Biennial week – The Victoria gallery and museum

Art galleries:

During the biennial week I visited the Victoria gallery and museum; I had never been there before and found it very interesting. The gallery is located in an old Victorian building which meant that it has some very unique and historical features outside but especially inside, these features make an interesting back drop for the art work and bring a third dimension to the work, in particular the older more historical pieces.

The first piece I saw there were by the artist Susan Forsyth, entitled “Art sheds”, these were 3 large wooden sheds that had been painted pink and had a gold roof. (This was a participatory exhibition inspired by the history and collection of the victory gallery and museum.)   Inside of the sheds there were different thing that you could draw, the first was entitled nudes, this housed a small marble like figure, the second was entitled still life, and this one housed a vase of flowers and the third was entitled portrait and this one housed a marble bust of a human head. I found these pieces striking as they really drew your eye as you walked into the gallery space; however I was quite unsure what they were supposed to mean or reflect about the gallery. On the other hand I did quite like the fact that you could go into the sheds and draw and that this encourages more people to draw and take part in the exhibition rather than just looking at the work.   

 

 

 

The next exhibition that I saw was in 'The Audubon Gallery' John James Audubon (1785-1851) was a nineteenth-century wildlife artist and naturalist. He travelled the American wilderness identifying and drawing hundreds of species of birds and mammals. I found these pieces more interesting than the previous gallery, as they were really beautifully painted and of some unusual birds and animals I had never seen before.

 

 

 

I also looked at some of the art in the other, smaller gallery spaces.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also went up to the museum part of the gallery to see the ‘Tate collection’, this was really interesting as the collection included quite a few more unusual objects, such as:

·         Teeth

·         Various animals preserved in jars

·         And bones and skulls etc.