​A FINE BALANCE
AN EXHIBITION OF ART AND HANDMADE OBJECTS BY FORTY ARTISTS AND MAKERS FROM EAST ANGLIA AT THE STABLES, HOUGHTON HALL, NORFOLK
12 JULY – 1 NOVEMBER 2020
 
A Fine Balance will be the fourth pop-up exhibition of art and handmade objects by artists and makers from East Anglia held in The Stables at Houghton Hall and curated  by Paul Vater and Paul Barratt of Country and Contemporary. The exhibition will feature recent work by more than 40 artists and makers who explore narratives that reference our landscape, the creatures that share it, natural materials and processes, and how mankind’s activities affect and influence it. The fine balance these artists seek is often a moment, or a tipping point that brings attention to an aspect of our surroundings that has been overlooked or undervalued.
 
The situation we now find ourselves in collectively, as the Covid-19 epidemic runs its devastating course means that our relationship with ‘the great outdoors’ has probably changed forever. The artists and makers we have included in the exhibition are ahead of the curve, creating memorable images that will chime with the public, post lockdown. During the last four months we have all had to become aware of our vulnerability to forces we mistakenly assumed we had mastered. We respond viscerally to a favourite view or landscape, much as we would if our home or family were under threat. The exhibition holds up a mirror to what we perceive, or have hidden, in the complex confluence between the sustainable and natural, the artificial and man-made.
 
Some of the artists and makers have chosen to look at a highly maintained version of the countryside and our place within it. Others employ sustainable materials to create pleasing pieces intended to be handled and used every day. Others look into the natural phenomena and practical activities that are frequently personal to us in terms of our physical impact on the planet whether through recycling and re-assigning waste to new purposes. While others explore areas that are not quite urban or rural, but like much of modern Britain, somewhere in-between.
 
The exhibition is open from Sunday 12 July to 1 November, to coincide with the same opening times as the Anish Kapoor sculpture exhibition held throughout the gardens and park at Houghton Hall. Check the Houghton Hall website to see opening times and to book tickets for entry onto the estate. https://www.houghtonhall.com/book-tickets/

Makers are: ARTISTS
Zarya Austin-Fell
Debby Besford
Lorraine Bewick
Katarzyna Coleman
Polly Cruse
Ferenc Cseh
Will Cutts
Amanda Edgcombe
Judith Ellis
Kate Giles
Gareth Hacon
Ruth Howes
Linda Jamieson
Suzi Joel
Liz McGowan
Pandora Mond
Verity Newman
Natalie Odile Lang
Maria Pavledis
Tracey Ross
Colin Self
Tim Simmons
Liz Taunt
Molly Thomson
Maryrose Watson
Paul Wolterink
Peter Wylie
 
SCULPTORS
Keron Beattie
Jonathan Clarke
Roger Hardy
Bridget Heriz
Andrew Jones
Rachael Long
Dan Meek
Ben Pusey
Telfer Stokes
 
HOMEWARE
Carolyn Brookes-Davies
Heather Connor
Steve Gore Rowe
Laura Huston
Suzi Joel
Blott Kerr-Wilson
Sue Kirk
Tim Plunkett
Amanda Sutton
Toby Winteringham
Full artist profiles are available on https://contemporaryandcountry.com/
​
DATES AND OPENING TIMES
Check the Houghton Hall website for opening times and to book tickets for entry to the estate. Social distancing in compliance with UK government guidelines are expected to be observed by visitors, please make yourself aware of what these are before your visit. If you are travelling by car follow the brown signs off the A148 Fakenham to King’s Lynn Road PE31 6EY.
https://www.houghtonhall.com/art-and-exhibitions/anish-kapoor-at-houghton-hall/
 
The venue has been provided by kind permission of the Marquess and Marchioness of Cholmondeley. Houghton Hall is one of Norfolk’s finest houses, it encourages recreation and relaxation throughout the grounds and has created suitable spaces for displaying large-scale installations by leading contemporary artists within a formal garden setting as well as the park. Our exhibition will be held in the Stables at Houghton Hall to coincide with a solo exhibition by the renowned sculptor Anish Kapoor.
 
For more details of previous exhibitions please go to https://contemporaryandcountry.com/

MORE ABOUT CONTEMPORARY & COUNTRY
Contemporary and Country (C&C) present contemporary art and the handmade by established artists and makers based in the East of England in pop-up exhibitions at non-gallery spaces that celebrate our rural surroundings. The artists and makers we display live and work in rural locations, or include the natural world in their subject matter or production process. Together they bring about a closer understanding of the countryside, its people and landscape. They look creatively beyond the passing trend and encourage greater consideration for nature, as its appreciation and preservation becomes ever more prescient to our time.
 
