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EDITS Artweeks
exquisite wares and watch silversmithing
demonstrations in the Old Stable Block
at Peachcroft Farm (venue 2) you’ll also
find, on Northcourt Road, a new collection
by contemporary ethical fashion designer
Feng Ho who pursues a zero-waste policy,
sourcing chemical-free jersey fabrics made
from bamboo and eucalyptus (venue 3).
Over at The Barn at Stonehill near Abingdon
(venue 9), an exhibition of ‘Russian extremes:
from icons to i-cats’ combines two edges of
Russian visual culture: the ancient, sacred
and traditional form exemplified by icon
painting and the newest, viral imagery of
i-cats to celebrate 2014, the UK-Russia year
of culture.
Then, from 10-18th May, the focus of the
festival turns towards the Cotswolds as the
historic market towns of Woodstock, Witney
and Burford awaken with new and vibrant art.
In Woodstock, enjoy outstanding art from
printmaking and painting to sculpture and
ceramics and glass by contemporary British
artists at Junction Art Gallery (venue 168)
or head to The Oxfordshire Museum (venue
167) for ‘Write On’: an exhibition by the
Oxford Scribes to celebrate thirty years of
making exciting and beautiful calligraphic
marks, a counterpoint to the ‘perfection’ of
computer-produced wording and not just
on paper – look out for lettered items and
artefacts inspired by Oxfordshire – from a
table-top egg installation with Mother Goose
rhymes to a Maypole and three sets of very
different shoes adorned with the words of
Alice in Wonderland’s Lobster Quadrille: ‘Will
you, won’t you, will you, won’t you, will you
join the dance?’
With multi-venue village trails in Bampton
and Eynsham, as well as many other
Cotswold villages; silversmiths showing their
wares in the Long Hanborough ‘jewellery
quarter’ (venues 117 & 118: Jo Candlish
and Kate Holdsworth); and artists in Witney
exhibiting full-length flower paintings
standing like dancers in the High Street
Methodist church (venue 122: Julia King),
Japanese influenced stoneware pottery and
spontaneous drawings of the figure (venue
123:Michael Palmer & Mary Knowland) and
still-life painting by a partially sighted artist
(venue 124; Susan Ryan) all in the Market
Square, there’s plenty to surprise and
excite you this summer. You’ll also, in the
SOTA Gallery (venue 125), find the same
view depicted by six local artists in their
own very different styles - Six artists, One
View, Six pieces of Art -from watercolour
and photography, to sculpture in wood and
Cotswold stone from Burford Quarry as well
as stone-carving demonstrations.
Head to the Wychwoods for steel sculptures
of birds and beasts from lizards to life-sized
horses (venue 143: Sophie Thompson), and
along the High Street in Burford, take time
to stop by the Tolsey, a black and white
timber fronted building erected on stone
pillars which was once the medieval meeting
point for the wealthy wool merchants of the
Cotswolds, and enjoy a pop-up exhibition
every Friday throughout the summer by
artist Rupert Aker of oil paintings of the local
landscape (venue 138).
For a celebration of French art, and 25
years of ‘twinning, a friendship between
the two cities of Oxford and Grenoble, ‘Art
Grenoble’ at Hemingway Art in Cassington
(venue 109) shows work by several Grenoble
artists, a chance for visitors to see French art
in an English setting while Alps and Spires’
at Oxford’s Town Hall Gallery (venue 306) is a
collaboration between Oxford and Grenoble
artists exploring the theme of ‘Alps and
Spires’ and the different visual characteristics
of the two cities.
In the second half of May the city of
Oxford comes alive with art spaces (17th-
26th), and whether you’re travelling by bike
or otherwise, enjoy a coffee in Zappi’s Bike
Café on St Michael’s Street (venue 311) home
to Zappi’s Cycling Club, where three Oxford
photographers, Darrell Godliman, Howard
Stanbury, and Roo Waters explore the city’s
relationship with the bike, marking 120 years
since William Morris decided to start a bicycle
business in Oxford.
In Summertown visit the Turrill Sculpture
Garden (venue 372) , a tranquil oasis behind
the library, or be amused by bold quirky
‘steam punk’ sculpture in copper, fanciful
creations of Nigel Williams (venue 402)
who has long been inspired by Oxford’s
Museum of the History of Science, Punch
cartoonist Rowland Emett who was famous
in the 1950s for his whimsical automatons,
amazing machines and old factories and
other industrial archaeology.
Discover a veritable treasure trove of art in St
Barnabus Church, Jericho (venues 318-325)
which hosts images of longing and delight,
as etching or colourful monoprint paintings
by Rahima Kenner, fascinators and soft
hats, bird brooches, corsages, ladybirds and
Liberty lavender frogs by Lizzie Hurst, Gillian
Johnson Shakespeare’s original illustrations
and prints from published children’s
books,vibrant colourful glass art and a wealth
of pottery and ceramics by a dozen different
designer-makers or, along East Oxford’s Iffley
Road explore the secret monastic cloister of
St John the Evangelist church (venue 272) for
a variety of work by SJE Arts.
From drawings depicting heaven and hell in
the world of ballet (venue 225: Gilbert Csecs,
Banbury) to mirrors ensconced in driftwood
(venue 53: Jill Yates, Ipsden), theatre set
and costume design (venue 281: Pegasus
Theatre, Oxford) to a day in the life of a
local farrier told in photographs (venue 42:
Matthew Wright, Didcot), visitors will have the
chance not only to see the art produced and
inspired locally, but also to travel the world
through the eyes of the exhibiting artists.
Without leaving the county, you can follow
America’s iconic Route 66 through the eyes
of an Oxford photographer (venue 342: Frank
Newhofer, Jericho) or navigate the waterlilies
of the Botswanan delta through a series
of etchings (venue 174: Jenny Massiah,
Chadlington), and explore arctic waters with
Burcot’s Frances Brann (venue 76) who
travels and paints half of the year aboard a
49 foot sailboat. Be amazed by wildlife and
travel photography from wild and remote
islands in Headington (venue 251: Ross
Mackenzie) or see Venice in intricate paper
collage (venue 87: Pear Tree Artists, Little
Milton), or experience Japanese Ikebana in
Jericho (venue 347: St Margaret’s Institute).
It’s also chance to step inside hundreds of
interesting spaces, many of which are usually
closed to the public, including one of the
finest medieval barns in England housing an
exhibition of African animals amongst rustic
carts (venue 212: Ronny Loxton, Swaliffe);
a classic 1930s barge on the river Thames
(venue 277: Clare Acworth, Oxford) and a
Ridgeway estate overrun with sculpture
(venue 37: Ardington) .
Whether an afficiando with an eye for an
investment or an amateur art enthusiast,
you’ll surely be delighted, amazed and
inspired!
For full information on Oxfordshire Artweeks
2014 (3rd-26th May), pick up an Artweeks
Festival Guide at information points across
the county, or go online towww.artweeks.org
where you can download area trail maps and
browse all exhibitions by area, artist or media.