GATEPOST

Gatepost has news about the artists and makers C&C showcase online and in our exhibitions. To receive notification of C&C's exhibitions subscribe to the newsletter using the sign up form by clicking here.
  • Lay of The Land Opens in King's Lynn

    Why the exhibition's ceramic content breaks new ground
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Installation view: work by Kathryn Hearn, Carolyn Brookes-Davies, Caroline Chouler-Tisser, and Jack Wheeler
    Installation view: work by Kathryn Hearn, Carolyn Brookes-Davies, Caroline Chouler-Tisser, and Jack Wheeler
    One of the key components for C&C’s latest exhibition Lay of the Land and the reason so many visitors have praised the quality of the work in the exhibition is the significant contribution made by artists and makers who work in ceramics. Thanks to artists like James Evans, Kathryn Hearn, and Nessie Stonebridge the exhibition marks the degree to which applied and contemporary art practice have transgressed during the last twenty-five years, confounding conventions for the medium, and opening up new possibilities for landscape as a genre.
  • Gallery Visit: Fliss Cary and Tracee Findlater, Something Grim

    The Halesworth Gallery, Suffolk 27 July to 21 August
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Fliss Cary and Tracee Findlater installation at The Halesworth Gallery
    Fliss Cary and Tracee Findlater installation at The Halesworth Gallery
     
    We were in and around Halesworth in Suffolk this week and decided to drop in and see an exhibition at The Halesworth Gallery. Fliss Cary and Tracee Findlater have collaborated on their publication Something Grim. Fliss Cary’s black and white artwork, sits seamlessly alongside Tracee Findlater’s poetic text. The book provides the backbone for their part of what is actually a small group exhibition that includes work by Jack Crampton, and Sally Erb.
  • Gallery Visit: Jayne Ivimey and Andrew Watkinson, The Sands of Time

    A response to 200 years of coastal change 11 to 22 July 2024 at Cromer Artspace
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Jayne Ivimey and Andrew Watkinson installation 2024
    Jayne Ivimey and Andrew Watkinson installation 2024
    Paul and I dropped into the Cromer Artspace on Monday to catch the last day of The Sands of Time: A response to 200 years of coastal change. An exhibition by artist Jayne Ivimey and environmental scientist Andrew Watkinson.
  • The Dockside Dandies of Lowestoft

    Peter Wylie presents a tale of fashionable fishermen in his new book
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Book covers bound in two of the more popular suit colours
    Book covers bound in two of the more popular suit colours
    Artist Peter Wylie, who has shown his meticulous paintings and prints of the Suffolk coast and of modernist architecture in C&C exhibitions over the past few years, has researched, written and published a new book about a little-known fishing and fashion sub-culture titled The Dockside Dandies.
  • Gallery Visit: Roger Ackling, Sunlight

    Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Roger Ackling, Circle Drawing, Isle of Wight 2004
    Roger Ackling, Circle Drawing, Isle of Wight 2004
    I attended the public launch of the Roger Ackling exhibition Sunlight, at the Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery on Friday. Ackling is known among artists as 'the guy who burnt stuff' using the power of the sun. This glib description underserves his rich and complex lexicon of mark making developed during a fifty-year career. Ackling's work is at once all encompassing in its harnessing of an element, and led by that process, as well as beautifully detailed and humane in its conceptual approach.
    The exhibition has been long in the planning and includes in excess of 150 individual works by 'the artist's artist', poet and teacher, long-term resident of North Norfolk, Roger Ackling (1947 – 2014).
  • Double Take - the exhibition is now over, but it's not gone...

    If you missed the show you may view the exhibits by using the QR code
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Double Take - the exhibition is now over, but it's not gone...
    The exhibition Double Take has now closed at The Crypt Gallery, but for those who missed it, you can see our record of the exhibition using the QR code.
  • First week of Double Take: James Evans, Susan Gunn and Tassie Russell

    Four hundred in four days, visit The Crypt Gallery
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Installation by James Evans, Susan Gunn and Tassie Russell
    Installation by James Evans, Susan Gunn and Tassie Russell
    Double Take opened on Friday 10 May and we have already welcomed over 400 visitors to view work by James Evans, Susan Gunn and Tassie Russell.
  • Double Take Opens at The Crypt Gallery Norwich

