Art Big and Small at Belsay Hall

6 May 2010 12:31 PM

This summer new works by leading contemporary artists will fill the beautiful grounds and historic rooms at Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens, near Newcastle upon Tyne.

Recently opened and running until 26 September 2010, Extraordinary Measures explores and plays with the concept of scale. A giant figure sits in the library, fairies and miniature day-trippers can be found in the grounds, and visitors are reduced to tiny figures as they pass through a huge window in the Quarry Garden.

Extraordinary Measures is the sixth in the series of contemporary art exhibitions to be staged at Belsay.

“For nearly 15 years, the setting and history of Belsay has inspired some of the country’s best artists and designers,” said Simon Thurley, English Heritage Chief Executive. “Our contemporary programme at Belsay makes a compelling argument that new art and great heritage should not exist in separate closed-off worlds.”

What to see at Extraordinary Measures

•  ‘Drift’ by Ron Mueck The European premiere of four new sculptures by Ron Mueck, courtesy of Anthony d’Offay – Youth, Drift, Woman with Sticks and Still Life – within the rooms of the neo-Classical Belsay Hall. The new works will be joined by Wild Man and Spooning Couple, kindly loaned by Tate and National Galleries of Scotland. 
• A Great Day Out, a series of new photographs by Slinkachu catching his tiny, hand-painted figures in a number of situations and predicaments around the grounds of Belsay.
• A Darker Shade of Grey by Tessa Farmer, a mighty battle on a micro-scale as Farmer’s painstakingly crafted fairies join forces with the grey squirrels to wage war against the indigenous red squirrels and other members of the animal kingdom. The Den of Iniquity, an animated film by Farmer and Sean Daniels, is shown in the kennels. 
• A 21st-century refashioning of the Victorian fairy painting genre as Mat Collishaw’s spinning wheel conjures up a world of dancing imps and butterflies. The Garden of Unearthly Delights is a co-commission between English Heritage and the Haunch of Venison Gallery, London.
• Installed between the walls of the Quarry Garden, German-born Mariele Neudecker’s monumental piece From Here to There is Not That Far, a giant window and a replica of Belsay Hall’s dining room window. Visitors appear reduced to tiny mannequins as they pass through one of the window’s panes.
• Within the crevices of Belsay’s West Quarry Walk, self-confessed “anarchic knitter” Freddie Robins uses knitted animals to retell the Greek myth of Theseus and Ariadne.
• Scalesdale by Newcastle architects MGA which uses architectural models to chart the transformation of a community over the centuries from medieval rural settlement to thriving city, raising questions about development and regeneration. 
• And finally in Wild Horses, Ciarán Treanor’s seemingly random organic shapes resolve into a number of coherent images that directly reference the Castle’s stable block, outside which the work stands. Treanor is the recipient of the Belsay Fellowship, an award that enables an emerging artist to participate in the exhibitions at Belsay.

 ‘From Here to There is Not That Far’ by Mariele Neudecker Extraordinary Measures is curated by Judith King, curator of the English Heritage contemporary art programme. Figures who have been inspired by Belsay and have exhibited at the property in the past include Stella McCartney, Julian Opie, Paul Smith, Mike Figgis and Tilda Swinton.

English Heritage is grateful to its funding partners, Arts Council England, Northern Rock Foundation and One North East and to Fenwick Ltd and Barbour Charitable Trust for their donations.

Visit Extraordinary Measures

Extraordinary Measures is at Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens in Northumberland, NE20 0DX The exhibition runs from 1 May – 26 Sep, daily from 10am to 6pm. Adult admission is £8.00, concessions £6.80, children £4.00. A family ticket is £20.00 and EH members and under 5’s go free. Children aged between 5 and 14 years will receive a free activity book from English Heritage, helping them to navigate and understand the exhibition.

See Also