Visit to the Royal West of England Academy
I visited the Royal West of England Academy in Bristol last week and was once again stunned by the quality of the exhibitions and the sheer energy and creativity of the place. As the only Royal Academy outside London it operates very much in the same way as its London counterpart and is indeed housed in a similarly impressive building in the heart of the city. But, how many people outside the South West actually go and see their wonderful shows?
I very much recommend their current crop. They have a stunning retrospective of the work of Paule Vezelay who is someone who deserves to be known better not only for the time that she was in Paris working with her partner André Masson producing dreamlike Surrealist work but also for her extraordinary abstracts of war damage, her later plant drawings and her wonderfully graphic designs for Heals.
Running concurrently, is their Biennial Open 2025: Paper Works, and this too was a revelation. Chosen by the RWA’s academicians and with invited artist Ian McKeever, the variety and quality of the work was enormously high and what is more, very well priced. They also have a very nice caff with stunning Albert Irwins on the wall! Well worth a visit.