At Inspires Art Gallery we have a regular programme of exciting exhibitions by both established and new contemporary artists, including paintings, silk screens, sculpture, ceramics and glass. Details of our up coming and previous exhibitions can be found below. If you would like to to receive invitations to our exhibitions and events please sign up to our mailing list.

Exhibitions 2010

We are currently putting together our 2010 exhibition programme, which will include some very special shows as it is the galleries 10th anniversary this year.

March 2010 We will be having a very exciting Peter Blake show, including the unique Art Bus which he designed the exterior of, coming to the gallery to expand the exhibition space. We are absolutely delighted that Sir Peter himself will be coming along on the bus for a special preview evening to open the show. So watch this space for more information or sign up to our newsletter. If you would like to receive an invitation to this exciting exhibition and a special 'bus pass' to board the Art Bus, please drop us an email. Bus passes are limited, and advance booking essential.

Preview evening with the Art Bus - Friday 5th March 2010

Exhibition continues 6th to 21st March.

April 2010 Robin Pickering. An exhibition of his latest pastels and oils. More details to follow.

Previous Exhibitions 2009

Donald Hamilton Fraser, RA - September 19th to 4th October 2009

An exhibition of new work by Donald Hamilton Fraser, we are also delighted to be able to show a small selection of his original works and rare limited editions.

Donald has exhibited his highly acclaimed work in Paris New York Tokyo Zurich and many other cities around the world. Donald has participated in many of the most significant exhibitions of British work including the Royal Academy's 25 Years of British Painting where he is also a Royal Academician and a trustee since 1995.

Donald's predominant subject matter is landscape. The landscapes remain close to their origins whilst forming abstract almost dream-like fields of colour. Contrasting in style and highlighting Donald's diversity are his wonderful chalk and wash drawings of dancers.

Kinlochbervie Red Sky

St Michael's Mount

Young Dancer Resting

Carol Peace - October 10th - 25th 2009

An exhibition showing her latest work of sculpture and paintings.

Wooden Wall box and Bronze figure
Edition of 14

Whisper

Bronze
Edition of 14

Present

Edition number and price to follow, shown here in progress in clay

Valentine

Bronze
Edition of 14

Iain Faulkner - August 2009

A selection of Iain Faulkners latest Limited Edition prints.

Coffee Break -image size 51x51cm

Library I image size 51x51cm

Romatic Lunch image size 51x51cm

Iain Faulkner was born in Glasgow in 1973 where he was raised and educated. He graduated from Glasgow School of Art in 1996 with a BA (Honours) Degree in Fine Art. From the onset of his professional career, the fashionable and trendy routes of contemporary and conceptual art, adopted by many of his peers, was not an option. He chose instead to follow the more difficult and demanding path of figurative painting wherein clear, concise yardsticks of competence, draughtsmanship and painterly skills can be measured and judged, warts and all. At the age of twenty-nine, the result of his endeavours during his relatively short career has brought a considerable measure of success with his last four shows in London and New York selling out which is clearly indicative of the public's appreciation and interest in his work.

Faulkner's paintings are concerned with the portrayal of strong and powerful images relying on visual impact as there is rarely any narrative. They are about capturing calm and contemplative moments, intimate exchanges, solitude, sometimes melancholy, heightened in their resonance by the use of chiaroscuro. Faulkner's use of this technique gives a stark contrast between the light source and the often dark tonality found in his paintings. There is a stillness in the everyday themes which conveys a sense of inner-reflection. This is accentuated by the formality of his young self-engrossed characters and emphasised by the light and shadows reinforcing their emotional detachment. His charcoal drawings, included for the first time in a Faulkner show, are testament to his draughtsmanship; his awareness and acknowledgement of the prime importance of drawing and control of tone and to the peeling back of layers of paint thus revealing an insight into his creative process.

Morning Coffee image size 40x60cm

Barbara Rae - July/August 2009

Born 10th September 1943 in Falkirk, Scotland ,Barbara Rae is a highly acclaimed painter whose work has been exhibited throughout Scotland but also in South Africa, Norway, Australia, Spain, Italy, California, New Mexico and Washington DC. Barbara Rae Studied at the Edinburgh College of Art 1961-1965 where she was awarded a travel scholarship. She then taught at Ainslie Park School in Edinburgh (1968-9) and Portobello High School (1969-72) before taking a lecturing position at Aberdeen College of Education (1972-4). The bulk of her teaching career was spent as Lecturer in Drawing and Painting at Glasgow School of Art (appointed 1975). Her first solo show was held in 1967 at the New 57 Gallery, Edinburgh. Then 10 years later in 1977, she won the Guthrie medal, Royal Scottish Academy. In 1983, Rae became President of the Society of Scottish Artists and she was appointed a Member of the Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland in 1995. Also in 1983 Barbara Rae was awarded the Royal Scottish Academy Sir William Gillies Travel Award and also the Calouste Gulbenkian printmaking award. In 1992 Barbara Rae was made a member of the Royal Scottish Academy. Then in 1996 she became a Royal Academician. Barbara was awarded a CBE in 1999 and received an honorary Doctorate from Napier University (Edinburgh) in the same year. Barbara Rae's printmaking has been integral to her artistic activity since her student days. The way she conceives and works on her monoprints, screenprints and etchings complements and informs her approach to painting. The discipline imposed by these media and the unique opportunities offered by them create a set of possibilities, which stimulate her vision of the world, whether she is drawing, painting, making prints, or simply observing.

