ARTS & EXHIBITIONS

Rainmaker Gallery has opened its new expanded exhibition space on Whiteladies Road with two concurrent shows of contemporary Native American art. Minimalistic oil pastel drawings by Potawatomi artist Jason Wesaw are juxtaposed with narrative photographic portraits by Chemehuevi artist Cara Romero.

In the drawings of Jason Wesaw we find carefully chosen single colours that describe simple shapes with deeply personal references to nature, healing and ceremony.

Romero, whose photography is currently on show at both MoMA (The Museum of Modern Art, NY) and The Met (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY ), says of her work: “My photographs explore our collective Native histories, and the ways in which our indigeneity expresses itself in modern times.”

• rainmakerart.co.uk; 140 Whiteladies Road, BS8 2RS

Image: Shameless by Cara Romero

Elaine Cooper is a Master Papermaker who has compiled this exquisite collection of rare and original handmade papers that uniquely chart the history and development of Japanese papermaking. A visually stunning and informative exhibition which documents the art and history of washi. It includes a most comprehensive and diverse collection of papers, from many areas and epochs of Japan.

Many of the samples are now rare and no longer manufactured.

The papers demonstrate the continuing development of the traditional art and craft of Japanese papermaking through the centuries. These works will be shown together for the first time at this event.

• spikeprintstudio.org

Image: Paper Details, Uchigumo Trailing cloud paper, one of the oldest known papers of Japan. Made by Iwano San. Iwano has been designated as an “intangible cultural property” of Fukui Prefecture

In Black Sky City, Esmé Lloyd FRPS presents a cinematic storyboard, illustrating her song of the same name. A transient musician is tracked on his night odyssey across 1960s America. Shot entirely from Esmé’s Dorset studio, the collection of photographic images display an extraordinary reality, perfectly capturing the mood and feel of night time America. Limited edition 50, a selection from the 20 images that make up Black Sky City will be on display and available to purchase. Entry is free. The gallery is open every day except Tuesdays.

• f4clifton.co.uk Image: #17 of the Black Sky City series by Esmé Lloyd

Exploring: New Collections by Nancy Pickard and Ellie Preston, Clifton Contemporary Art, until 20 August

For summer, the gallery is focusing on two artists who pursue their own unique exploratory paths. Not from A to B, but into the personal, the archetypal, the instinctive and emotional.

Nancy Pickard’s inscrutable mixed media paintings are rich with ideas and symbolism. Blurring the borders between animal and human, they are also inspired by the concept of migration that has defined and driven our culture for millennia.

In Ellie Preston’s layered, contemplative abstracts, the creative process is a material exploration that begins with a formative underpainting onto which she builds depth and harmony. Each gesture, form and colour contributes to the whole, where the balance of thoughtfulness and spontaneity creates presence and power. Complementing Nancy and Ellie’s work will be a selection of pieces by gallery artists including: Masako Tobita, Tom Hughes, Elaine

Jones, Andrew Hood, Carl Melegari, Sally Stafford and Lynne Cartlidge.

This summer, Arnolfini welcomes visitors to celebrate what lies above and below the forest floor with Forest: Wake this Ground, a major group exhibition including artists, writers, filmmakers, and composers from across the globe: Rodrigo Arteaga, Mark Garry, Alma Heikkilä, Eva Jospin, Jumana Manna, Zakiya Mckenzie, David Nash, Maria Nepomuceno, John Newling, Rose Nguyen, Ben Rivers, Ai Weiwei, and Hildegard Westerkamp. With works that recycle, reuse and repurpose resources, discover the forests’ ancient rhythms and explore stories, myths, and folktales passed down between people over centuries. The exhibition is accompanied by a programme that includes live performance, film, family events and creative workshops inviting you to share and create your own

‘forest tales’ and to very gently encourage us all to take a look at the impact the changing climate has on nature and the world around us.

• arnolfini.org.uk

Image: Soil unsoiled, 2020. A collaboration between Zakiya McKenzie and Khady Gueye

Walls, Circular Rd, Clifton BS9 1PG, until 30 September In 1966, Virginia McKenna OBE and

Bill Travers MBE starred in the classic wildlife film Born Free. The film told the true story of conservationists Joy and George Adamson, who rescued a lioness cub called Elsa and successfully returned her to the wild.

