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VisualArts PREVIEWS
Further exhibitions
Ikon Icons: Ian Emes
Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, until Sun 22 June
Handsworth-born animator Ian Emes is the
1970s representative of Ikon Gallery’s Ikon
Icons series, which sees the return of five key
British artists from an exhibition programme
starting in 1965. John Salt (1960s), Cornelia
Parker (1980s), Yinka Shonibare (1990s) and
Julian Opie (2000s) are the others.
The venue is displaying Emes’ 1972 masterpiece,
French Windows. A visualisation of the
Pink Floyd track One Of These Days, the
work features animated ballet dancers moving
through three dimensions that stream
with architectural geometry and lattice
arrangements of clocks, window frames and
boxes. After its original stay in Ikon back in
the 1970s, the work was screened on the
BBC television programme The Old Grey
Whistle Test and came to the attention of
Pink Floyd. The band then invited Emes to
make animated back-projections
for use during concert
performances of The Dark
Side Of The Moon. Since
that 1970s breakthrough
undertaking, Emes has also
worked with, amongst others,
Wings, Mike Oldfield
and Duran Duran.
A Viking’s Guide To Deadly
Dragons
Wolverhampton Art Gallery,
Sat 14 June - Sat 30 August
Parents who recall their young children
enjoying Wolverhampton Art Gallery’s The
Tiger Who Came To Tea exhibition a couple
of years back might well be interested in paying
a return visit to the venue to see this latest
exhibition - presented, as it is, by the very
same team. A Viking's Guide To Deadly
Dragons is a lighthearted and engaging
exploration of the ways in which Viking history,
legend and dragonlore inspired Cressida
Cowell's delightful series of How To Train
Your Dragon books. Cressida's hero, Hiccup
Horrendous Haddock the Third, takes
responsibility for guiding visitors though the
exhibition, transporting sure-to-be-enchanted
youngsters to a time when dragons could be
spoken to in Dragonese and going to school
meant learning how to be a Viking pirate.
The exhibition also sheds light on Cowell's
creative process through the inclusion of her
original sketches, story plans, notes and
manuscripts.
Crossing The Bridge
Various venues, Birmingham City Centre,
Mon 23 June - Sat 23 August
Bringing sculpture by a range of RBSA artists
into the public realm, Crossing The Bridge is
a city centre trail that not only aims to raise
the profile of the Royal Birmingham Society
of Artists but also to showcase sculpture as
‘an exciting art medium’. The route for the
trail is from Birmingham Cathedral (St.
Philip’s), down Church Street, across the
footbridge, up Ludgate Hill, through St Paul’s
Square to the RBSA Gallery in Brook Street.
VisualArts LISTINGS
For full listing information on Visual Art
exhibitions, including times and dates,
visit www.whatsonlive.co.uk
NADIA KISSELEVA: DOCU-
MENT Featuring a series
of portraits of people
imprisoned during the
Stalinist era in the former
Soviet Union, until
Sun 1 June, mac,
Birmingham
MANDELA27 Exhibition
which looks at the cultural
changes that took
place in Europe and
South Africa during
Nelson Mandela’s
imprisonment on
Robben Island, until
Sun 1 June, The
Herbert Museum & Art
Gallery, Coventry
BARBARIANS: THE AGE OF
IRON Showcasing new
research, artefacts and
prehistoric skeletons
which tell the story of
Worcestershire over two
thousand years ago,
until Sat 7 Jun,
