Caleb White

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ Absent from my last post, The Omnipotence of Dream merits a standalone exploration. On until 23 February 2025, the exhibition marks 100 years since the publication of Breton's Surrealism Manifesto. It promises to reframe the problematic aspects of Breton, his ideas and his actions, navigating his autocratic grip on the movement to explore where surrealism stands today.  Now, I love surrealism. Ernst, Klee, and Carrington stand among my favourite artists, as well as abstract offshoots such as Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Hilma af Klint, and Alexander Calder (the latter of whom I have a tattoo of one of his works). In fact, the 'Imagine: 100 Years of International Surrealism' exhibition at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium, was a decisive factor leading to my current study of Art Gallery and Museum Studies at the University of Manchester. I was so energised by the exhibition; I wanted to figure out why. I am far from an expert in Surrealism, just a fan, but finding ...

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ The walk between the People's History Museum and Salford Museum & Art Gallery - my second intended stop of the day - is freezing. Sub-zero temperatures with intermittent hail storms. On my approach, skirting the University of Salford's campus, my foot goes clean into a genuinely deep puddle of icy water. Unpleasant. But I make it.  Image via Salford Museum and Art Gallery Unpeeling from myself my hat and gloves, I head straight on up the stairs, bypassing the cafe, finding myself within their print store on the upper floor. The collection of prints for sale are pretty impressive. I found myself drawn to the work of local artist Nigel Kimber, and their monochromatic abstractions. The kind of art I would love to actually buy one day. I spent some time here, looking at the local artists works, and retrieving pencil and paper from my sodden backpack. On retrospect, this was quite the apt entrance room to the galleries, as they hold a dual purpose as exhibition space ...