    Things aren't always what they seem
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Double Take Opens at The Crypt Gallery Norwich
    Our exhibition Double Take opens on Friday 10  May at The Crypt Gallery, Norwich. It includes work by three artists with strong bonds to Suffolk and Norfolk, including sculptor, James Evans; painter, Susan Gunn; and painter, printmaker, and photographer Tassie Russell. The quality of their work draws the viewer in, encouraging us to look closer and overturn our assumptions, exploring the familiar as locations for ambiguity.
  • Gallery Visit: Issam Kourbaj, Urgent Archive

    Kettle's Yard, Cambridge 2 March to 26 May 2024
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Issam Kourbaj - Urgent Archive drawing detail
    Issam Kourbaj - Urgent Archive drawing detail
    Issam Kourbaj is a Cambridge-based artist originally from Syria, taking an uncompromising look at his country, following years of conflict. The subject of the exhibition is the current social and political distress in Syria, as its population endures ongoing oppression.
  • Gallery Visit: Frank Auerbach, The Charcoal Heads

    The Courtauld Institute, London 9 Feb to 27 May
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Detail of Frank Auerbach self-portrait 1958
    Detail of Frank Auerbach self-portrait 1958
    We visited The Courtauld Institute on a recent trip to London to see The Charcoal Heads exhibition by Frank Auerbach, at Somerset House.
  • Unfurl Opens in Cambridge

    Step into Stapleford Granary Cambridge
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Liff Top Posey [Detail]. Chalk pastel, gouache, watercolour and pencil crayons by Elizabeth Merriman
    Liff Top Posey [Detail]. Chalk pastel, gouache, watercolour and pencil crayons by Elizabeth Merriman
    C&C's new exhibition is opening today! Unfurl explores botanical beauty by eight artists and makers featuring new and recent work by:
    Claire Coles, Carolyn Brookes-Davies, Helen Derbyshire, Mark Edwards, Elizabeth Merriman, Tim Plunkett, Ella Porter and Layne Rowe.
  • Open Studio at The Crypt

    Rosie Phillips meets with visitors to discuss her paintings
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Students from Writer's Bloc creative writing group Norwich School
    Students from Writer's Bloc creative writing group Norwich School
    Rosie Phillips began her residency at Norwich School on January 10th. She has welcomed pupils, teachers, school staff, caretakers to the studio and during this last week from February (5th to the 7th), Rosie has welcomed forty visitors, from the school's student groups like a creative writing class (Writer's Bloc), to visiting Norwich-based artists and collectors at a series of open days. She has talked about her work, what inspires her, how she selects her sitters, her interest in their background stories, and she has answered their questions to the best of her ability.
  • Norwich School Residency: Rosie Phillips - Close

    Looking forward to welcoming visitors to Cathedral Close Norwich
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Norwich School Residency: Rosie Phillips - Close
    Rosie Phillips' residency at Norwich School comes to its fruition next week. Having been in situ at The Crypt Gallery since January 10th, Rosie is now completing a number of preliminary working drawings to add to her impressive collection of recent paintings, that will be shown during her exhibition Close, opening on Saturday 10th February and running for just five days until Thursday 15th.
  • Rosie Phillips Portrait Artist, The Crypt Gallery

    Norwich School Artist Residency at The Crypt Gallery, Norwich
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Rosie Phillips Portrait Artist, The Crypt Gallery
    To kick off our activities for 2024 we're delighted to announce a new Norwich-based artist residency at Norwich School. We have been working in collaboration with Andy Campbell at Norwich School and to initiate the residency at the Crypt Gallery for portrait artist Rosie Phillips.
  • EASTinternational: Unpacking the Archive | East Gallery

    Discourse about an exhibition series and its legacy
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Photography: courtesy of East International Archive (far right artist Gustav Metzger and Professor Lynda Morris)
    Photography: courtesy of East International Archive (far right artist Gustav Metzger and Professor Lynda Morris)
    Paul and I attended a discussion event on Saturday 9 December, held at East Gallery, Norwich. It was a discourse about the legacy and archive of EASTinternational, a series of annual contemporary art exhibitions held throughout Norwich Art School during the summer recess. These were large, multi-generation exhibitions, that took place over nearly two decades and produced much of the documentation and art related ephemera, which has formed the basis of the current exhibition:

