EXOLORING BIRMINGHAMS ART GALLERIES

Barry Flanagan at the ikon gallery

You know when you just want to spend a day dedicated art galleries, well that’s what I did last Saturday. I grabbed my artistic friend and headed on down to Birmingham. I feel like out of most cities in England you don’t hear as much about Birmingham’s art scene so I’m going to put this to the test.

I started my art gallery tour at the ikon gallery, this is always one of my go to galleries as its always got some sort of weird and wonderful exibition on. Ikon gallery is currently showcasing the work of Barry Flanagan and Claudia Losi, which I got the fortunate opportunity to check out. The two floors of the gallery were dedicated to Flanagans work and the tower room held a piece of Losi's work which was a wonderful woven rug with stunning hints of blue throughout.

Barry Flanagans exhibition was up there with one of my favourites from the ikon gallery. His lifelike sculptures were surreal to see up close. huis craftsmanship was perfectly portrayed throughout the gallery. What always impresses me about the Ikon gallery is how they always use the space perfectly. The white walls bounced off the darkness of the sculptures and really bought out the depth of the colour. Flanagans exhibition are said to show "an ongoing experimentation with materials and their properties and a symbiosis between abstraction and figuration". I will insert down below some of my favourite pieces from this exhibition.

Probably the most known of gallery in Birmingham is the museum of art. I find the museum of art a wonderful place it holds character and you will find yourself in awe as you walk around. I always underestimate how large scale the museum is with multiple rooms and galleries throughout bursting with history its worth giving yourself a few hours to take it all in.

What I like about the museum of art is that you see people of all ages visiting from kids to couples to the elderly there's something for everyones eye. I think what's so intriguing about this museum is how old the building is so its almost like the building itself is a piece of art. I will insert some photos below of some of my favourite pieces.

I always find that if you go too a city purely for the intention of finding art you will be amazed by how much surrounds you. Even as I was wondering the back streets I stumbled across a large scale sculpture of a light plugged into a wall, it was insane. So overall I think I will learn to look for art in all environments I am placed in and truly look for art in all situations.