Art Galleries 2026:

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During the holidays I visited many Art Galleries mainly in the Greater Manchester Area. My Aim with these visits was to imrpove my knowledge of different art styles in all areas ahead of my Year 13 Graphic design project and also diversify my consumption of art which has up until now only been through online services and through school trips.

the following is a collection of my faveroite art pieces from each art gallery i visited with added context describing why i like the art piece, what it is about and how it makes me feel personally.

Gallery 2: Bolton Museum,Bolton (24th August 2026)

	Later in the day I visited Bolton Museum which is an archive for both art work but also artifacts from colonial Britain and the history of Bolton as a town. This gallery was much better funded and larger compared to The Drawing Board so I wanted to go here to see the difference and ask: Are there going to be more variation in art? As I cross the border does the art change? How does growing up in a more urban area influence the art you make? Below is a collection of artworks from the '100 Years in the Life of Bolton's Art Collection'.
	This grand oil painting is by Thomas Moran (1837-1926) a Bolton born artist who emigrated to America in 1844. Moran would be invited along expeditions exploring the American West by Ferdinand Hayden, a Geological Scientist. Here Moran perfected his paintings of the vast red landscapes of the West. This particular painting shows buttes alongside the Upper Colorado river near the campsite. This painting is absolutely mesmerising, since a young age I have always had a love and a dream to explore all of North America The East, The North, The South and also the West which seems magical as somebody living in Wales you cant see so far because everywhere you look there is a hill and once you're on top of all the hills all you can see is the sea because Great Britain isn't a big place therefore it seems impossible that you could stand in place and look around and see for miles and miles across flat plans but that is the reality in much of the USA’s western states none however more vast and untouched than Wyoming. Therefore, I've always wanted to explore the vast flat landscapes interrupted by towering buttes that occur in and around Wyoming which is why this painting immediately stood out to me. Furthermore, the painting is also magical the way the sun hits the buttes and slowly hides itself in the shadows as you look down the cliff faces and along the river from left to right of the frame. This is an incredibly successful painting at telling a story and is able to fit so much into its canvas.
	This photograph is a part of KFOR and Kosovo + 25 an exhibition including photographs by Nick Slide to mark the 25th anniversary of NATO lead international peacekeeping deployment to Kosovo including 40 Pictures taken between 1999-2001 and sheds a light on life in kosovo in the late 90s. This photograph is untitled but is outlined as being taken in Proeoce, Kosovo a "Largely Roma Village South of Pristina” this photograph stuck out to me as it depicts a more peaceful way of life the focus on the little girl with her dog juxtaposes the harsh nature of many of the photographs showing military occupation whilst this image shows the innocence of youth and what an average day in Kosovo looked like.
	This Photograph depicts a supplies delivery in Novo Brdo, Kosovo I think this really outlines the humility of the soldiers who you can tell really care for the people of Kosovo and are here to help. The photograph appears impromptu. I don't think Slide has asked the soldier to pose in a way it feels like Slide wanted to capture the way that the soldiers where helping the people in real time. Whilst this image does show happiness and love it doesn't ignore the realities of this time in Kosovo you can see to the right of the soldier the supply vehicle is seemingly empty which really adds to the emotion of this image.
	This photograph depicts children being told by a soldier not to play with or set off fireworks this was because the military was trailing a system in which children would be given fireworks that would be set off to let patrols know where they were in order to stop the two from crossing therefore if children were playing with fireworks it would give the patrols false signals.I really like the lighting in this image how the foreground is well light whilst the background is dark, dark enough to where I didnt realise there were people and what looks like stalls in the back of the image aswell as buildings. I appreciate the weight of this image It feels as if me the viewer should also be listening to what the officer is saying which really outlines the seriousness of life in Kosovo at this time
	This Photograph is of returned refugees returning home to Pristina Kosovo I think this image really shows the purest form of happiness each child just looks elated to be home and really captures the optimism that some might have fealt during this ocupation era, whilst everyday wasnt safe it must have felt as if it was getting better. I think the strength of this photograph is the positioning of the children with the shortest child on the left and the tallest and the back right you could draw a line diagonally up the frame to see this. I think that really allows the image to come together. Aditionally, this exhibition is a mix of both black and white and colour photography, in this image I think the monochrome look really enhances the image as it means there isnt anything to distract from the subject matter of the children
	This Photograph depicts a school visit in Burice, Kosovo. I think this is a pure example of what I think makes this collection of photographs so touching, which is the juxtaposition between the harshness of the military intervention during the war and the often happy and optimistic children and soldiers that are shown in the photograph. Photographs like these really make you hopeful for the future.
	This photograph is of a soldier on the balcony of a Patrol Base House in Pristina. Such homes were used to house soldiers whose job was to keep the local community reassured that they were safe. I think this photograph is reminiscent of a lion overlooking its territory. It definitely appears as if this soldier is a ruler of this land which in a way during this time he sort of was. You can draw a red line down the centre of this image following the lamp post which splits the frame into 2 the left where the soldier is standing lit by the sunlight and the right where the streets lay empty and are dim from the shadows.
	This is a pastel piece by Steve Williamson titled Helter-Skelter. The painting depicts a simple scene of a group of children looking towards a Helter-Skelter at some sort of fair. On Williamses Website he describes the painting outlining how he loves the bright colours of the painting which I agree with and I think those bright colours mixed with the hazy look of the pastel make the painting feel dreamlike or like a memory which is matched by the description Williams gives on the event describing it as ‘yesteryear’. The vibrant colours and the hazy presentation can't help but draw nostalgia for a time that I didn't experience myself being the 50s and 60s which can be seen through art of the time which is a style I adore. I also appreciate the effort and attention to detail into making each child seem distinctive in the way they are reacting to the sight of a Helter-Skelter. Some children appear mesmerised by the towering structure whilst others seem interested yet cautious which really shows the different characteristics that children can have. This painting manages to tell an interesting yet shallow story but still I am able to be encapsulated by it for far longer than most paintings I have seen.
	This oil painting by Keith Evans is titled ‘Pen Bwch Point’ a popular spot for photography and painting in North Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. Admittedly and this is more of a compliment to the artistic talent of Keith Evans from afar I thought this was a photograph but instead just an incredibly well made Painting of the rocks and the waves. I think the simplicity of this painting is the most striking part whilst other artwork made about Penn Bwch Point and its surrounding areas focus on the immense natural beauty of the area. This one painting focuses on a rock formation that could realistically be anywhere in the entire UK. I do not know Keith Evans or his reasoning for painting these particular rocks but whilst they could exist anywhere, these particular rocks only exist here in Pen Bwch Point nowhere else in the world has this specific rock formation and this painting really focuses on the small beauty that all beaches are different and no matter where you go you will see something different.