     

    EASTinternational: Unpacking the Archive
     

    2 December 2023 – 3 February 2024 | East Gallery

    Exhibition curated by Candice Allison with Charlie Denning

    Discourse curated by writer and critic Jonathan P. Watts

     

    EASTinternational: Unpacking the Archive is the first in a series of exhibitions and research events aimed at reflecting on the legacies, networks, and impact of the EASTinternational exhibitions. The exhibition presents the archive as a living site of knowledge production.
  • Gallery Visit: Butley Mills Studios, Suffolk

    The Wanderer – group exhibition inspired by the Anglo-Saxon elegy
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Gallery Visit: Butley Mills Studios, Suffolk
    On the first frosty day this autumn we visited The Wanderer, a group exhibition inspired by the Anglo-Saxon elegy of the same name at The Gallery, @butleymillsstudios, before it closes on the 6th December.
  • Handmade from the East

    Unique Gift Ideas from East Anglian Artists and Makers
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Handmade from the East
    For C&C’s winter collection 2023 we have put together a seasonal selection of contemporary art and handmade craft made by the East Anglia’s finest artists and makers. Selected with your needs in mind in the quest to source a matchless gift for someone special.

  • Farewell to King's Lynn

    Thanks to all our visitors
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Farewell to King's Lynn
    We are delighted to have welcomed visitors to see the work of artists from Norfolk and Suffolk at the Fermoy Gallery and Shakespeare Barn. Having opened on September 9 we have averaged just short of 70 visitors a day.
  • Inviting the next generation in

    King's Oak Primary School Visit
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Inviting the next generation in
    More than forty pupils from King’s Oak Primary School, King's Lynn came to visit our current exhibition Heads & Tails with their teachers.
  • Spotlight: Rosie Phillips

    Capturing the narratives behind the sitter
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Spotlight: Rosie Phillips
    Rosie Phillips is a self-taught painter. Creativity was always a part of her childhood, but it wasn’t until she completed A-Levels in 2019 that she began practicing art professionally, taking on commissioned work and exhibiting locally.
  • Spotlight: Roger Hardy

    Exhibiting with us in "Heads & Tails: Picturing People and Other Animals"
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Spotlight: Roger Hardy
    Roger Hardy is a sculptor based in Suffolk. His sculpture is figurative, made from reclaimed wood, metal and with pigment additions, configured to create the human form.
  • Be Our Guest - Discover the Historic Heart of King's Lynn

    Join our FREE walking tour on Wednesday 18 October to discover historic King's Lynn, including a visit to Heads and tails to "Meet the Artists"
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Be Our Guest - Discover the Historic Heart of King's Lynn
    A FREE TOUR WITH AN EXHIBITION ATTACHED!
    Join King’s Lynn Town Guides to discover hidden courtyards and alleyways and hear about the fascinating 900-year history of what was once one of England’s wealthiest towns. Then come and meet ome of the artists in our exhibition "Heads & Tails"

    PLACES ARE LIMITED TO BOOK YOUR PLACE ASAP

  • What kind of animal are you?

    Opening Weekend of Heads and Tails
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Sam by Rosie Phillips
    Sam by Rosie Phillips
    C&C's latest exhibition Heads and Tails is now open in the Shakespeare Barn and Fermoy Gallery, King's Lynn. It brings together a group of 10 artists who have been working with the many narratives that explore the interspecies bonds formed between people and animals.

     

  • C&C's exhibiton Heads and Tails launches in King's Lynn

    Picturing People and Other Animals
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    C&C's exhibiton Heads and Tails launches in King's Lynn
    Heads and Tails is a group exhibition of ten artists exploring the interspecies bonds formed between people and animals and how they look within the home, the workplace or in the wild. The artists propose various disciplines that engage with human as well as animal behaviour and how that is represented in art now. Heads and Tails opens Saturday 9 September, and runs until Saturday 28th October 2023. It will be open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 11am to 4pm. ENTRY IS FREE at the Fermoy Gallery and Shakespeare Barn, St. George's Guildhall, 29 King Street, King's Lynn, PE30 1HA.
  • KL Magazine: C&C's East to East

