All Things Considered

Salthouse 09
Posted by Angie Lewin

Better late than never, we made it over to Salthouse yesterday to catch the end of this year's Salthouse 09 art festival.

Salthouse Church is not a typical  venue for  a contemporary art exhibition but every summer this 15th century building on its elevated coastal site becomes an exciting exhibition space. This year’s guest curator is Simon Martin, senior curator at the Pallant House Gallery in Chichester.

This year’s theme, ‘Salt of the Earth’ has been interpreted by a wide range of artists and brought together to create an inspiring exhibition. There's so much good work here - a series of six strong, simple linocuts by Jo Hincks, two large scale confident charcoal portraits of local fishermen by Malca Schotten which hang either side of a large sculpture by Ana Maria Pacheco (below) and around the font is Beth Marie Groom’s installation of terracotta multiples in the form of life-rings - a reponse to the lives saved by her ancestor who was both a fisherman and lifeboat man.

The churchyard is dotted with sculptures including Miriam Grey's ‘Red, Roe, Fallow’ - three sculptures made of carved wood and salt-licks. Made to be licked by wild deer, they will only last a season or two while they are transformed into organic forms shaped by the animals’ tongues.

The exhibition runs until the 2nd of August at Salthouse Church on the North Norfolk coast.

Posted by Angie Lewin on July 28th, 2009