 
MORE INFORMATION
Please contact Paul Vater or Paul Barratt on 07943 291834
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
TWITTER https://twitter.com/cc_art_handmade
INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/contemporary_and_country/
FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/contemporaryandcountry/


An interesting fact: The exhibition title comes from Rohinton Mistry’s novel A Fine Balance, published in 1996. The book was set in 1975 and traces the lives of four main characters whose interconnected lives are heavily impacted by their circumstances in a fictional Indian city, as they slip between a succession of karmic banana skins during the course of the narrative. Mistry’s powerful story exposes familiar fault lines within the values of a society where the characters lives are in jeopardy, brought about by familial conventions, institutional injustice and political expedience.

A one-way art exhibition is set to give audiences a socially distanced dose of culture when it opens in Norwich. The ‘Belated Spring Art Show’ will feature the work of more than 35 artists at a pop-up exhibition in Pivotal House based in the heart of the city. The building is known to many as the old Looses building in Orford Yard,  just off Red Lion Street, Norwich, NR1 3TB

The Spring Art Show was originally due to take place at The Forum in April but was cancelled as lockdown came into force. Now organisers have creatively reimagined the space at Pivotal House into a unique one-way art experience. With lockdown forcing the closure of many galleries, museums and other cultural locations organiser and artist Brian Korteling hopes the event will give audiences and artists the dose of culture they’ve been missing.

Brian Korteling said: “We are really excited as artists to finally have the opportunity to show our work again and, after months of lockdown, most of us have new and exciting work to show. “We are still very aware of the threat posed by Covid-19 and want to do what we can to mitigate any risk to visitors so have put various measures in place. The layout of the exhibition is designed around a one-way system making social distancing much easier to manage. There will also be hand sanitisers at the entrance and exit as well as signage to remind people to be cautious and considerate to other visitors. We look forward to welcoming audiences to the exhibition at this unique and iconic city venue.”

The show will feature a selection of paintings, prints, drawings, photography, sculpture, ceramics and assemblages by both professional and amateur artists. All art works will be for sale and there will be a selection of cards and prints available to buy.

​Mr Korteling has lived in Norfolk for most of his life and has been a full-time artist since 2009 after a career in graphic design. Each autumn he hosts Art Fair East will fellow Norwich artist Will Teather. Working mostly with oil paint, Mr Korteling has recently started to explore ideas in 3D with pieces shown in Cley Contemporary 2016 and 2017 and the Waveney Valley Sculpture Trail in 2016, where he won the Judges prize for Waveney Glitch. He has also won prizes in the Norwich Paint Out plein air competition.

The exhibition will be open from Saturday 11th July until Saturday 25th July (closed Mondays) from 10am to 5pm. For more information please visit www.springartshow.co.uk 

About Brian Korteling
Brian left a career in graphic design to become a freelance artist in May 2009. Since then he has experimented with many painting styles, themes and techniques. He enjoys exploring materials and primarily paints on wood, MDF, hessian, and more recently, aluminium. When Brian returned to painting in 2009 his main subject matter was trees, especially the bare branches of winter and the vivid palette of autumn. Since then he has expanded his practice and experimented with various styles and ideas with the most recent being inspired by the Japanese art of Kintsugi where bowls are broken and mended using gold to fill the gaps. These new pieces will be on show at this year’s Spring Art Show. More recently he has returned to studying the landscape, painting en plein air and in the studio.

​Photos supplied: Brian Korteling outside Pivotal House in Norwich. Credit: Brian Korteling Summer Sung by Brian Korteling. Credit: Brian Korteling Flock by Brian Korteling. Credit: Brian Korteling A Bar at the Folies-Bergère (after Manet) by Will Teather. Credit Will Teather Northsea Seascape 2 by David Hall. Credit: David Hall ​

Sainsbury Centre to reopen on Tuesday 7 July 2020
​The Sainsbury Centre is delighted to announce the reopening of its building in just under two weeks following a period of temporary closure during the Covid-19 pandemic. From Tuesday 7 July visitors are invited to explore astonishing new exhibitions and the inspiring Sainsbury Collection, with refreshments available from the Modern Life Café, whilst stringent safety measures ensure public health guidelines are being followed at all times.

This announcement comes after the UK government updated its advice on 23 June for leisure facilities and tourist attractions, confirming that people in England will be permitted to visit museums and galleries that have implemented the necessary social distancing and hygiene practises from Saturday 4 July. The Sainsbury Centre is pleased to be among the first university art gallery and museums in the country able to reopen this summer, enabling members of the public to once again enjoy art and improve their wellbeing during this challenging time. 

