There’s a huge range of art exhibitions in West Sussex in July – here’s our monthly guide to some of the events we think are likely to be well worth a visit…
July, by appointment
The Zimmer Stewart Gallery is featuring the work of Kate Boucher this summer. Kate uses charcoal and pastels, and likes to evoke landscapes during periods of changing light. You can visit the gallery personally in July if you make an appointment.
9th July to 24th September
Gallery 57 presents an exhibition appropriately titled Blue, showing the collected works of various artists. You can see watercolours, ceramics, textiles and cyanotypes, amongst other works predominantly in this colour spectrum.
2nd July to 31st August
Arundel Contemporary is presenting a Mixed Summer Exhibition for two months. This is a group showing of contemporary works in a variety of styles, and includes landscapes, figures, still life and much more.
Until 8th July
On display in the first week of July at the Candida Stevens Gallery is Kerry Harding’s Edge of Day exhibition. Here you’ll see complex facets of light on landscape, painted in a palimpsest technique with oils. This debut show displays the poetic aspects of an artist deeply grounded in Romanticism.
Until 3rd July
Lockgate 200: ARTEL Artists Celebrate the 200th Anniversary of Chichester Ship Canal is in its final weekend. 15 local artists present works in various media that you can buy and take home. In the Wilson Gallery, you can also see the work of nine new Chichester University Fine Art graduates, including abstract paintings, watercolours, photographs, prints and engravings.
5th to 31st July
The rest of the month is dedicated to the painter Piers Ottey, who presents his Five Decades of Painting exhibition. A long-term Sussex resident, the work on show covers Ottey’s whole career since his early beginnings at art school. You can see local and international landscapes, life paintings, versions of Old Masters and assorted favourite subjects, including his dog
Until 17th July
This is the last few weeks of the Undercover, the Art of the Bookjacket exhibition, with a display of book covers contributed by many well-known artists. Pallant House has custody of some 19,000 rare and precious publications, and this exhibition displays some of its 20th-century titles.
Until 23rd October
Also at Pallant House, you can see the groundbreaking work of Glyn Philpot R.A. (1884-1937). This British artist began his career on a traditional path, painting society portraits, but matured into radical modernism. His work is being exhibited for the first time in 40 years, and includes portraits, drawings and sculptures of literati, duchesses and unknown black subjects. Philpot was famous for exploring controversial subjects such as religion, race and sexuality, and contributed much to ideas of identity and representation.
West Dean’s up-and-coming art students are presenting their 2022 Summer Show. From 2nd to 8th July it’s devoted to Fine Arts, and from 16th to 17th July it’s the turn of the Art and Contemporary Crafts Department. Here you can see a selection of paintings, prints, sculptures, textiles and film from West Sussex emerging artists.
