Caleb White

★   ★   ★   ★ ★ By now it was approaching midday. The sky was clear, and the sheer number of cars and people always make cities that one fraction hotter. After stopping for a while on a bench in the east of Mayfair, I decided not to attempt any other close by contemporary art galleries. Instead, I made my mind up to head towards my final destination for the day, The Serpentine Gallery. In the heat, I traipsed through Hyde Park. The sun was high in the sky as I cut through, walking for a good half an hour through the grasslands, under the shaded boughs of trees, and past the grand Serpentine Lake. I stopped for food. On a sunny Friday the park was busy. Unable to find a shaded bench, I made camp under a nearby tree. After resting another while, I repacked my things and headed up to the South Gallery itself. Beginning to burn out – I now recognise in hindsight – I neglected to take notes on the gallery, and have since misplaced the written handouts I had taken. Instead,...

★   ★   ★  ★  ★   As part of 20/20 project, Manchester Art Gallery is displaying Holly Graham's artwork/exhibition 'The Warp/ The Weft/ The Wake' until March 2026. It explores the legacy of colonialism and labour exploitation in the cotton industry, central to Manchester, and to the founding of The Royal Manchester Institute - which would later become the Manchester Art Gallery itself. Both Graham's final product, and the surrounding contextual archival material, are a resounding success - a shining example of explaining an artpiece in a way that doesn't reduce, but deepens the experience.  It a Tuesday. This is the third attempt at taking notes on this exhibition. On the opening day, I had just finished a shift at my new coffee shop, and - seeing the room packed with visitors - decided against taking photos and notes, blocking the view of others. Yesterday, also after a shift, I tried again, forgetting the 'closed-on-monday' sector wide rule. But today I a...

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Running as a prelude to a subsequent exhibition on Hoyland's rarely exhibited sculpture, this small gallery space platforms some potent works of 20th century abstract art and manages to enthral and challenge all those who enter. Strange Presence runs between Jan 18 - March 18 at the Millennium Gallery, Sheffield, free admission.  I am back in Sheffield. In the grand scheme of things, it hasn't been long, but still I feel a sense of return. I could move through this city with my eyes shut. The reason for my return is to celebrate a friend's birthday, and, before we are scheduled to meet, I decide to take some time to revisit my old stomping ground of the Millennium Gallery. After meeting an old colleague for brunch, I take the route from the Peace Gardens, through the Winter Gardens, to the bustling hallway, out from which doors upon to a variety of galleries.  Nestled between the permanent space reserved for the display of silverwork, and the explorator...

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ The final of my three visits on December 19th, Modern Art Oxford have re-opened with a bold and discomforting barrage of collographs from Belkis Ayón. An artist I had not encountered before, and one I am unlikely to forget.  It is worth noting that due to the circumstances of Ayón's life, this post must come with a trigger warning. That aside, the continuous intensity and single-minded pursuit of her subject of (to me at least) obsession left a strong impact.  As a frequent visitor to the Modern Art Oxford in my teenage years (yes I am aware of how awful that reads), I accidentally encountered the exhibition back to front, not aware of the recent revamp of their ground floor and cafe area. In my defence, the building remains a bit of a maze, with the more obvious entry way to the upper floors still hidden behind a slightly dodgy feeling sliding door within their gift shop. The ground floor is lovely though. Congrats.  But it is cold out...