Virginia and Bill went on to make a number of wildlife films together, including in 1969 An Elephant Called Slowly with an elephant calf called Pole Pole (pronounced Poly Poly). When filming was over, Pole

Pole was gifted to London Zoo by the Kenyan government. In 1982, Virginia and Bill went to visit Pole Pole at the zoo. Pole Pole, in clear distress, remembered Virginia and Bill and stretched out her trunk to reach them. Virginia and Bill launched a campaign to give Pole Pole a better life but in 1983, aged 16, Pole Pole died. Determined that her death would not be in vain, in 1984, Virginia, Bill and their eldest son Will launched Zoo Check – the charity that has evolved into Born Free.

This year, Born Free has launched a UK-wide exhibition with 25 life-size bronze lion sculptures touring the country to raise awareness and vital funds for lions. Visit the exhibition at Clifton Downs, marvel at the sculptures and learn the true stories behind the Born Free lion pride. Born Free are proud to have joined forces with monumental artists Gillie and Marc to present this landmark installation to raise awareness and vital funds for the charity’s conservation work.

Earth: Digging Deep in British Art 1781 2022, Royal West of England Academy (RWA), until 11 September The final instalment of the RWA’s elements series, Earth: Digging Deep in British Art 1781-2022 tackles the most expansive and urgent of subject matters, bringing together important modern, historical and contemporary artworks, co-curated by artist Emma Stibbon RA RWA, art historian Professor Emerita Christiana Payne (Oxford Brookes University) and Nathalie Levi (Head of Programme – Curator of Exhibitions, RWA). The exhibition examines how attitudes towards the landscape have evolved over the centuries and how artists’ approaches have changed over time; from the pastoral idylls of the 18th century, through representations of the Romantic Sublime, to present-day confrontations of the climate emergency. Encompassing depictions of the natural world from geological, spiritual, industrial, cultural and scientific perspectives. The RWA has also announced that submissions are now open for the 169th Annual Open Exhibition, so artists can apply to be in the exhibition until 14 August. Anyone can enter their work for this mixed discipline show and work is judged purely on its own merits, anonymously, rather than on the artist’s CV. Entries are open to artists across the UK and beyond and there’s no age limit. The exhibition includes painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, film, sculpture and illustration by artists ranging from leading professionals, to emerging talent, from across the UK and beyond.

• For more information about the exhibitions and how to apply, visit: rwa.org.uk

Image: Rodney Harris MRSS (b. 1966), A Delineation of Strata of England and Wales with parts of Scotland, Ireland and France, based on the original geological map by William Smith in 1815

From Chris Yeo, Valuer at Clevedon Salerooms and regular expert on BBC’s Antiques Roadshow

They used to call the Seventies “the decade taste forgot”. Of course, “they” were the 1980s, which, if we’re talking taste, is nothing short of the pot calling the kettle black.

For years, the very mention of the word ‘Seventies’ was enough to strike fear and loathing into otherwise reasonable, level-headed people. Not so long ago, design magazine Wallpaper drew up a shortlist of the most egregious faux pas of the past half-a-century - and guess which decade came top? But look beyond the avocado bathroom suites and a different picture soon emerges.

In the 1970s, interior design reached a level of exuberance that has never since been equalled. The decade centred around bold patterns, sumptuous textures, and rich colour schemes. Decadence and glamour were the twin beats that throbbed throughout a decade that was bookmarked by Bowie at its beginning and Grace Jones at its end – oh, be still my beating heart! In an era that saw countless strikes, runaway inflation and powdered orange juice, what to do but lose yourself in a whirlwind of hedonism? A mood of defiant decadence was abroad, whether it was glam rockers “gender bending” – as contemporary parlance had it – on Top of the Pops or Bianca Jagger riding into Studio 54 on the back of a white horse. The mood was encapsulated and retailed to perfection at Biba, the London fashion store opened in 1973. Housed in Art Deco splendour, Biba offered an interior vision that took elements of Hollywood’s Golden Age and mixed it with louche colours, crushed velvets and Art Nouveau patterns. It was daring and decadent and worked perfectly in a world ruled by Marc Bolan and Pan’s People (ask your parents). And it seems you can’t keep a good decade down. These days the once maligned ‘70s are bang on-trend, with designers, architects and style savvy buyers all eagerly embracing the decade’s bold and brash personality - from a renewed love for houseplants, to bold, clashing patterns and old-school gold accessories. That the decade should be ripe for plundering for inspiration should come as no surprise, the question is how could it take so long? ■ • clevedonsalerooms.com; @chrisyeo_antiques (Instagram)