by Matilda Martin The Anthony Shaw collection at York Art Gallery has recently undergone a reworking – and upon my last visit, it struck me as more like an installation piece than a traditional display. After exiting the industrial elevator and turning right, you are transported out of the bright, whitewashed gallery with its showcases into a sitting room packed with interesting objects. For Anthony Shaw, it is all about the individual piece: “I want the dialogue you get with

The intricate collagraphic pieces by the late artist Belkis Ayón captured my attention recently, and the more I read about them the more unknowable they become. Her work is instantly recognisable, for its deeply symbolic and often monochromatic composition. From Cuba herself, Ayón’s work reflects an interest in the urban mythology surrounding the secret Afro-Cuban society Abakuá; the society is all male, and, from reading interviews with Ayón, I still feel I know very little.

by Stephanie Yeap Photo by Jagoda Hroboni If you’ve ever visited York Art Gallery, then you’re probably familiar with Anthony Shaw, whose collection is currently on display at the gallery’s Centre of Ceramic Art. Today, we talk to collector Anthony Shaw about his experiences curating Sarah Radstone’s ceramics exhibition ‘More than Words’ and his opinions on how viewers can begin to appreciate ceramics as artworks. Hi Anthony, so where did the title of Sarah Radstone’s exhibit

Photos by Jagoda Hroboni A contemporary ceramic artist hailing from London, Sara Radstone has exhibited internationally and her work can be found in numerous public collections. Radstone’s work is deeply personal, exploring issues of history, damage and memory through clay. “Sara Radstone: More Than Words” will be at York Art Gallery until June 10th 2018 “I had the great pleasure of meeting the contemporary artist Sara Radstone, and her collector, Antony Shaw, and of photogra

Lily Cheetham reviews the gorgeous oil paintings of Nigel Mason, which will be on display at the Castle Fine Art Gallery in York for the next week… Sweet Shop His figurative oil paintings represent past experiences of Mason’s, making each painting overflow with meaning and context. For example, one of his newest series shows romance, lust and love from a very young age to old age. ‘Sweet shop’ shows two young children, expressing their youthful innocence as they peer over the

York Art Gallery’s Flesh exhibition has a point to make, but one which is not unlocked to its fullest potential… The monstrosity looms from the back wall, catching your eye as soon as you enter. If self-recognition can be said to underlie any exploration of flesh, then Adriana Varejao’s cavernous Green Tilework in Live Flesh (pictured below) gives us as gruesome a reminder as any of what is an inherent part of ourselves, but we may wish to hide. Flesh is most successful when

9 artists transform 9 rooms at the Old Fire Station into a unique, once in a lifetime art exhibition at the disused and abandoned fire station. The 999 exhibition at the old fire station is an interesting one; being set up in an abandoned fire station gives it an automatic aura of a fractured identity, not knowing what to do with itself. This is explained by the fact that it is an exhibition of 9 artists, all working by separate agendas and in separate fields, so the exhibiti

A passionate traveller, animal lover and ambassador for Save Wild Tigers, Lauren Baker is a British multidisciplinary contemporary artist based in London. With collaborations with the V&A, Tate, Tate Modern, Jimmy Choo and Vogue to name a few, Lauren’s works are excitingly mixing up a wide range of media from glass piece mosaics to neon installations and skull incrusting. Tell us a bit more about your journey into the art scene. With no prior art studies, you mentioned having