These prints were part of the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2009.

Winter Almonds

Arroya Blanco

Autumn Sierra

Pueblo

Bruce McLean - April 2009

Bruce McLean was born in Glasgow in 1944.He studied at the Glasgow Art school and later did a postgraduate degree at St. Martin’s School of Art in London. He found the attitude there ponderous: “Twelve adult men with pipes would walk for hours around sculpture and mumble.” In reaction he turned to making sculpture out of rubbish, to performance art and to producing photographic works in which he often posed. All his work brilliantly sent up the pompousness of the art world and mocked established art forms. He was given an exhibition at the Tate Gallery at the age of 27.From the late 1970s he has made paintings and prints in which humour remains central.

Bruce Mclean lives and works in London; He teaches at Goldsmiths College and works in Canary Wharf.

His prolific work includes numerous public and private commissions including a street redevelopment scheme in Glasgow.

Agave Americana

Black Mimosa

Pink beach towl

Pink Cava Lilly

Liz Ridgway Exhibition of figurative paintings and sculpture By Philip Hearsey 18th April- 5th May 2009

Liz Ridgway was born in 1964 in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham. Her early art training in drawing and painting came from her father, who was an established artist. Later Ridgway studied at Sutton Coldfield College of Art and in 1986 Liz graduated from Cambridgeshire College of Arts in Art History and Fine Art.

Liz Ridgway takes her inspiration from a range of sources, from 1930s Picasso, the pre-Raphaelites and the paintings she grew up with in Birmingham, especially the work of British Artist Joseph Southall whose art work fills the walls of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.

Ridgeway aims for a simplicity of composition in her figurative contemporary paintings highlighting the play between the human presence and the flat patterning of the elements around them. She is particularly interested in showing the vulnerability and dignity that coexist in the human face. At times her paintings have a contemplative quality.

Art prizes won by Liz Ridgway include the Tabernacle Art Prize, awarded by the Museum of Modern Art Wales in 1997. She has exhibited at the New English Art Club Annual Show annually since 1999 and was elected a full member of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists in 2001.

Fisherman

Picking Apples

From the Garden

Woman with Shawl

Lakeside in Brittany

Evening Repose

Poetry Book

Robin Pickering Exhibition Wednesday 4th -16th March 2009

A show of pastels and oils from Venice, Devon and Cornwall

Early sun - St Ives harbour

Barges lie in the morning Calm

Under a Venetian

Study in purle and orange

Sir Peter Blake Exhibition - March 2009

Inspires Art Gallery is delighted to present Sir Peter Blake. His stunning new silkscreens will include a selection from a series called Replay, a reinvention of Sir Peter’s major works from the 1950s and 1960s using colourful silkscreen prints.

Got A Girl Silkscreen print was Previewed at London Art Fair back in January. This piece is inspired by the song of the same title by the Four Preps which tells the story of a young man's girlfriends obsession with Fabian, Avalon, Ricky Nelson, Bobby Rydell and Elvis Presley. The images of the men on the print from left to right. Also released is the final prints for the Peter Blake Box set Replay, Kandy, Milk Maids and Wink.

The exhibition will feature the newly-published Venice Suite series. The signed, limited-edition silkscreen prints combine images and ideas sourced from the artist's 2007 visit to the Venice Art Biennale, from postcard scenes, photographs, and second hand books collected along the way.

The godfather of British pop art was born in Dartford, Kent, in 1932. Blake was made a Royal Academician in 1981, a CBE in 1983 and in 2002 he was knighted. Sir Peter Blake won international fame in the 1960's as one of the leading exponents of the British Pop Art movement. His work is represented in major collections throughout the world.

His images are born from a love affair with the icons and ephemera of popular culture and his influence on the music world can be summarised by the seminal cover art for the Beatle's 'Sergeant Pepper' album. His iconic design for the cover of the Beatles' album Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ensured he transcended the art world - his work took pride of place in the homes of millions of record-buyers.