Art for the Soul: 6 Galleries and Art Spaces to Visit in Cornwall
Kurt Jackson's Clay Country exhibition, featured in the original version of this article in 2021
One thing I love about our county is the abundance of creatives, wonderful art and talented artisans. Cornwall has a remarkable artistic heritage, but it isn't something that belongs only in the past. There are still painters, sculptors, potters, printmakers and makers working here, and some wonderful places to discover their work.
Perhaps it's the landscape, perhaps it's that famous Cornish light, or maybe there is just something about being surrounded by the sea that gets the creative juices flowing. Whatever the reason, there are plenty of galleries and art spaces where you can happily lose an hour or two.
So, in the spirit of the original version of this post, here are a few places to go and feed your soul.
1. Penwith Gallery, St Ives
Mark Verry's wooden reliefs at Penwith Gallery, which we featured in 2023
St Ives is rather difficult to avoid when talking about art in Cornwall, and Penwith Gallery is a particularly special part of its artistic story.
The Penwith Society of Arts was founded in 1949 by a remarkable group of artists including Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson, Peter Lanyon, Bernard Leach, Sven Berlin and Wilhelmina Barns-Graham. Today the gallery occupies an old pilchard-packing complex not far from Porthmeor Beach.
We have featured the gallery on the Cornwall Blog before. Back in 2023, Emma picked out an exhibition of Mark Verry's wooden reliefs, a body of work that had taken eight years to create. It was exactly the sort of exhibition that makes places like Penwith worth returning to – you never quite know what you are going to find.
There are three public galleries, artists' studios, a print workshop and a sculpture courtyard, with a changing programme of contemporary exhibitions throughout the year. I like that this isn't simply somewhere art is displayed. It still feels connected to a working community of artists, continuing a tradition that has been part of St Ives for generations.
2. Tate St Ives and the Barbara Hepworth Museum
Photo by Winston Tjia on Unsplash
Staying in St Ives, Tate St Ives may be the obvious choice, but it is obvious for good reason.
Sitting above Porthmeor Beach, the gallery explores modern and contemporary art with a particularly strong connection to the artists who made this little Cornish town internationally famous. There is something rather lovely about seeing work inspired by Cornwall while the Atlantic is just outside the window.
For me, the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden adds another dimension. Trewyn Studio was Hepworth's home and workplace from 1949 until her death in 1975, and today the studio and garden provide a wonderfully personal setting for her sculpture.
It feels very different from seeing her work in a conventional gallery. The garden, studios and sculptures together give you a much stronger sense of the place in which she actually worked.
3. Newlyn Art Gallery and The Exchange
Further around Mount's Bay, Newlyn Art Gallery and The Exchange give you two very different contemporary art spaces within a couple of kilometres of one another.
Newlyn has been associated with artists for well over a century, and its gallery continues that creative tradition with a changing programme of contemporary work. The Exchange in nearby Penzance feels quite different, with its striking green glass exterior sitting among the town's older streets.
The two venues are close enough to combine in one outing, particularly if you fancy the walk along the promenade between Newlyn and Penzance. Exhibitions change regularly, which is exactly what I want from a gallery. You can go back and discover something completely different.
4. Jackson Foundation, St Just
One of the Kurt Jackson works we featured from his Clay Country exhibition in 2021
Kurt Jackson actually appeared in the original version of this article, when his Clay Country exhibition was showing at Wheal Martyn. Emma was particularly taken by the loose, vibrant quality of his work and the way it captured that man-made but beautiful china clay landscape.
So I am rather pleased that he still has a natural place here. In St Just, the Jackson Foundation occupies a former industrial building and is dedicated to art with a strong connection to the natural world.
Jackson's work moves well beyond straightforward landscape painting, taking in sculpture, poetry, film and installation as well as his expressive paintings. The Foundation also works with environmental and charitable organisations, so there is often another layer to the exhibitions beyond simply depicting the landscape.
And St Just feels like exactly the right place for it, surrounded by the wild coast and mining landscape of West Penwith.
5. Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens and Gallery
Sometimes art is even better without four walls around it.
At Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, near Penzance, contemporary art winds through a sheltered valley filled with exotic planting and views towards St Michael's Mount.
Internationally renowned artists have created permanent works specifically for the landscape, so discovering them becomes part of exploring the garden itself. Sculpture appears among trees, planting and open spaces rather than being separated from its surroundings.
There is also Tremenheere Gallery, with an evolving programme of exhibitions from artists working in Cornwall and further afield. It makes a lovely combination. You can wander outside, find a quiet corner, then head indoors and discover something completely different.
6. Falmouth Art Gallery
At the other end of the scale is Falmouth Art Gallery, right in the heart of town on The Moor.
It's a wonderfully approachable gallery with a surprisingly broad collection, from historic and Cornish paintings to photography, prints and contemporary work. It also has a rather delightful collection of automata, which makes it a little different from many traditional galleries.
There is a changing programme of exhibitions too, along with workshops and activities. Best of all, the gallery itself is free to enter, so it is very easy to wander in while exploring Falmouth and simply see what catches your eye.
More art to discover in Cornwall
Of course, six barely scratches the surface. There is Kestle Barton tucked above the Helford River, CAST in Helston, small commercial galleries dotted through Cornish towns and villages, and plenty of artists who open their own studios and workshops.
Truro also has the Cornwall Museum and Art Gallery, where a major refurbishment has brought much more of its art collection back into public view.
I think that's what I love most about art in Cornwall. It isn't confined to one town, style or grand institution. You can find it in an old pilchard works, a former industrial building, a subtropical garden or a tiny studio at the end of a country lane.
Plenty of places, in other words, to feed your soul.
Exhibitions and opening arrangements change throughout the year, so it's always worth checking each venue's website before making a special journey.
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