    An Eclectic Exhibiton of Local Talent
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    KL Magazine: C&C's East to East
    Our exhibition "East to East" is open every Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday until October 1. We recently had an article published in KL Magazine which had a focus on on those artists and makers based in the Fenlands of East Anglia.
  • Gallery Visit: Laurence Edwards - Recumbence

    The Crypt Gallery, Norwich School, Cathedral Close
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Gallery Visit: Laurence Edwards - Recumbence
    Recumbence is a solo exhibition of sculpture by Suffolk based sculptor Laurence Edwards, centred upon his studies for a single male  figure, in bronze, laying horizontally, his head slightly raised, hanging to one side, as if examining his own predicament. Because of the subject and its context in a crypt, within the Cathedral Close of Norwich Cathedral, we read the figure as Christ, laid out flat, entombed, lifeless. A powerful subject.
  • Spotlight: Ella Porter - Marsh Mud Glazed Vessels

    Ceramic forms imbued with a true sense of place
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Spotlight: Ella Porter - Marsh Mud Glazed Vessels
    Drawing upon the unique landscape of Stiffkey Salt Marshes; this collection of works reflect on a sense of this special place through memories of coastal walks and observations of the landscape shifting and changing through seasons.
  • Urban Frame: Mutiny in Colour

    Street art comes to West Suffolk
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Urban Frame: Mutiny in Colour
    We set off this past Thursday for the launch of the first part of an exhibition of street art organised by West Suffolk cultural organisations, who have joined forces to host Urban Frame: Mutiny in Colour.
  • Sean Scully: Smaller Than The Sky

    Exhibition of Sculpture and Painting at Houghton Hall, Norfolk
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Crate of Air 2018 by Sean Scully, detail view
    Crate of Air 2018 by Sean Scully, detail view
    Sean Scully's solo exhibition of sculpture and painting Smaller Than The Sky is dispersed throughout the house and grounds of Houghton Hall, from 23 Apil to 29 October. It is the latest in Houghton Hall's series of world-class exhibitions by international contemporary sculptors.
  • Off the blocks with East to East

    Art and Craft with an Asian Influence
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Off the blocks with East to East
    And we're off...
    We have begun installation in the Stables at Houghton Hall. Here are a few glimpses of the inspiring new work included in the exhibition East to East, opening on Sunday 23 April.
  • Gallery Visit: Lucie Rie, Kettle's Yard, Cambridge

    The Adventure of Pottery: 4 March - 25 June, 2023
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Lucie Rie vase with leaf design
    Lucie Rie vase with leaf design
    We were in Cambridge last week and got to see the Lucie Rie exhibition at Kettle's Yard House and Gallery, Cambridge. The exhibition is free and if you are interested in mid-century ceramics, the assembled work is breathtaking. It opened 4 March, and runs until 25 June, 2023.
  • Spotlight: Nessie Stonebridge

    Capturing Raw Nature
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Nessie Stonebridge working in her studio
    Nessie Stonebridge working in her studio
    Nessie Stonebridge's paintings depict the explosive energy of rural Norfolk's avian splendor, where her studio is based. A flash of light, feathers, beaks; a vortex of vitality, blood, life and death!
  • Gallery Visit: Amanda Edgcombe at The Cut, Halesworth

    LOOP: An Exhibition of Paintings and Prints
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Gallery Visit: Amanda Edgcombe at The Cut, Halesworth
    Amanda Edgcombe's current exhibition Loop presents new carborundum prints and gesso paintings where a closer relationship between painting and print making has been developed.
  • Sean Scully Exhibition Coming Soon

    Opens 23 Apil – 29 October, 2023
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Crate of Air, 2018. ©Sean-Scully. Courtesy the artist and YSP (Yorkshire Sculpture Park). Photo © Jonty-Wilde
    Crate of Air, 2018. ©Sean-Scully. Courtesy the artist and YSP (Yorkshire Sculpture Park). Photo © Jonty-Wilde
    It is a rare moment for art audiences in the UK as internationally acclaimed artist Sean Scully opens a solo exhibition of his sculpture and paintings, displayed throughout the house and grounds of Houghton Hall, Norfolk. Scully has exhibited internationally, during a long career. Smaller Than The Sky will be one of the visual art events of the year in East Anglia.
  • Spotlight: Liz McGowan

