Here at The Customs House we showcase a range of visual art forms that reflect the work we do with our local community.
Please note we are not currently accepting proposals.
We have a number of exhibition spaces showing visual art at The Customs House.
- The Port of Tyne Gallery – is exhibiting the Takeover Open Exhibition; a celebration of the work of young artists aged 10-25 years old.
- Upper Fusion Gallery – shows work by emerging and early career artists as well as work from community projects and regional groups and bodies that we have developed relationships with.
- The Stairwell and Lower Fusion Gallery – shows work by our regular adult drawing group Drawn Together.
- The Step Up Gallery – celebrates the amazing creative talent of children across South Tyneside.
Upper Fusion Gallery
‘Sea, Sky and River: Fixing the line about its edge’ by David G. Wilkinson
6 April to 31 August 2018
In his new exhibition at The Customs House, David G. Wilkinson brings together new and older work that represents his ongoing exploration of the local, coastal landscape.
With a lifetime living on the riverside and at the sea-edge, David continuously works to capture the fleeting moments of this particular environment, making different types of images about sea, sky and river. ‘With my eyes looking down and in, deep, through things, then turning through the horizon, upwards and out. Vast and tiny. Perhaps through a microscope, binoculars, camera, telescope, or none of those, just my imagination’.
Drawings and paintings take time to make and show the history of their making, both abstract and figurative. The artist has tried to use that making history to generate layers through which the viewer might see, more deeply into the picture and beyond. The craft of making these pictures is important and working in an abstract way can make those clues more available.
David G. Wilkinson has made art since leaving Sunderland School of Art in the late 70’s. He designed the murals on Commercial Road in South Shields and others in the town and around Tyne & Wear. He worked for more than thirty years teaching in a local college Art and Design Department. David has exhibited abroad, in this country and has work in public and private collections. He grew up and South Shields and lives ow’a the wata in North Shields.
You can see more of David’s art on Instagram @daveygwcolour and @daveygw
This exhibition is part of a wider project called Painting The River, supported by The Children’s Foundation. Find out more >
Learn and Take Part
If you are a teacher and interested in completing a creative project or workshop with your class or CPD please see our Schools Learning Programme page.
If you are interested in joining the waiting list for our adult drawing class ‘Drawn Together’ please email the group lead artist Lesley Guy at drawntogether20@gmail.com