaves together global histories of revolution, exile and utopian aspirations, exploring how they are shaped by the creative forces of memory and the imagination.
Combining drawing, tapestry, music and film projection as well as sculpture, this major touring exhibition draws on sources as broad as early cinema, China’s Cultural Revolution, opera, scientific theories of time and space and the generative qualities of nature and creativity.
