The (BA) Creative Mind series returns for episode five to talk about Leeds Art Gallery and café, which has been a highly anticipated subject for this artistic sequence of articles. I visited the gallery for the first time on a sunny February morning before my lectures, and as a creative student who misses doing art at university, I felt rejoiced and very much at home. Colour, texture, light, and mediums all blend into one as you wander through each themed room and lose yourself within the art. Allow me to act as a guide and entice you to see and experience it all in real life …
Upon entering the first room, which is dedicated to Leeds based artists, a wonderful notion of being swallowed whole by a realm of imagination and creativity is felt, and the world outside is temporarily forgotten. Better than watching a film and on a par with reading a book, this series takes you to an unlimited dimension of thought and meaning. The Leeds Art Show 2023 showcases a range of media, from ‘photography, painting, film, sculpture, printmaking, textiles, augmented reality, web-based artwork, sound art and performance.’ Wow, I need to take a breath after just typing that out. My consensus is that there’s something intriguing here for everyone. I was informed that this room displayed the gallery’s first open exhibition, where any aspiring artists (art students, self-taught and well-known artists alike) could submit their work to be included. My favourite pieces ranged from large to small scales, and from colourful illuminations to monochrome fronts. A big and vast portrait piece named ‘Ghost’, made up of black and white pixels with a supporting digital display, caught my eye instantly. Its energy was mysterious and thrilling, and the singular statement title spoke to me with striking boldness. However, it was a small duo of textured sound art pieces that really connected with me most. At a glance, these framed stitchings look like abstract expressions of colour, but in taking a closer look, you see that the colour particles combine to represent different sounds as visual images. This added a whole new layer of meaning to the piece and was a great stimulant for my immersion into the art. The Leeds Artists exhibition was quirky, innovative, and unique and, running from the 15th of February to the 30th of April 2023, is just the beginning of what the gallery has to offer.
Next was the red room – you walk in and are immediately consumed by the colossal paintings with their thick, heavy, gold frames outlined by scarlet red walls. This fresh, rescaled perspective had a sublime effect on me as I allowed myself to be decentred and drawn in by the art. Oil paintings of all sizes fill this room, and one particularly surreal piece caught my attention, which illustrated a scene at sea with a small boat being engulfed by an ocean inhabited by mermaids. The bright cerulean and turquoise blues of this painting stand out in comparison to those surrounding it, despite it being one of the last pieces you would view when surveying the room from the entrance point. I like the way that most aspects of visiting a gallery are personal to the individual, in the sense that different pieces will speak to and stand out to different people. Venturing upstairs reveals another section which is full of light – its white walls quench every drop of natural sunlight from the skylight windows above, which creates a bright and refreshing atmosphere. On this floor are some drawing rooms as well as an active art library, from which you can borrow books about all kinds of creativity. Other additions to the gallery include a dark film room where digital film art is played, and an ‘Artspace’ for children to scribble on sheets of paper and mess around attempting self-portraits. Although, one of my friends came to the gallery on a date and reported a great time with this activity, so the age range is more than flexible!
After having explored the main gallery, I strolled into the café to grab a quick coffee before my lectures. The architecture of this part of the building is beautiful, with marble pillars and intricate hexagonal tiles decorating the ceiling to create a chic honeycomb effect. Plush leather sofas as well as tables and chairs line the dining hall, which gives plenty of seating for the bustling café. I ordered a mocha, which was served in a bright crimson cup and saucer, assembling a very ‘instagrammable’ looking scene. With sunlight pouring in through the large windows, I could have stayed and worked there for hours – it was an aesthetic change from the library!
I know that many of you reading this will have likely visited the gallery before, especially if you are a creative student in Leeds. Nevertheless, it may inspire you to do something on a rainy day. The Henry Moore institute, just next door to the gallery, is also something to check out – it’s a miniature gallery in itself and hosts many different exhibitions throughout the year. That’s all for now, but I’m sure like many others I will be paying more frequent visits to the Leeds Art Gallery, both for pleasure and a charming place to work.
Written by: Ella Gale
Edited by: Hannah Clarke