CITY ARTS

STATE OF THEART

As we continue to crave moments of peace and serenity, we look forward to welcoming an array of enchanting art fairs and exhibitions to some of the city’s most-loved museums and galleries this month

Enamel Bowl with Cosmos Striped Bowl and Plate by Helen Simmonds

AMERICAN MUSEUM AND GARDENS

Claverton Manor, Bath BA2 7BD Open: 10am–5pm, Tuesday–Sunday Tel: 01225 460503 Web: americanmuseum.org

NIGHT AND DAY: 1930s FASHION AND PHOTOGRAPHS

Until 20 December The American Museum & Gardens has launched one of its most glamourous exhibitions yet. The Night and Day exhibition was ‘Pure Hollywood’: organised by the Fashion and A floor-length Textiles Museum in London and gown featured in t akes visitors on a journey through the exhibtion sumptuous city tableaux. Visitors can expect to see a range of glamorous eveningwear and floorlength gowns created in satins, velvets and crepes. As part of the opening, the museum will also host music featuring local jazz musicians, provide entertainment from The Natural Theatre Company and hand out American-style treats. As well as the museum’s special exhibiti on, the N ew American Garden, the Mount Vernon Garden, and the Garden Café (takeaway only) have also reopened for business. The museum’s main collection inside Claverton Manor will be opening in due course.

BEAUX ARTS

12–13 York Street, Bath BA1 1NG Tel: 01225 464850 Web: beauxartsbath.co.uk

HELEN SIMMONDS EXHIBITION

Throughout October During October Beaux Arts Bath host an eagerly anticipated exhibition by local artist Helen Simmonds. Fifty of her highly sought-after still life paintings will adorn the walls of this prestigious gallery, situated within two Georgian townhouses near the Abbey. Predominantly smal l and modest, Helen’s evocative, emotive paintings mainly feature home-grown seasonal flowers and items from the artist's beloved collection of ceramics, bottles and enamel vessels. Her work is the antithesis of our voracious, image-hungry, hand-held digital zeitgeist. They engender tranquillity and privacy.

She is capable of re-enchanting the everyday utensil, revivifying and suspending for us the shor t precious lifes pan of a flowering plant. Contemplating her work is to be guided from a viral, hurried world to a quiet essence. As Patrick McGuinness put it, “Less is not always more. Sometimes it is everything.” A new short film by Emmy award-winning Bathonian Michael Pitts and his son Ollie is to be released to accompany the exhibition.

BATH CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS’ FAIR

Green Park Station, Green Park Road, Bath BA1 1JB Open: 10am–5pm Web: bcaf.co.uk

AUTUMN FAIR

11 October Bath Contemporary Artists Fair is committed to bringing the best of contemporary art from the city and beyond right to the heart of Bath. On 11 October, visitors can browse the brilliant works of local artists and admire fine art, photography, sculpture and textiles, all under the vaulted glass roof of Green Park Station.

44AD ARTSPACE

4 Abbey Street, Bath BA1 1NN

Tel: 07753378325 Web: 44ad.net

THE BIG NET AND OTHER CONCERNS

13–18 October Sally Pollitzer’s exhibition of paintings, prints and stained glass include themes inspired by her visit to Japan and allotment life. Although she has always painted, before moving to Bath from her stained glass studio in Somerset, Sally concentrated on commissioned work. Her glasswork Reaching O ut c an be seen at the Royal United Hospital’s Spiritual Centre. A visit to Japan in 2018 greatly affected her style of painting. This can also be seen from her allotment paintings.

Image: Sally Pollitzer

THE HOLBURNE MUSEUM

Great Pulteney Street, Bath Tel: 01225 388569 Web: holburne.org

GRAYSON PERRY: THE PRE-THERAPY YEARS

Until January 2021 One of the Holburne’s most eagerly anticipated shows of the year, this follows a successful public appeal to source Perry’s early ceramic pieces, made between 1982 and the mid-1990s. Here are a broad r ange of Perry’s e arly works, including pieces from the artist’s own collection and works not seen publicly before. For his legions of fans, The Pre-Therapy Years will bring a new perspective to the 2003 Turner Prize-winner’s influential and inspiring outlook.

Essex Plate by Grayson Perry

NICK CUDWORTH

5 London Street, Bath BA1 5BU Tel: 01225 445221 Web: nickcudworth.co.uk

OCTOBER EXHIBITION

Open now It is fift y years since the rusting carcass of the SS Great Britain was returned from its abandonment in a Falkland Isles swamp to its original dry dock in Bristol. Today, the magnificent restoration attracts thousands of visitors every year and stands as a glorious tribute to the great man.

The Homecoming is oil on linen; 30x20 inches; prints and cards av ailable.

ABBEY HOTEL BATH

North Parade, Bath BA1 1LF Tel: 01225 461603 Web: abbeyhotelbath.co.uk

RUH HEROES

Until 1 November A new exhibition in The Abbey Hotel’s ArtBar celebrates the incredible work of the NHS staff at the Royal United Hospital. The exhibition is an opportunity to raise money for the RUH as well as a way of marking the remarkable work and sacrifice staff at the hospital have made for us on a daily basis .

T he exhibition includes work by many local artists including Royal photographer Joe Short; Bath’s ever-popular Peter Brown, also known as ‘Pete the Street’; architectural studies by David Ringsell; artist and printmaker James Nunn; local scenes by Jane Riley; and an image of an angel of peace by artist Rob Highton.

All work will be for sale and the Abbey Hotel has agreed to donate 40 per cent of all sales – it s total share of the p roceeds – directly to the RUH’s Forever Friends Appeal with the remaining 60 per cent going to the artist.

Bridge of Shadows by David Ringsell

Rhyannon Boyd, head of fundraising for the Forever Friends Appeal comments: “We have all been through such tough times recently, so it is wonderful to see our local community getting back on their feet and working through these new ways of living. This art exhibition is such a though tful way of a cknowledging the remarkable work of the RUH staff over the past months.” ■