Caleb White

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 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...

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ 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 ...

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ Last week we explored the first floor of the People’s History Museum in Manchester. This week, the second floor. It is still cold outside, and I am still writing from the Museum’s café. My coffee has grown cold, and I am wondering if I am going to make it to my second potential visit, or whether I best call it quits and head back home. It is supposed to snow again tonight, and I’m quite tempted by the loaf of bread, freshly baked this morning, waiting for me back home – that is, unless my housemates have already devoured it. Who’s to say.    Image via Manchester Evening News  However, for now, I am still in the People’s History Museum. After being thoroughly impressed by their first gallery, I now turn to their second. Walking further up the stairs – which look out on a rather glum, albeit contemplative, view of the River Irwell – the  entranceway is much the same. The same explanation of colour is printed here, again alongsi...

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ It is snowing. I spend the morning baking a loaf of bread. Leaving it to cool I decide to spend the day visiting some Manchester museums I have not yet visited. The walk over is cold, the closer I get to the city centre, the less snow there is on the ground until, walking through Spinningfields, there is little more than a trace of slush. Image via People's History Museum Weather notwithstanding, the first port of call is the People’s History Museum. I am writing this from their café. The entrance hall is oddly municipal, and the flat grey light from outside makes the space feel rather sparse. There were, however, plenty of people within the museum itself. I plan to split this review into two posts. The entire museum is split into three gallery spaces – the third of which being a collaborative make space. Leaving two galleries to explore. This post considers the first. The floors are split chronologically, Gallery One focussing on pre-1945. Now, the People’s Hist...

In the mysterious interim between Christmas and New Years, my family and I visited Littlecote House to see the remains of the Villa and Mosaic within its grounds. Despite it being pretty much on our doorstep, I had never visited here before, so found the presence of a free-to-access, well maintained roman settlement pretty astonishing and frankly quite surreal.  Image via Penny Post  We pull into a car park separate from the house - Littlecote was sold in '96 to Warner Holidays who operate it as a country hotel and resort. Here we are ambushed by a small excitable dog named Waffle, who decides to join us for a bit of our walk.  Within a stone’s throw lies the footprint of a Roman Villa and Bathhouse. Its foundations have been unearthed, and stand, open to the elements, sketching out the rough area of the settlement. On the banks of the river Kennet, this site was originally built to guard a crossing, but development of river trade in the area turned it into a key locati...

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 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...