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Viewing Rachel Kneebone, ‘399 Days’, Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Known for her intensely rich and complex porcelain sculptures, to describe Rachel Kneebone’s ‘399 Days’ as her most ambitious work to date is quite an accolade. Named after the length of time it took to make, this contemporary masterpiece is over five-metres in height and comprises 63 exterior panels, balancing exquisite detail with monumental scale – a characteristic feature of the artist’s work.

Now on display in Yorkshire Sculpture Park’s 18th-century chapel, this unique setting brings the serene grandeur of Kneebone’s sculpture to life. Her work alludes the human body in intricate and often fragmented detail, often depicting limbs alongside floral and orb shapes that unravel the human experience. The towering size of 399 Days – handmade by the artist, itself a reminder of our physical strengths and capabilities – invites us to consider what it means to inhabit a body.

What makes Kneebone’s work so compelling, particularly in this space, are the imperfections and unpredictabilities that result from the firing process. ‘I am quite reassured when a work explodes because I think that means I am pushing the boundaries of the material,’ says Kneebone. ‘My work moves around metamorphosis, change and simultaneous states, so nothing about it is fixed.’ 399 Days has been widely exhibited, but its latest appearance at Yorkshire Sculpture Park is a reminder of its shifting, expansive nature.

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Dates
10 July 2021 — 24 April 2022

Viewing Femme-Ate, Soho Revue

To mark its re-opening, the Soho Revue’s latest exhibition offers a colourful celebration of female creativity. Entitled Femme-Ate – a compound of ‘femme’ (the French word for woman) and ‘create’ – the exhibition brings together a strong cast of female artists working today, whose art range from ceramics and sculpture to paintings and textile works. The result is a bold and exciting illustration of contemporary female creativity, even if – as is this exhibition’s raison d’être – their work continues to be overshadowed.

‘There isn’t nearly enough female art around, so I knew I wanted to re-open with a women-only show,’ says India Rose James, who founded the contemporary art space back in 2015. Among the artists featured in the show are ceramicist Alma Berrow, pencil artist Nettie Wakefield and multimedia artist Zoë Hoare, each of whom explore themes and subjects such as female bodies and realities.

Highlight pieces include a serene figurative painting by Amy Beager, as well as Polly Edsell’s collage featuring a female figure from old porn magazines by publisher Paul Raymond – the King of Soho who is also James’s grandfather. Such pieces are a lively example of how the space engages with its history in a fresh, contemporary way.

‘Walker’s Court has a history of showcasing women and I wanted to reclaim that in a more modern way,’ says James. ‘It’s a peep show kind of street. While it’s not about naked ladies anymore, we have naked women and tapestry orgies. It’s all playing on the same theme.’

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Dates
08 July 2021 — 07 August 2021

Viewing Creative Folkestone Triennial: The Plot


Now’s your chance to see works by leading contemporary artists alfresco. Installed across the coastal town of Folkestone, The Plot presents 27 newly commissioned site-specific artworks by the likes of Bob and Roberta Smith, Rana Begum and Gilbert & George.

Curated by Lewis Biggs, the fifth edition of the Creative Folkestone Triennial explores the relation between stories and material realities, focusing on three historic Folkestone narratives: St Eanswythe’s watercourse; the physician William Harvey’s discovery of the circulation of blood; and Folkestone’s industrial road ‘The Milky Way’.

Make a beeline for Jason Wilsher-Mills’s monumental sculpture, I am Argonaut, before scoping out Shezad Dawood’s new virtual reality artwork that highlights the implications of climate change on all forms of life. Later, take a stroll along the beach to see the magnificent set of Rana Begum designed beach huts.

Look to the public programme of events for guided tours, panel discussions and more. If you’re up for a cultural weekend by the sea, it’s well worth the trip from London.

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Dates
22 July 2021 — 02 November 2021
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