    Absence: Norfolk Chalk Reef
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Absence: Norfolk Chalk Reef – No. 1, Liz McGowan
    Absence: Norfolk Chalk Reef – No. 1, Liz McGowan
    Liz McGowan is an artist who works with natural and found materials, creating responses to particular environments through installation, sculpture, drawing and conversation. She exhibits her work nationally and carries out creative interventions in the environment at locations throughout Norfolk.
  • Spotlight: Victoria Fenn

    New table top sculpture for 2023
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Crown III, 2023
    Crown III, 2023
    Victoria Fenn is a sculptor exploring memories and landscape motivated by her personal connection to the Cambridgeshire Fens, where she grew up on the family farm.
  • Gallery Visit: BIG WOMEN

    Firstsite: 20+ women artists curated by Sarah Lucas
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Gallery Visit: BIG WOMEN
    It is not without irony that the exhibition BIG WOMEN, including more than twenty leading women artists, is taking place at Firstsite, Colchester in the heart of Essex, the home of the misogynistic Essex joke.
  • Spotlight: Linda Jamieson

    New paintings for Spring 2023
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    I didn’t see that coming, 2022
    I didn’t see that coming, 2022
    Linda Jamieson is a painter whose work has been closely associated with the North Norfolk coastal landscape for a while now. It is where she spends much of her time. For the last two years her work has moved away from observation and memory, toward a more imaginative use of landscape as a barometer of her own state of mind.
  • Spotlight: Tassie Russell

    Revealing architectural space in paint and print
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Spotlight: Tassie Russell
    After a career teaching in universities in the UK and Australia, Tassie Russell now works in her painting and printmaking studio on the Suffolk coast.
  • It all starts with a walk

    New drawings by Essex-based painter Simon Carter
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Simon Carter in his studio
    Simon Carter in his studio
    Like many of us at this time of year Simon Carter loves to walk. His routes ofter take him to the marshes of  his native Essex. Unlike us however, he makes this pilgrimage all year round and always with a sketch book in hand.
  • Spotlight: Ella Porter

    Exploring the creative potential between ceramics, print and painting
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Spotlight: Ella Porter
    Ella Porter has a multidisciplinary practice, which explores interchangeable material languages and processes between ceramics print and painting.
  • Living the Dream

    Preparing for the year ahead with all its challenges and opportunities
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Living the Dream
    We have witnessed fantastic night skies like this recently - this one painted by Norfolk-based artist, Claire Cansick. Work like this reminds us of the natural beauty surrounding us but also represents the opportunity to lift our gaze to see beyond the everyday. Can we really live the dream?
  • Compendia Guide 2022/23

    C&C are in on the inside track guide to Norwich and Norfolk
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Compendia Guide 2022/23
    Compendia is a new, comprehensive guide to independent businesses and organisations,that make Norwich and Norfolk so unique and such a great location to live. It includes Contemporary and Country. The guide features the best places to find culture, art, eat, drink, go shopping, for sleep and healing in Norwich and Norfolk.
  • Makers' Mark

    Handmade objects crafted for the home
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Makers' Mark
    Our winter 2022-23 programme begins with a selection of handmade pieces made by makers that complement each other and have been designed specifically for a domestic setting. All items are  original works, by well-established makers and available for sale. Perfect timing for those looking for a one-of-kind Christmas gift.
  • Avant Gardeners Concludes

    End of season at Houghton Hall Stables
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Avant Gardeners Concludes
    As the Dahlias tip over into each other, drawn down with the weight of their heads, and we de-install Andrew Jones's wonderful kinetic sculptures in the walled garden, we are thankful to have reached the end of the summer season at Houghton Hall Stables.
  • Spotlight: James Gladwell

    Stitching a line, and then another
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Artist James Gladwell, visiting Avant Gardeners at Houghton Hall Stables
    Artist James Gladwell, visiting Avant Gardeners at Houghton Hall Stables
    'A line will take us hours maybe; Yet if it does not seem a moment's thought, our stitching and unstitching has been naught.'

    William Butler Yeats
  • Gallery Visit: Liz McGowan

    The spirit wraps around me: nature as a second skin, 12 June - 25 August
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Liz McGowan traversing the River Nar wearing one of her cloaks, detail of a photograph by Harry Cory Wright
    Liz McGowan traversing the River Nar wearing one of her cloaks, detail of a photograph by Harry Cory Wright
    Environmental artist Liz McGowan asks questions of us about how we may relate to our surroundings, in her current exhibition at Stapleford Granary, Cambridge.
  • Gallery Visit: Ernst Gamperl

    At Houghton Hall, Norfolk, until 25 September
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Ernst Gamperl installation in the Stone Hall Houghton Hall
    Ernst Gamperl installation in the Stone Hall Houghton Hall
    Four years ago the sculptor and master wood turner, Ernst Gamperl, took delivery of a gift from the Marquess and Marchioness of Cholmondeley. It was an oak tree, recently felled, thought to be one of the trees already present when the Houghton Hall Estate was first established three hundred years ago, in 1722 by Sir Robert Walpole.
  • Raising funds for international artist commissions

    Working with BALTIC Contemporary
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Raising funds for international artist commissions
    For C&C's summer exhibition Avant Gardeners, we have produced our first limited edition art posters of original paintings by Kate Giles and Linda Jamieson that celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Houghton Hall Estate. We're raising funds for two extremely worthwhile projects that encompass art and the national pastime, gardening.
  • Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    The Granary Gallery: It's All Happening Here
    We have put the final touches to our summer installation at The Granary Gallery this week. The seasonal refresh brings with it a selection of established artists based on the north coast to the second phase of the exhibition and several new artists we have introduced, showing with us for the first time. Alongside them are new examples of work from one or two of the artists we opened with for this ongoing project on the second floor of The Granary store.
  • Printmakers of East Anglia

    Landscapes that leave you with the right impression
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Printmakers of East Anglia
    We are counting down the final days of the River's Edge exhibition before we move on, and we still have wonderfully conceived prints of East Anglian landscapes, framed and mounted in preparation for framing.

  • Second week of River's Edge exhibition

    Showcasing artists and makers from East Anglia
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Second week of River's Edge exhibition
    This is week two of C&C's current exhibition River's Edge at BallroomArts, (Formerly known as The Peter Pears Gallery) - at 152A High Street Aldeburgh. Situated just back from the beach and off the main high street.
  • River's Edge: Shoreline Finds

    Sculpture by Jack Wheeler and Beth Groom
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Installation of sculpture by Jack Wheeler, River's Edge
    Installation of sculpture by Jack Wheeler, River's Edge
    Jack Wheeler and Beth Groom are sculptors who met at Norwich Art School (NUA) while they were still undergraduates. The pair have since carved out their separate careers. Jack as a Carpenter specialising in bespoke carpentry, hand-built timber buildings and Beth as an Art Therapist working in a care facility for people with learning difficulties, Along side these activities they work together as artists on their creative projects.
  • Exhibition opening for River's Edge

    C&C at BallroomArts, Aldeburgh, Suffolk
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Legend 13, Aldeburgh, by Ed Lee, River's Edge at BallroomArts, Suffolk
    Legend 13, Aldeburgh, by Ed Lee, River's Edge at BallroomArts, Suffolk
    A huge thank you to Ben of Fishers Gin and his team at @fishersgin and Claire and her team at Aldeburgh Outside Catering who made our private view @ballroomartsaldeburgh last night go so well, providing refreshing smoked gin cocktails and delicious canapés. Our River's Edge pop-up exhibition runs for the first two weeks of the Aldeburgh Festival @brittenpearsarts in Snape and throughout the Suffolk coast. The Courtyard Gallery at BallroomArts contains art and handmade items by artists and makers from across East Anglia, all have a connection to the East Anglian landscape.
  • River's Edge: Emily Mayer's Bird Sculptures

    A tribute to the life and work of Emily Mayer (November 1960 – April 2022)
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Eel Catcher (2004/7) 50.5 x 47 x 40 cm Steel, plastic, copper.
    Eel Catcher (2004/7) 50.5 x 47 x 40 cm Steel, plastic, copper.
    We had hoped to be presenting the sculptor and taxidermist Emily Mayer's beautifull bird sculptures in Suffolk, while she was in recovery from cancer. Sadly as the deadline for the exhibition approached we received the news that Emily's cancer had returned and just a few weeks later that she had died on 1st April 2022.
    We would like to thank the artist, John Locker, her husband for allowing us to show Emily's work in the exhibition and for access to her archive, to display a small selection of her beautiful bird sculptures.
  • River's Edge: Exhibition Launch

    Group exhibition at BallroomArts, Aldeburgh
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    River's Edge, Jack Wheeler's installation at BallroomArts
    River's Edge, Jack Wheeler's installation at BallroomArts
    C&C's latest pop-up exhibition at BallroomArts, Aldeburgh, Suffolk, is opening Tuesday 7 June at 10am, taking place in both gallery spaces. The Courtyard Gallery, at ground level contains a group exhibition comprising more than twenty artists who have a strong connection with the Suffolk coast and the landscape of East Anglia.The first floor ballroom houses bird sculptures by the late Emily Mayer, new sculpture by Jack Wheeler and Beth Groom.
  • Additions to the Houghton Hall Contemporary Art Collection

    New additions make a visit to Houghton even more memorable for 2022
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Tony Cragg installation at Houghton Hall 2021
    Tony Cragg installation at Houghton Hall 2021
    Making a day out rediscovering the wonders of the main house after being closed for two years due to COVID restrictions gives visitors an opportunity to fall in love with the art inside the house and outside in the gardens and parkland again.

  • KL Magazine

    300 Years Anniversary of Houghton Hall
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    KL Magazine
    A big thank you to the team at KL Magazine for their article covering the special 300th anniversary year at Houghton Hall. This coincided with the May 1st opening of our exhibition in the stables,"Avant Gardeners" as well as our collaboration with Jarrold Norwich, setting up The Granary Gallery, Pop-Up exhibition on the second floor at The Granary in Bedford Street, Norwich.
  • River's Edge exhibition in Aldeburgh, Suffolk

    BallroomArts 7 to 19 June 2022
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    River's Edge exhibition in Aldeburgh, Suffolk
    Coinciding with the first two weeks of Aldeburgh Festival this year, is an exhibition of new paintings by Kate Giles, with sculpture by Jack Wheeler, Beth Groom and the late Emily Mayer. They are joined by artists and makers who have a strong connection to East Anglia and its coastal landscape.
     
    BallroomArts; The Ballroom / Courtyard Gallery, Aldeburgh, Suffolk: 7 to 19 June 2022

  • New International Art Award Launched

    The Vasseur BALTIC Artists' Award
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Tim Bliss (right) Isabel's husband and Roman Vassseur (left) one of Isabel's son's at the launch event
    Tim Bliss (right) Isabel's husband and Roman Vassseur (left) one of Isabel's son's at the launch event
    This summer C&C will be fundraising for the Vasseur BALTIC Artists'Award launched last week at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead, named after Isabel Vasseur (1942-2021). Isabel was a pioneering commissioner and supporter of artists from the UK and internationally. The award for international artists has sbeen created in recognition of her long association in promoting international art commissions and her connections with East Anglia the North East and her work with the BALTIC as a trustee.

  • Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    The Granary Gallery: C&C's pop-up in Norwich
    We are looking forward to welcoming you to C&C's Open Weekend of our pop-up event on the second floor Granary Gallery, The Granary, Bedford Street, Norwich this weekend, from Friday 8 to Sunday 10 April (10.30am to 4.30pm). The artists and makers in our spring installation "It's All Happening Here" have been selected for a capsule collection:
  • Spotlight: Redefining the Still Life

    Polly Cruse at The Granary Gallery from April 1
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Spotlight: Redefining the Still Life
    Norwich-based artist Polly Cruse's work encompasses photography and sculpture within the tradition of Still Life. She focusses on the relationships between the intangible and the material aspects of the everyday. We are showing her work in several of our pop-up exhibitions this year, including at The Granary Gallery from April 1


  • The Granary Gallery, Norwich / C&C – Spring 2022

    Norwich's newest pop-up art space opens April 1
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    The Granary Gallery, Norwich / C&C – Spring 2022
    We are delighted to be establishing a new space for showing art and the handmade at The Granary Gallery, Bedford Street, Norwich on 1 April.  The new pop-up art gallery has been established in partnership with Jarrold, Norwich's flagship department store.

  • Gallery Visit: The Art of Roller Skating by Debby Besford

    An Original Projects exhibition at PRIMEYARC, 5 March - 1 May, Market Gates, Great Yarmouth
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Gallery Visit: The Art of Roller Skating by Debby Besford
    The Art of Roller Skating is an exhibition by artist and documentary photographer Debby Besford, celebrating the artistic roller skating heritage of Great Yarmouth.
    The exhibition has been organised and hosted by Original Projects, held at PRIMEYARC, Market Gates, Great Yarmouth, from 5 March  to 1 May 2022. The exhibition also incorporates stories, artefacts and memorabilia invited from the community, to activate relationships, events and activities throughout the show.
  • Studio visit: Carolyn Brookes-Davies

    Exploring sculptural potential of the natural and the handmade
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Studio visit: Carolyn Brookes-Davies
    We visited Carolyn Brookes-Davies recently in her studio in North Norfolk. Carolyn combines recycled paper, seashell, wood and metal to explore and create sculptural constructions of manipulated natural forms, constructing three dimensional objects by conscious sourcing, gathering, collecting and assembling her material.
  • Avant Gardeners

    New C&C exhibition will open 1 May 2022
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Avant Gardeners
    Our next exhibition Avant Gardeners will be in the Stables at Houghton Hall, from 1 May until 25 September 2022. It will celebrate the horticultural and cultivated landscape behind and beyond the garden wall.
  • Great Yarmouth Artists

    We have been working for a couple of years with several artists based in Great Yarmouth
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    JOHN KIKI - Head 1 2019
    JOHN KIKI - Head 1 2019

    Great Yarmouth artists John Kiki, Katarzyna Coleman, Brüer Tidman and sculptor Bridget Heritz have featured in several exibitions by Contemporary and Country during the last couple of years. This year we will include several paintings of tropical landscapes by painter Peter Rudolfo for the first time.

  • New Raku book

    Contemporary Raku by Stephen Murfitt
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Contemporary Raku by Stephen Murfitt
    Contemporary Raku by Stephen Murfitt

    Stephen Murfitt has compiled a new publication on the Japanese ceramic firing technique - Raku.

    'The opportunity to put together this book for the Crowood Press became a welcome project and a creative focus away from the relentless depressing news on Covid during the lockdowns.'

    C&C will be including Cambridgeshire-based Stephen Murfitt's recent Raku fired pots in our pop-up exhibitions for the first time this year.

  • Making the most of what's fresh and new for '22

    New work arriving for our online store
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Making the most of what's fresh and new for '22

    In preparation for our 2022 events we have been making visits to a few new artists and makers we will be working with this year, discovering the many beautiful pieces in production that we will be available through our events planned for late spring and later during the summer.

  • Studio visit: Elizabeth Merriman

    An artist with green... amber, yellow, and cerise fingers!
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Studio visit: Elizabeth Merriman
    In December 2021, before the spectre of another Christmas lockdown raised its potential, Paul and I managed to follow through on a number of long overdue studio visits. Among these was a quick visit to the North Norfolk coast to see a capsual collection of artist Elizabeth Merriman's recent pastel drawings of garden flowers adorning the ground floor of a clifftop cottage overlooking the North Sea.
  • Photographic Art

    Why is photography still not seen as art by some?
    Paul Vater, Director of Contemporary and Country by Paul Vater
    Photographic Art
    Art can be defined as a“diverse range of human activities in creating visual, auditory or performing artefacts, expressing the author's imaginative or technical skill, intended to be appreciated for their beauty or emotional power.” With this in mind, why is photography still not seen as art by some?
  • Studio visit: Steven Will and Annie Turner

    Ceramic open studio, Suffolk
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Studio visit: Steven Will and Annie Turner
    In preparation for our summer programme of events for 2022 we took the opportunity to visit Steven James Will and Annie Turner during their pre-Christmas open studio event in late November. While both work in ceramics and conveniently share a building, they could not be more different from one another in terms of outcome.
  • Gallery visit: 528Hz Love Frequency

    Chris Levine at Houghton Hall
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Molecule of Light by Chris Levine, 2021
    Molecule of Light by Chris Levine, 2021
    On a warm October evening we went to the first public showing of 528Hz Love Frequency a series of immersive light installations by Chris Levine at Houghton Hall.
  • Gallery visit: Welcome to My World

    New paintings by Linda Jamieson
    Paul Barratt, Director and Curator at Contemporary and Country by Paul Barratt
    Linda Jamieson, Singing in the Toxic Rain 2021, 104 x 104cm