Saturday 25th May – Sunday 23rd June
Over the last decade, as an artist, collaborator and curator, Jesse Leroy Smith has been a driving force behind many of the South West’s most important art shows and projects, including Darkrooms, an immersive exhibition of film, sound and installations at CAST Arts Centre, Helston and Picturing the Mines co curated with Bernard Irwin and commissioned by Cornish Mining World Heritage Sitesthat saw teams of artists, experts, graduates and the public collaborate in multi-media events across the region. He exhibits internationally and now in his first solo show for a decade, Jesse presents Force Majeure, a landmark exhibition which looks back at his collaborative past, and towards a new phase of future work.
On show from 25th May at West Cornwall’s spectacular Tremenheere Gallery, the show is described as a “confessional portrait”, an exhibition which explores ten years of “upheaval and mayhem” and gives insight into the mind of one of Cornwall’s most prolific and influential artists.
The exhibition begins on the gallery’s ground floor with the artist’s scrapbooks, which are filled with images of friends, family and heroes of film, music and literature, and then unfolds into an arcade of paintings, collages, photographs, films and books. On the second floor, an expansive series of paintings forms a processional journey through the space, culminating in a vast frieze that draws together a decade of influences and experiences.
With collaborations from artists Caleb and Sethe Smith, Paul Becker, Roger Thorp, Taap, Sam Bassett, Volker Stox, Bernard Irwin, Chris Priest, Richard Ballinger and many more, this show traces the many public projects and multi media events co devised by the artist, and explores the balance between his collaborative and individual expression.
Opening Preview
Friday 24th May: 6pm to 9pm
Including live music performances and speeches by the artist and fellow contributors.
Exhibition Walk and Talk
Sunday 26th May: 3pm
With Jesse Leroy Smith and collaborators
Closing event
Friday 21st June – Summer Solstice
Described as a “rampant solstice celebration” this event includes a tour through Tremenheere’s Sculpture Gardens featuring soundscapes, film, performance and site-specific artworks, as well as talks, poetry readings and the “spoils from an earlier forage in the local woods”.
Image: Steve Tanner