Your Art, Unlocked

In this episode of Your Art, Unlocked, writer and curator Sacha Llewellyn visits Falmouth Art Gallery to unlock an unusual, experimental work by Grace Gardner.Cogs, wheels, winged creatures and tumbling little people, floating across a canvas of frosted pinks, blues and greens, in a pattern not unlike camouflage. What on earth is going on in this work?! Join Sacha as she chats to Jacob Moss, Collections Manager at Falmouth Art Gallery, about Gardner’s lifelong interest in abstraction, but more importantly, find out why the work of this American artist ended up in Cornwall. This is your art in your museums and galleries, so let’s get to know it a little better. Your Art, Unlocked is produced by Art UK and supported by Bloomberg Connects. Producers: Imelda Barnard and Maria Clara Montoya

In this episode of Your Art, Unlocked, writer and journalist Susan Mansfield visits the National Galleries of Scotland to unlock a very intimate self portrait by Angela Palmer. What would it be like to take a long hard look at your own brain? Brain of the Artist is a series of cross sections of Palmer’s brain made by an MRI scanner and etched onto 16 sheets of glass. But how exactly was it made, and why? Join Susan as she chats to Imogen Gibbon, Head of Portraiture and Photography and Chief Curator at the National Galleries of Scotland, about what makes this work such an unusual portrait, and hear from Angela Palmer about why she finds the brain so endlessly fascinating. This is your art in your museums and galleries, so let’s get to know it a little better. Your Art, Unlocked is produced by Art UK and supported by Bloomberg Connects. Producers: Imelda Barnard and Maria Clara Montoya

In this episode of Your Art, Unlocked, opera singer, visual artist and writer Peter Brathwaite visits Manchester Art Gallery to unlock an intriguing photograph by Masimba Hwati. The portrait is of a Black man and he’s wearing a stiff ruff and holding an African flywhisk. There's something ceremonial about it – a tintype black and white photograph that feels like it belongs to another century. But this is a contemporary artwork made in 2020. Join Peter as he chats to Fiona Corridan, Content Lead at Manchester Art Gallery, about what this work can tell us about identity, and hear from Masimba Hwati about how he was inspired by his father’s photographs and diaries from the 1960s. This is your art in your museums and galleries, so let’s get to know it a little better. Your Art, Unlocked is produced by Art UK and supported by Bloomberg Connects. Producers: Imelda Barnard and Maria Clara Montoya

In this episode of Your Art, Unlocked, writer and art historian Lydia Figes visits Nottingham Castle to unlock a unique wooden sculpture by Helen Chadwick. On this wooden cube we catch glimpses of a woman’s body – in one image she’s crouched down, in another she’s wearing a white bra. The work, which belongs to a wider series charting the artist's childhood and early adulthood, is made more poignant because of Chadwick’s sudden and premature death at the age of 42. Join Lydia as she chats to Abigail Spinks, Curator of Fine and Decorative Art at Nottingham City Museums, about Chadwick’s feminist practice and the unique legacy she left behind. This is your art in your museums and galleries, so let’s get to know it a little better. Your Art, Unlocked is produced by Art UK and supported by Bloomberg Connects. Producers: Imelda Barnard and Maria Clara Montoya.

In this episode of Your Art, Unlocked art historian and curator Nicola Moorby visits Dulwich Picture Gallery to uncover why the English artist John Constable copied a moody Dutch landscape by Jacob van Ruisdael. Join Nicola as she gets to grips with not one but two windmills, and hear from Jennifer Scott, the director of Dulwich Picture Gallery, about the subtle differences between these seemingly identical works. Painter Kate Giles also offers a contemporary perspective on how artists are influenced by those who have gone before. This is your art in your museums and galleries, so let’s get to know it a little better. Your Art, Unlocked is produced by Art UK and supported by Bloomberg Connects. Producers: Imelda Barnard and Maria Clara Montoya

