PAST VISITS AND TRIPS

Day Trips

Roche Court Sculpture Park

Day trip on Wednesday 22 June 2022

Members visited the New Art Centre at Roche Court on a glorious summer’s day in June when everything was still green. We were able to explore the park and gardens in the company of an excellent guide.

We were greeted by Lady Bessborough who had founded the New Art Centre in London’s Sloane St in 1958. Her vision of encouraging young artists had continued and expanded at Roche Court which now welcomes visitors to exhibitions of contemporary art in a wonderful outdoor setting as well as four contemporary galleries.

There were small porcelain installations by Edmund de Waal, large scale sculptures by Anthony Caro, Peter Randall-Page, Anthony Gormley, and Michael Craig-Martin, land art by Richard Long, and amongst these a huge variety of works by lesser known artists. Some were challenging, some disturbing, some amusing, all demanded our attention.

Start of the tour.

Antony Gormley, ‘Before’, 2002 Cast Iron, 194 x 46 x 64 cm

Antony Gormley, ‘Break’, 2002 Cast Iron, 193 x 87 x 32 cm

Antony Gormley, ‘Quantum Cloud XIV’, 2000, 4.76 square section stainless steel bar

Barry Flanagan, ‘Large Left-Handed Drummer’, 2008, Bronze, 400 x 200 x 244 cm

Allen Jones, ‘High Wire’, 2006, Painted Aluminium, 264 x 152 cm

Christopher le Brun, ‘Union (Horse with two Discs)’ 2001, Bronze, 232 x 466 x156 cm

Allen Jones, ‘Backward Bend’, 2020, Corten and Stainless Steel, Dull Mirror Polish, 280 x 530 x 300 cm

Peter Newman, ‘Skystation’, 2019, Fibreglass, Ultramarine Gelcoat, 75 x 420 x 420 cm

Antony Caro, ‘Double Tent’, 1987-1993, Stainless Steel, 238.5 x 815.5 x 198 cm

Peter Randall-Page, ‘Fructus’, 2009, Kilkenny Limestone, 250 x 160 x 160 cm

Richard Long, ‘Tame Buzzard Line’, 2001, Flint, 35.15 m x 71 cm

Kenneth Martin, ‘Construction’, 1972, Painted Iron and Steel, 600 x 122 x 122 cm

Barbara Hepworth, ‘Bronze Form (Patmos)’, 1962-63 Bronze 70.5 x 95 x 24 cm

Barbara Hepworth, ‘Three Forms’, 1970, Bronze

Christopher le Brun, ‘The Sense of Sight’, 1999-2000, Bronze, 190x 18 x 7.5 cm

Laura Ford, ‘Twiglet’, 1991, Bronze, 130 x 60 x 57 cm

Laura Ford, ‘Silent Howler II’, 2016, Bronze, 50 x 60 x 70 cm

Bill Woodrow, ‘Celloswarm’, Bronze, Stone and Gold Leaf, 211 x 95 x 96 cm

Bill Woodrow, ‘Celloswarm’, Bronze, Stone and Gold Leaf, detail

Michael Craig-Martin, ‘Untitled’, 2007, Etched Glass Panel, 204 x 230 x 1.4 cm

LONGFORD castle

Day trip on Friday 22 April 2022

Our 2 hour guided tour of the house was split into 2 groups of 20 and was followed by a short visit to the formal gardens. The 16th century castle contains many great art works including portraits by Reynolds and Gainsborough and some historic furniture. The Earl of Radnor’s family have been partnered with the National Gallery for many years.

The visit was followed by an excellent buffet lunch in the nearby Radnor Arms.

After lunch the coach dropped us near to the Cathedral Close in Salisbury where there were opportunities to visit the Salisbury Museum, the cathedral or the National Trust Mompesson House

Several members opted for the shops!.

