Nottingham Articles, Interviews and Features

Laced at New Art Exchange

New Art Exchange are currently presenting their autumn show, Laced: In Search of What Connects Us, a network of artists linked to...

Under Cover Artist: Leosaysays

23 November 21

LeftLion regular Leosaysays fills us in on the inspiration behind his devilish third mag cover...

Exhibition Review: Cut & Mix at New Art Exchange

22 November 21

An inspired perspective of Black masculinity packaged into a succinct and glorious exhibition, Cut & Mix at New Art Exchange is a spectacle. Works from Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Keith Piper, and Marlene Smith, among others, offer a nuanced look at exactly what Black masculinity is, cleverly tearing apart notions of race, gender, and class in a whirlwind of contemporary art...

Exhibition Review: Reconnecting With Matter at Beam Editions

20 November 21

Scratched, worn, daubed, and tarred; Eleanor Bartlett’s energetic paintings have been unleashed in a small yet impactful exhibition at Beam Gallery. Reconnecting with Matter collects Bartlett’s most recent work into a survey of her self-taught painting style, expanding our understanding of what constitutes matter, ultimately disturbing our view of reality and the materials around us...

"Don't waste!": Joshua Sofaer on Regulated Exhibition at Backlit Gallery

19 November 21

Cambridge-born artist Joshua Sofaer loves a bit of rubbish. So much so that in his latest exhibition Regulated Exhibition, currently on view at Backlit Gallery, Sofaer has transformed the gallery into a factory of sorts: a recycling sorting facility, science museum, and contemporary art gallery all rolled into one. In conversation with Leftlion arts correspondent Marta Tavares, Sofaer speaks about his passion for waste, the climate emergency, and his unending curiosity for the world we live in...

Exhibition Review: Be Loved at Primary

14 November 21

Be Loved allows a playful and personal glance into Carmen Argote’s digestion of a space, in dialogue with each environment she inhabits. Developed through a residency at Primary, and including pieces previously crafted in Los Angeles, this exhibition encompasses works on paper, video, and sculpture. We take a look at the expansive new project...

Exhibition Review: Breaking the Mould at Djanogly Gallery

12 November 21

Breaking the Mould: Sculpture by Women since 1945 makes its way to Djanogly Gallery, surveying foundational works by artists including Barbara Hepworth, Sarah Lucas, and Mona Hatoum, defiantly attempting to reclaim the place women hold in art history...

Exhibition Review: The Joy of Sculpture at Bonington Gallery

11 November 21

Few twentieth century artists have impacted the cultural zeitgeist like Andrew Logan has, leaving a lasting impact on filmmakers like Derek Jarman and cultural icons such as Malcolm Mclaren and Vivienne Westwood. Now, the artist is the focus of The Joy of Sculpture at Bonington Gallery, displaying jewellery, sculptures, and portraiture taken from Logan’s fifty year career…

Under Cover Artist: Curtis Powell

04 November 21

He’s been at LeftLion for bloody ages, but our Jason Williamson cover is Curtis Powell’s first. We chat to our Head of Photography and Video about how he approached it...

Review: Grey Crawford: Chroma 1978-1985 at Beam Gallery

26 October 21

Grey Crawford went under the radar for years, unnoticed amongst his contemporaries and rarely discussed in conversations of conceptual photography. Beam Editions, a gallery based in the halls of Primary, seeks to bring attention to the artist with a survey of works completed between 1978-1985...

"I Wanted to Celebrate the Resilience of the Human Being" - Artist Susie MacMurray on Witness at the National Justice Museum

07 October 21

Created by artist Susie MacMurray and curated by Andrea Hadley-Johnson, Witness is a striking installation art piece made to be displayed at the National Justice Museum. We head over to have a gander and chat to Susie all about her intentions behind Witness and the creative process...

Review: Where the restless oceans pound by Chaos Magic Space

30 September 21

Existing quietly among the upper studios at Backlit Gallery, Nottingham-based art collective Chaos Magic Space practice a community-focused approach to art through ritual, symbol, and a spirited love for the mythic. With their latest exhibition Where the restless oceans pound currently open to the public, Tom Cobbett digs a little deeper into the mysticism to find out more about the group...

Review: Robin Perko at Broadway Cinema Gallery

14 September 21

Raised in Nottingham and trained across Europe, portrait painter Robin Perko's work is currently being exhibited at the Broadway Cinema Gallery...

The Benefits of Studying Art History

12 September 21

New Art co-Editor Kelly Palfrey explores the benefits of studying Art history, and the extent to which in can improve your confidence to work in the art sector

20 Years On: Artist Iryna Muha on Losing Her Father in 9/11 and New Project My America

11 September 21

On the twentieth anniversary of the September 11th attacks, we talk to Nottingham musician and artist Iryna Muha - who lost her father on that day - about her new project My America, being a 9/11 family, and American nationalism.

Under Cover Artist: Natalie Owen

10 September 21

Our Head Designer Natalie Owen explains how Disney’s The Little Mermaid inspired her first LeftLion cover in over a year…

New Art Exchange Launch New Season to Highlight Anti-Racist Work and Young Black Artists

11 August 21

Starting on 13 August, the new season will feature workshops, galleries and more...

7 Art Exhibitions to Check Out in August

09 August 21

Art co-Editor Rachel Willcocks previews seven art exhibitions that you can check out this month...

Don’t Blame the Blacks Exhibition Highlights Extraordinary Activism of Oswald George Powe

15 July 21

Available at Nottingham Castle until Sunday 22 August, Don’t Blame the Blacks is an exhibition that highlights the groundbreaking activism of labour unionist Oswald George Powe and showcases the boundless talents of black artists in Nottingham. Alex Stubbs reviews this one-of-a-kind collection…

Student Exhibition Showcases Innovative Architectural Visions of Nottingham

12 July 21

A free exhibition showcasing students’ work from the University of Nottingham’s Department of Architecture and Built Environment comes to St Mary’s Church this week. The exhibition, Project: Nottingham, responds to a variety of briefs for sites within the city, with design drivers including ‘carbon neutral’ Nottingham and the city’s COVID recovery.

Under Cover Artist: Raphael Achache

09 July 21

Our cover artist for the month, Raphael Achache, chats to us about his work...

Review: Cauldron Born: How Long I Have Thirsted to be a God Among Men

01 July 21

We take a look at Amelia Seren Roberts' latest work, on display at Surface Gallery...

Review: Artery at Nottingham Contemporary

29 June 21

Nottingham Contemporary showcases twelve paintings from artist Allison Katz in her new exhibition, Artery...

Phoebe Boswell's Here is Finally Opening at the New Art Exchange After a Year's Delay

21 June 21

Phoebe Boswell's exhibition Here sat half-put together at New Art Exchange from April 2020, unable to open for just over a year while we on the outside battled with lockdown and months of separation. But in early May, the award-winning artist was back in Nottingham putting the finishing touches together, to finally prepare to open her show. Here is a beautiful accumulation of the nuances and complexities of communities, voices, hearts, and histories which, like her own, are often systematically marginalised, simplified, pacified, homogenised, or side-lined as 'other'. These different perspectives collide and become monumental together. Combining draftswomanship and digital technology, layering drawing, animation, sound, video, and interactivity, the exhibition brings together new and existing artworks, some of which have not been seen in the UK before. Rachel Willcocks caught up with Phoebe to find out about her work, and how she’s found the past year...

8 Art Exhibitons to Check Out in Nottingham in 2021

17 June 21

Our Art team runs through the most exciting, innovative and immersive exhibitions and collections which will be taking over our city’s venues over the next five months...

Green Light in the City

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