From Tuesday 7 July visitors to the Sainsbury Centre can expect a welcoming and inspiring experience, facilitated by new safety systems and procedures. These include all exhibition tickets being pre-booked for specific time slots, in order to reduce the number of people in the galleries and ensure social distancing can be adhered to. Signage will guide visitors around the building on new one-way routes, helped by staff and volunteers wearing the appropriate masks/visors. Rigorous cleaning will be undertaken at regular intervals. 

On offer are two exhibitions looking at hugely popular movements and styles. Art Deco by the Sea opened in February to rave reviews and has been extended until 20 September 2020. It celebrates the glamour and innovation of the British coastline in the 1920s and 30s and is accompanied by a pop-up shop stocked with books, postcards and jewellery.

Coinciding with the Sainsbury Centre reopening is the launch of Art Nouveau: The Nature of Dreams, running until 31 December 2020. This new exhibition charts the lesser-known English origins of the Art Nouveau movement, featuring dazzling ceramics, furniture, glass, jewellery, paintings, posters and prints, sculptures and textiles.

The Sainsbury Collection, on permanent display at the heart of the building, will be free to explore with food and drink available to takeaway from the Modern Life Café. The Sculpture Park, which has remained open throughout lockdown, continues to provide 350 acres of attractive parkland open to everyone to enjoy art, architecture and the natural environment.

Ghislaine Wood, Acting Director, says, “While our Sculpture Park has remained open throughout lockdown, we are pleased to announce the reopening of the Sainsbury Centre from Tuesday 7 July. The remarkable open-plan architecture of the Sainsbury Centre has helped us move towards reopening safely and implementing social distancing. We hope our visitors will now come enjoy the galleries and exciting exhibitions programme planned for the summer."

​The Black Prince Film Watch Along Event Sunday 14th June starting at 2pm
 
Ancient House, Museum of Thetford Life and the Sikh Museum Initiative are hosting an exciting media event around the life of Maharajah Duleep Singh, last Maharajah of Punjab and Squire of Elveden Hall, near Thetford, Norfolk UK – a virtual screening of the 2017 film, ‘The Black Prince’ starring Satinder Sartaaj, Indian singer, songwriter, actor and poet, followed by an after-show discussion on Facebook Live.
 
Audiences around the world are invited to press ‘play’ at 2pm on Sunday 14th June on the film (via Netflix, DVD, or other streaming services) and follow along with the chat on Twitter via the hashtag #BlackPrinceAlong. Ancient House, the Sikh Museum Initiative, Essex Cultural Diversity Project and others will be tweeting historical context and interesting information along the way. 
 
At 4.15pm there will be a Facebook Live event, supported by Taranjit Singh-Developer/technologist at Taran3d, with a panel to chat about the film and an opportunity for discussion and asking questions.  The panel will be chaired by Melissa Hawker, Learning Officer, Norfolk Museums Service and feature contributions from Satinder Sartaaj, who played Maharajah Duleep Singh, Peter Bance, Sikh Historian, Rup Magon who played Arur Singh in the film, Gurinder Mann Singh from the Sikh Museum Initiative,  Festival of Norfolk and Punjab Director Indi Sandhu, and film producer Jasjeet Singh. The virtual audience are invited to submit questions via Twitter or on the chat.  You can book your space in the virtual room via this link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-black-prince-watch-along-tickets-108081927956?fbclid=IwAR0ZMw9XzKu-2oLRI-95e_nzgSDQwcN_B_CkfKf_tA9yW2kNVzdV0micuL8
 
‘The Black Prince’ is a 2017 international historical drama film directed by Kavi Raz and features the acting debut of Satinder Sartaaj.The film explores  the troubled life of Maharaja Duleep Singh - the last king of Punjab whose kingdom was taken from him by the British in the 1840s. Duleep Singh was separated from his mother and brought to England where he was befriended by Queen Victoria.  He was allowed to return to India only twice under controlled circumstances and tried to regain his kingdom in later life.
 
Speaking about the event Satinder Sartaaj said: “It is wonderful to know that my film is bringing people around the world together to view the story of the last Maharajah of Punjab from their own homes. I am looking forward to answering questions during the after-show discussion.”
 
Cllr. John Ward, Chairman of the Norfolk Joint Museums Committee, Norfolk County Council said: “We’re delighted that Ancient House Museum is involved in this exciting digital event. The Museum owes its existence to the Duleep Singh family as it was the Maharajah’s son, Prince Frederick Duleep Singh, who gave Ancient House to the people of Thetford. In recent years, staff at the museum have been working to research and interpret this important story, collaborating with the Sikh Museum Initiative and Essex Cultural Diversity Project on two major cultural festivals connecting Thetford, Norfolk and Punjab. This latest event will further extend these links – we hope it’ll bring people together from across the world to enjoy a fascinating shared experience.”

You can read more about Ancient House and Duleep Singh in the attached press release