Highclere castle

Day trip on Tuesday 13 July 2021

Our visit to the Castle was unguided although there were room guides. The ticket also included access to the Egyptian Exhibition; the fifth Earl of Carnarvon excavated Tutankhamen’s tomb with Howard Carter in 1922. The gardens are extensive and visiting was included with our entrance ticket.

“VIRTUAL” Visit

The BANQUETING HOUSE, Whitehall

Organised jointly with The Arts Society Dorset County

For more information please click on the image above

We joined Historic Palaces Guide Lecturer, Siobhan Clarke, for a tour of the last remaining part of the medieval Palace of Westminster.

SOME COMMENTS RECEIVED

“What a super lecture, so glad we could join in …. thank you for organising it!”

“Well timed, interesting, wonderful illustrations and thoughtfully presented – really excellent and professional! A real treat.”

“I really enjoyed it- the subject & the lecturer & the history & the pictures & the ceiling!! -all excellent!”

“I spent an hour enthralled by Siobhan Clarke’s lecture and excellent presentation this afternoon. Easily the highlight of this current lockdown! Thank you.” r

“Thankyou for arranging such an interesting and enjoyable lecture given by such an enthusiastic person”.

My wife and I watched this lecture yesterday with great pleasure. The content was very interesting and the lecturer, Siobhan Clarke, was exceptionally good – and I speak as a former university lecturer. Nick Lalor

“Well timed, interesting, wonderful illustrations and thoughtfully presented – really excellent and professional! A real treat.”

“Thank you, it was excellent.”

“As usual the Sherborne Arts Society has come up trumps with a first class lecture and lecturer. I thoroughly enjoyed it ,well done.”

“Thank you so much for including me in today’s visit to the Banqueting House. The speaker was delightful and certainly took us through a very important period of our history. The Zoom lectures really have made such a difference to so many of us.”

Just wanted to say how excellent the talk was. She did a wonderful job, gave an extremely informative talk and was much enjoyed. Many thanks for setting it all up.”

Residential visits

Between 2014 and 2018 groups from The Arts Society visited Amsterdam, The Hague, Munich, Berlin, Copenhagen and Madrid in Europe, and also Oxford & Cambridge, and the Staffordshire Potteries in the UK. In all of them we visited world renowned art galleries big and small, explored ancient city centres and marvelled at magnificent buildings and superb craftwork. We also patronised some distinctive eateries.

Jerusalem 2019

In June 2019 we made our first visit outside Europe and spent 10 days in Jerusalem – a fascinating city with a complicated history and an uneasy present. With the help of two excellent guides, one Jewish, one Palestinian we toured ancient and modern Jerusalem and made trips to the Dead Sea, the Sea of Galilee, Masada, Bethlehem and Acre.

Dome of the rock and mount of Olives

Western Wall

Armenian Cathedral

Spices in the Souk

TASS Group and the Chagall windows, Hadassah Hospital Synagogue

Hall of Remembrance, Yad Vashem

Jerusalem Old City Rooftops

Tomb of Christ, Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Tiles on the Dome of the Rock

Rockefeller Museum

Cable Car Ascending Masada

Sea Wall at Acre

Carpet in Acre Mosque

Church of the Holy Nativity, Bethlehem

Newly Restored Mosiacs in Holy Nativity Church

Banksy Mural, Bethlehem

TASS Members on the Sea of Galilee

The Sea of Galilee

Craft Pottery Shop in Jaffa

TASS Group at the Israel Museum

Cornwall 2019

In typical October weather a small group spent 4 days in West Cornwall, breaking the journey down at the Devon Guild of Craftsmen Centre in Bovey Tracy and stopping at the Eden Project on the return. We explored the Tate St Ives, its collections and surroundings, toured Barbara Hepworth’s house and sculpture collection and enjoyed the Leach Pottery where Bernard Leach worked and influenced generations of modern studio potters. We also visited Penzance where we dodged the seagulls and viewed the unique Cornish collections at Penlee House.