Worcester City Art
Gallery & Museum
CHROMA COLLECTIVE
Exhibition featuring
works from four contemporary
jewellers with a
shared goal of raising
awareness of the craft
within Birmingham’s
Jewellery Quarter, until
Sat 7 June, Museum of
the Jewellery Quarter,
Birmingham
NEXT WAVE EXHIBITION
Works by emerging
artists at the RBSA, until
Sat 7 June, RBSA
Gallery, Birmingham
TIM SHAW: RA BLACK
SMOKE RISING The first
solo exhibition from
Belfast-born sculptor
Tim Shaw, who grapples
with contemporary
and political realities
whilst evoking the mythical
and metaphysical,
until Sun 8 Jun, mac -
Midlands Arts Centre,
Birmingham
MIDLAND PAINTING
GROUP EXHIBITION until
Sun 8 June, Haden Hill
House, Cradley Heath
BUILDING BRIDGES A collection
of work which
focuses on the architectural
transition into the
present of the industrialised
city centre of the
past, until Sun 8 June,
Artrix, Bromsgrove
BILL DRUMMOND: THE 25
PAINTINGS Unique exhibition
marking the
beginning of a ten-year
journey which, starting
off beneath Spaghetti
Junction, will see
Drummond tour twelve
cities across the world,
until Sat 14 June,
Eastside Projects,
Birmingham
CHINESE LIVES IN BIRM-
INGHAM A display which
demonstrates the origins
and rich culture of
Birmingham's diverse
Chinese community,
until Sun 18 June, The
Barber Institute,
Birmingham
A BIG BANG: THE ORIGINS
OF POP ART COLLECTION
The first in a two-part
display exploring some
of the biggest names in
the Pop Art industry,
until Sat 21 June,
Wolverhampton Art
Gallery
MUSIC, ART AND BEER An
exhibition of new visual
works by five local
artists, until Sat 21 June,
Wolverhampton Art
Gallery
ALL THAT IS SOLID MELTS
INTO AIR Hayward
Touring Exhibition curated
by Jeremy Deller,
until Sat 21 June, The
Mead Gallery, Warwick
Arts Centre, Coventry
RICHARD LONG: PRINTS
1970 - 2013 Exhibition
which brings together
all of the artist’s prints,
made over a forty-year
period, until Sun 22
June, The New Art
Gallery, Walsall
MICHAEL FRANCOIS
Sculpture, film, paintings,
prints and photography
are brought
together in this, the
most comprehensive
exhibition to date of
work by Belgium artist
Michel Francois, until
Sun 22 June, Ikon
Gallery, Birmingham
ROMANTIC RUINS
Featuring paintings
from the museum’s collection,
until Sat 28
June, Dudley Museum
& Art Gallery
FOR THE RECORD
Exploring themes of
preservation and
recording in the work of
female artists, until Sun
29 June, Birmingham
Museum & Art Gallery
50 YEARS ON: THE CEN-
TRE OF CONTEMPORARY
CULTURAL STUDIES
Featuring the work of
eminent artists including
Trevor Appleson
and David Batchelor,
until Sun 29 June, mac,
Birmingham
40 YEARS OF WOMEN
ARTISTS The strong
female characters in the
Garman Epstein family
and their circle of
friends are captured in
this exhibition of works
from the gallery's permanent
collection, until
Sun 29 Jun, The New
Art Gallery, Walsall
SKYLIGHT LANDSCAPE BY
PAUL NASH & DAVID
PRENTICE until Sat 5
July, Worcester City Art
Gallery & Museum
STAFFORDSHIRE OPEN
ART Annual showcase
for the region’s artistic
talent, until Sun 6 July,
Shire Hall Gallery,
Stafford
RICHARD LONG: SPRING
CIRCLE, 1992 until Wed 9
July, The New Art
Gallery, Walsall
ARTISTS’ STUDIO: SARAH
TAYLOR SILVERWOOD
Exhibition from
Birmingham-based
artist Sarah Taylor
Silverwood, whose
practice is grounded in
drawing, narrative and
landscape, until Sun 20
July, New Art Gallery,
Walsall
LARISSA SANSOUR
Palestinian artist Larissa
Sansour presents an
iconic take on the political
