This collaborative project brings together Garth Gratrix & James William Murray who explore concepts of queer materiality through contrasting aesthetic approaches. The collaboration will culminate in two exhibitions occurring concurrently at Abingdon Studios (Blackpool UK) and Gallery DODO (Brighton UK).

Many Splendored Things developed as an experimental testing site for new and previously unexhibited artworks, including Gratrix’s Shy Girl Flamboyant Flamingo Crown of Feathers, an iteration of work recently acquired by Grundy Art Gallery’s permanent collection, and several small-scale sculptures by Murray. The installation engenders new formal relationships between the artists’ respective works, transgressing binaries of abstraction and figuration.

Object Q / The Pursuit of Happiness was planned entirely off-site and is a more conceptually driven exhibition based around the theme of ‘queer verticality’. The austere installation features just one example of each of the artist’s work, as referenced in the title. Accompanied by a Q&A with Amie Corry, London.

Eventbrite link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/many-splendored-things-garth-gratrix-james-william-murray-tickets-153294613315