Bath and Malmesbury

I've had a few days away in Bath and the surrounding area driving to a soundtrack of Mojo's latest cover CD, a complitation of Communion artists.
Communion was born in the Summer of 2006 at London’s Notting Hill Arts Club. Founded by Ben Lovett (Mumford and Sons), former Cherbourg bassist Kevin Jones, and acclaimed producer Ian Grimble, it quickly grew into a flourishing community of musicians and fans alike, providing a first independent platform for the freshest young artists on London’s circuit and beyond. The monthly night has now seen the likes of Noah and the Whale, Laura Marling, Mumford and Sons, JJ Pistolet and Peggy Sue all grace the stage from the very start of their fledgling careers. Communion Records was founded in September 2009 priding itself on creating a close working family in which to allow artists to develop at their own pace.

Bath's Fringe Festival added additional interest to our visit with several of the photos above taken in the FAB at the Officer's Club exhibitions. I also enjoyed seeing paintings by Cecil Collins and Graham Sutherland at the Victoria Art Gallery and the new extension to the Holburne Gallery (see photo above) but the exhibition highlight was definitely Helpless Angels at the bo.lee gallery which saw paintings by Fran Williams supplemented by the angel sculptures of other gallery artists. Williams' paintings deal in primal light-dark contrasts to suggest an emergent sense of the angelic in her distressed characters. Look out for the gallery's Shadowside London exhibition from 13th - 18th June at Blackall Studios Shoreditch.

Other forthcoming exhibitions that should be of interest include The Acts of the Apostles by Ulrich Lindow at Malmesbury Abbey from 19th June throughout the summer and Mark Angus: Flying Figures at the Victoria Art Gallery from 23 July - 2 October.

Sculptor Ulrich Lindow works in northern Germany near Malmesbury's twin town of Niebüll. His The Acts of the Apostles installation is described as "a dramatic re-enactment of the events narrated in the New Testament." Lindow has imagined a red glow from the tongues of flame reflected in the colouration of the rough hewn faces of his disciples (see photos above).

Originally from Bath, Mark Angus is one of Europe's best stained glass artists. His stunning work for churches and cathedrals in England and Germany is well known, but his freestanding glass figures - glowingly coloured diving and backlit figures exploring the theme of Eternal Youth - go on public view for the first time in the exhibition at the Victoria Art Gallery.

While in Malmesbury I also saw the Photographic Exhibition in the Town Hall, which includes excellent work by Betsy Little and Fred Goudie among others, and found a secondhand copy of Messenger of Beauty: The Life and Visionary Art of Nicholas Roerich.  Roerich was a Russian-born artist whose paintings explore the mythic origins, the natural beauty, and the spiritual strivings of humanity and of the world.

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Marcus Foster - Circle in the Square.