situation in Israel
and Palestine, until Sat
26 July, Wolverhampton
Art Gallery
VAL PITCHFORD: ADVEN-
TURES IN PAINT Large
collection of paintings
featuring both landscape
& still life subject
matter, until Thurs 31
July, Artifex Gallery,
Sutton Coldfield
WE WORKED AT THE
PORCELAIN Photographic
exhibition focusing on
some of Royal
Worcester’s many
craftsmen and women,
until Fri 1 Aug, The
Museum of Royal
Worcester
A TRIO OF ARTISTS An
exhibition featuring the
work of artists Anne
Hackett, Chris Tarplee
and Claire Sherwin,
until Sun 3 Aug, Red
House Glass Cone,
Stourbridge
HOME AWAY FROM HOME
Photographs, artefacts
and oral history come
together in this exhibition,
which captures the
experiences of women
migrating from Mirpur to
Birmingham in the
1950s, ’60s and ’70s,
until Sun 3 Aug,
Birmingham Museum &
Art Gallery
SUMMER SHOWCASE
Featuring textiles,
ceramics, homewares
and delicate paper jewellery,
until Sat 16 Aug,
Bilston Craft Gallery
A FIRST CLASS WATERING
PLACE: 200 YEARS OF THE
ROYAL PUMP ROOMS
Celebrating the bicentenary
of the Royal Pump
Rooms, until Mon 25
Aug, Royal Pump
Rooms, Leamington
Spa
400 YEARS OF THE SELFIE
Exploring how the modern
portrait developed
in England, from the
Elizabethans to photographs
taken by Martin
Parr in Sandwell in
2010, until Sat 30 Aug,
Wednesbury Museum &
Art Gallery
MOORE RODIN Works
from two major players
in the world of modern
sculpture feature in this
exhibition in celebration
of Compton Verney’s
tenth anniversary, until
Sun 31 Aug, Compton
Verney Gallery,
Warwickshire
YOU - THE 12TH PLINTH
Stand on the empty
12th plinth, strike a
pose and create a living
sculpture by becoming
an artist’s model, inspiring
a composition for a
new sculpture, until
Sun 31 Aug, Compton
Verney, Warwickshire
MADE AT MAC - CERAM-
ICS Led by tutors Sue
Dyer and Wendy
Tournay, the exhibition
puts a spotlight on
ceramics and is set to
inspire audiences and
students alike, until Sun
31 Aug, mac,
Birmingham
ROMAN EMPIRE: POWER
& PEOPLE The largest
ever UK exhibition of
Roman artefacts on
loan from the British
Museum, until Sun 31
Aug, The Herbert
Museum & Art Gallery,
Coventry
IN STITCHES: A CELEBRA-
TION OF RSC COSTUME
until Mon 1 Sep, Royal
Shakespeare Theatre,
Stratford-upon-Avon
COME CREATE Exhibition
to inspire visitors to
explore and demonstrate
their creativity
through displays,
hands-on interactives
and fun activities, until
Sun 7 Sept, Thinktank,
Birmingham
EIGHT CENTURIES OF HIS-
TORY Exhibition looking
at the life and times of
the Earls of Dudley,
who lived at Himley
Hall, until Sun 7 Sept,
Himley Hall & Park,
Dudley
CERAMIC EMPIRE: THE
TRADE IN STAFFORDSHIRE
POTTERY Exhibition
exploring the supply
and representation of
the Empire in
Staffordshire pottery
which coincides with
MP Tristram Hunt’s new
book on the cities of the
Empire, until Sun 7
Sept, The Potteries
Museum & Art Gallery,
Stoke-on-Trent
40 YEARS OF WATCHING
PAINT DRY Featuring the
work of fine artist, cartoonist
and comedy
writer Geoff Tristram,
until Sun 7 Sept, Himley
Park & Hall, Dudley
SECRET GARDEN CRAFT
EXHIBITION Collection of
jewellery, textiles and
ceramics exploring
fairytales and narratives,
until Sat 13 Sep, RBSA
Gallery, Birmingham
MARVELLOUS MACHINES:
THE WONDERFUL WORLD
OF ROWLAND EMETT The
largest ever display of
Emett’s work, telling the
story of the innovator’s
life in Birmingham, until
Sun 21 Sept,
Birmingham Museum &
Art Gallery
IS THIS A DAGGER? AN
54 www.whatsonlive.co.uk