I don't often find time to go to exhibitions (except when on holiday), but this week I've been to three! Very different ones too.
1. Cloth and Memory 2, Salts Mill, Saltaire (Saturday)
The exhibition was hidden away on the fourth flour, just beneath the roof, so when it started raining it was quite loud. The first piece you saw was a large devoré hanging by Peta Jacobs. Members of the Bradford Wool Exchange appeared to be waiting to welcome visitors.Some of my favourite pieces were hardly noticeable against the wall or floor, but repaid close inspection. This shows how one panel by Rachel Gray almost merges into the fabric of the building.
Similarly, Diana Harrison's piece, made up of dyed and discharged handkerchiefs, echoed the flagstones.
Although the exhibition is now closed, the website is still available at:
2. Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (Wednesday)
On the way back from a conference at the NEC, I popped into BMAG for lunch and had a quick look at the Staffordshire Hoard exhibition. Found by a metal-detectorist in 2009, the hoard contains an enormous amount of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver items. This was a display of just a few of the finds, with a new gallery opening next year. Pieces will also be on display at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke on Trent and in other places in the area.
See the website for details:
3. Manchester Art Gallery (Thursday)
Thursday lunchtime I went with colleagues to see Grayson Perry's tapestries: The vanity of small differences, which are in Manchester until the beginning of February 2014. I'd seen the TV programme and photographs, but when you see them for real, the tapestries are bigger and brighter than you might expect. The best thing about seeing them is being able to study the small details. They reference so many things that you could spend hours studying them.
For pictures of some of the tapestries, see the Manchester Art Gallery website:
