Gallery Visit: Bolwick Hall, Norfolk

This is an exhibition exploring contemporary and applied art in dialogue with the historic landscape of Bolwick Hall. It follows a smaller preview presentation at Somerset House at the applied arts art fair - Collect 2026. The current show comprises sixteen makers and artists who have worked to the theme of the garden, while there are framed works by five or six international artists like Kate MccGwier, Vija Celmins and Yayoi Kusama, who have been included by the curator Caroline Fisher because their work meets the criteria for their inclusion.

The mix of international and local artists works well, nothing looks out of place or odd in their elegant surroundings. In many cases, the paintings, ceramics and framed works encapsulate late 19th and early 20th century decorative movements. Caroline specialises in ceramics and has a discerning eye.

After the festival closing date of 24 May the exhibition will continue by appointment, and expands into a larger and more immersive presentation running from May to September 2026.

Contributing artists and makers have taken inspiration from the remarkable garden at Bolwick Hall, thought to have been originally designed by Humphry Repton. The landscape combines cultivated and wild planting areas, with a lake, marshland, woodland, and the remains of an old mill, creating a rich setting for artistic response and reflection.

The exhibition is shaped around three central themes - plants, animals, and the land — and brings together ceramic works by the following artists: Hiroko Aono-Billson; Sarah Horlock; Aliyah Hussain; Helena Lacy, Tamlin Lundberg, Stephen Parry, Katherine Pleydell-Bouverie; Matthew Richardson; Katie Spragg; Nessie Stonebridge; Emily Stapleton Jefferis; Alice Walton; and Lucy Whitford.

Painting, print, textiles, and photography are represented by artists including Vija Celmins, Yayoi Kusama, Kate MccGwire, Lizzie Kimbley, Alida Kuzemczak-Sayer, Chloe Mandy, and Kiki Smith.

Many of the works have been created specifically in response to the site itself, deepening the connection between art and landscape. The project also includes work done during two mini-residencies – Katie Spragg and Nessie Stonebridge.

A number of the artists and makers in the Bolwick Hall show are due to bring a selection of their work to our viewing room at Woolmarket House, King's Lynn, over the coming nine months. These include Lizzie Kimbley, Tamlin Lundberg, and Matthew Richardson.

MORE ABOUT BOLWICK HALL

Bolwick was built in 1800 on the site of a much older manor house recorded in the Domesday Book. The manor was granted by 13th century King John to Henry de Bolevic, from whom the property takes its name.

The gardens are believed to have been laid out by Humphry Repton, although it is uncertain whether the work was undertaken by Repton himself or by one of his sons, both of whom were also garden designers. While no surviving “Red Book” exists for the property, the landscape contains many classic Repton characteristics: a curving lake designed to conceal its far edge, a kitchen garden enclosed by trees rather than walls, and a distinctive double yew hedge.

Over the past twenty years, extensive work has been carried out to preserve the historic structure of the gardens while introducing new planting schemes and areas of renewal.

Opportunities to visit the gardens will take place on selected Sundays throughout July 2026. Check their website for more details:carolinefisherprojects.org

About the author

Paul Barratt

Paul Barratt started working in contemporary art galleries in 1989, having graduated in Fine Art from Goldmsith’s, London University. He initially worked at Anthony d’Offay Gallery, one of the contemporary art dealers, who dominated the London art market in the 80s and 90s. He was approached by the Lisson Gallery to be gallery manager for the influential art dealer Nicholas Logsdail. This was followed by a short period in New York at Gladstone Gallery, to work for visionary art dealer Barbara Gladstone, working with the artist and filmmaker Matthew Barney.

 

On his return to London, Paul secured a place on the postgraduate curatorial course at the Royal College of Art, to complete an MA. After graduation in 2001, he worked as an independent curator on several projects in Oslo, London, Brighton and Basel, before joining Paul Vater at his design agency Sugarfree in 2004. He has worked with Paul ever since.

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