In this episode of Your Art, Unlocked, writer and critic Gemma Tipton visits the Ulster Museum in Belfast to unlock a sculpture by artist Alice Maher made using a very surprising material.Picture a small girl’s party dress. It isn’t frilly or fancy. There is, maybe, something a little 1950s about it. There are no sequins or cartoon unicorns on this frock. Instead, it is made entirely of bees. Now that you know this, are you thinking about honey or about stings?Join Gemma as she chats to Alice about her fascination with bees and her interest in women’s bodies, and listen to Anna Liesching, Curator of Art at the Ulster Museum, explain the challenges of looking after this fragile object.This is your art in your museums and galleries, so let's get to know it a little better.Your Art, Unlocked is produced by Art UK and supported by Bloomberg Connects.Producers: Imelda Barnard and Maria Clara MontoyaMusic credits: Bumblebee by Art Flower, Free Music Archive (CC0 1.0)

In this episode of Your Art, Unlocked, journalist, author and editor Holly E. J. Black visits Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery to unlock a remarkable collection of Japanese prints that transport us to Japan’s ‘floating world’.The extremely popular collection of Japanese ukiyo-e at Blackburn includes intricate, colourful woodblocks by the likes of master artists Hiroshige and Hokusai. But how did hundreds of these prints end up in a town in Lancashire?Holly tries to answer this question by talking to Anthea Purkis, Curator of Art at Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery, who tells us about the origins of the collection, while printmaker Adrian Holmes gives some sense of the detailed work that goes into making a woodblock print.This is your art in your museums and galleries, so let's get to know it a little better.Your Art, Unlocked is produced by Art UK and supported by Bloomberg Connects.Producers: Imelda Barnard and Maria Clara Montoya

In this episode of Your Art, Unlocked, art historian, writer and educator Melissa Baksh visits Pallant House Gallery in Chichester to unlock a subversive sculpture by artist Nina Saunders.This object resembles a dustpan but it’s covered in a rich red and gold fabric, and it appears soft rather than sturdy. It feels both familiar and strange – but what exactly is it and what era does it belong to? Turns out it has a lot to do with the Victorian designer William Morris and his belief that ordinary household objects should be both useful and beautiful.Melissa talks to Nina about her love of Morris and why she can't stop transforming furniture, while Miriam O’Connor Perks, curator at Pallant House Gallery, explains how this unsettling sculpture came about.This is your art in your museums and galleries, so let's get to know it a little better.Your Art, Unlocked is produced by Art UK and supported by Bloomberg Connects.Producers: Imelda Barnard and Maria Clara Montoya Music credits: Gitano Waltz by Art Flower, Free Music Archive (CC0 1.0)

In this episode of Your Art, Unlocked, artist and researcher Adéọlá Dewis visits the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in Swansea to unlock a very personal work by Welsh and Ghanaian artist Anya Paintsil.The background of this unusual portrait looks to be made from a rug and there’s an image of a figure stitched together using different fabrics and materials – including real hair. The sitter isn't a well-known person but instead a member of the artist's family, and she's crying, holding a toy duck!Join Adéọlá as she chats to Karen MacKinnon, Curator at the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, about how Anya’s work challenges Welsh identity and hear Anya herself explain the thinking behind her tactile, tapestry-like creations.This is your art in your museums and galleries, so let's get to know it a little better.Your Art, Unlocked is produced by Art UK and supported by Bloomberg Connects.Producer: Imelda BarnardSound editor: Chris SharpMusic credits: Pacing, Ketsa, Free Music Archive (CC BY 4.0); Ketsa, Kinship, Free Music Archive (CC BY 4.0); Gagmesharkoff, Downpour, Free Music Archive (CC BY 4.0); Ketsa, No One Asked Free Music Archive (CC BY 4.0)

In this episode of Your Art, Unlocked, curator and art historian Natalie Rudd visits the campus at the University of Warwick to unlock a puzzling outdoor sculpture by Laura Ford.This is a hybrid creature, part human, part cat. What is it doing here and why does it look so preoccupied?Join Natalie as she tries to answer these questions by chatting to Sarah Shalgosky, Principal Curator at the University of Warwick, and Laura herself, who explains the origins of this strange creature – and her wider love of children’s stories.This is your art in your museums and galleries, so let's get to know it a little better.Your Art, Unlocked is produced by Art UK and supported by Bloomberg Connects.Producer: Imelda BarnardSound editor: Chris SharpMusic credits: Dances and Dames, Kevin Macleod, Free Music Archive (CC BY 3.0); Backed Vibes Clean, Kevin Macleod, Free Music Archive (CC BY 3.0)