Upcoming Exhibitions: June

Jamie Andrews: Tuesday 2nd June — Saturday 6th June

10.30am —4.00 pm

Private View: Thursday 4th June 6.00pm — 8.00pm

Jamie Andrews was born on the edge of Dartmoor, Devon. His inspiration to become an artist, stems from his father, an art and antiques dealer in the 1960s. Who encouraged him to playfully draw and look at life imaginatively, opening up a world of visual communication and imagination. Moving from his beloved Dartmoor to the small Cornish town of Looe at the age of 14 in 1976 was not a happy one, with a sudden realisation of growing up. The introduction to punk rock music and the "no future" attitude that dominated his mid-teens produced a long-lasting rebellious streak. 

Working with a childlike playfulness and naivety, he introduces plastic toys, charms, often vintage and highly collectable pieces, which the artist works into his acrylic paintings and sculptures as a means of playing with the idea of figurative art and subverting value.

This exhibition of predominantly small experimental works spans forty years of playful thinking and exploring the plasticity of acrylic paint. Experimenting with placing found objects within the work began in the 1980's, and has developed over the years to question the traditional values of figurative art. Defying limits and expectations, he enjoys poking fun at traditional methods of painting and sculpture.  

Exhibiting widely since 1980, he has won numerous awards and prizes, with his artwork held in collections throughout the UK and abroad.

Upcoming Exhibitions: June

Norfolk Churches Trust Art Exhibition: Dates to be confirmed:

Gather26 — Norwich School Art and Design A Level Exhibition: More details to follow.

Upcoming Exhibitions: July

Mark Pilkington: Rapport – Solo exhibition of photographs and scanographs by Mark Pilkington

Wednesday 8 July – Saturday 18 July 2026

Mark Pilkington will be showing his most recent photographs and scanographs at the Crypt Gallery in Norwich this July. Titled ‘Rapport’, this will be Mark’s first solo exhibition since moving from North Yorkshire to Norfolk two years ago. The exhibition opens Wednesday 8 July 2026 and continues daily until Saturday 18 July 2026 (closed Sunday 12 July). This will be the first occasion that this new body of work has been publicly exhibited.

Both still life and landscape photographs will be on show. The landscape photographs feature Mark’s presence in the North Norfolk landscape. Being present in his photographs, where he explores ‘belonging’ to places he has visited or has lived, has been a feature of Mark’s practice since the 1980s. The still life photographs and scanographs are a result of collecting and photographing or scanning elements from the landscape, e.g. rocks, petals, feathers etc. The images have a poetic quality rather than being merely descriptive and the compositions can be seen as representing personal relationships.

Mark says ‘My practice is less about providing a mirror or documentation of a subject but rather it is an attempt to transcend the literal, to direct attention to a more poetic response’.

‘Rapport’ will be available to all visitors, free of charge, from 10.00 to 16.00, Monday – Saturday, between Wednesday 8 – Saturday 18 July, 2026 (closed Sunday 12 July).

The opening reception will take place on Wednesday 8 July 2026 from 17.00 – 20.00

Mark Pilkington (b1951) studied Fine Art before completing a Master’s degree in photography at the Royal College of Art in London in 1977. Mark taught at a number of UK colleges before moving to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 1997, where he taught both the History and Practice of Photography.

Mark has previously exhibited in the UK, including at the Photographers Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Barbican in London and Format International Photography Festival in Derby. Notably, in the 1980s Mark made work in collaboration with artist Helen Chadwick that is now in the permanent collection of the Tate Gallery in London. Mark has exhibited extensively in the UAE and has had two solo exhibitions at Tashkeel gallery in Dubai as well as exhibiting in the Sharjah Biennale 6 and 7. His work has also been shown at a number of international art fairs including the Turin Art Fair, Beirut Art Fair and Art Dubai.

Mark has now retired from teaching and returned to the UK in 2018. He now lives and works in North Norfolk.

www.markpilkingtonphotographs.com

@markpilkingtonphotography

Upcoming Exhibitions: July

Chris Hann — Paintings and Drawings

22nd July to 1st August 2026 — Open Monday to Saturday 10.00am to 4.00pm (Closed Sundays)

Chris Hann — Statement

I have realised during the last few years that there is a thread that runs through all my work which is the idea of containment. Houses, harbours and boats are all containers in different ways and many of Hepworth's sculptures have elements of containment too.

I moved to Cornwall from Norwich in 1982 and this had a profound influence on my work. Although I returned to Norwich in 1987, Cornwall has always remained my spiritual home and the catalyst for my ideas, particularly the harbours of St. Ives, Mousehole and Falmouth. An additional major influence has been a long series of drawings done in Barbara Hepworth's garden and studio, as well as the works of Paul Feiler and Terry Frost.

Integrated in to some of the works are elements of Cubism and Chinese perspective as a method of structuring images.My major concern is with composition and colour, and using colour to open up the space on a 2D surface. Sometimes collage is used as a starting point which determines what the composition might be, although this is always subject to change. The collage elements also act as parts of the real world juxtaposed with the suggested applications of paint. Some works have other Cornish images such as tin mine chimneys, segments of Hepworth's sculptures, parts of fishing boats and glimpses of sea, beach and sky. These are not abstract works - they are abstracted - all the works start with observational drawing.

The challenge with my work is to bring these elements together to produce a strong composition that works visually in terms of different relationships as well as an image that evokes a sense of place and meaning - something that can communicate before it is fully understood.

Just as a fisherman is 'caught' by the fish, I am continually drawn back to certain places and images. Mousehole harbour with its solid granite walls containing and protecting the small boats from the ravages of the sea is like a womb. The V shape entrance/exit to the harbour is anatomically feminine too and relates to Hepworth's sculpture 'Divided Form' which has been a source of many works.