Over The Sofa Gallery
Over the Sofa
The Wivenhoe Bookshop’s Over-the-Sofa Gallery is probably the smallest of its kind worldwide, occupying a space of 4ft x 4ft above our much-loved Bookshop sofa. Space being at a premium in our shop, we were delighted to be able to fit one in!
The idea for the gallery came when we were given a delightfully comfy red velvet sofa where readers can relax whilst browsing, and an artist friend suggested she show one of her pictures in the space above it.Ten years later the gallery is still going strong, largely due to the abundance of artistic talent in Wivenhoe and the locality, where many of our exhibitors live and work.
We show a different artists’ work each month and each December hold a unique annual retrospective where we ask each artist to produce a work no larger than 7” x 9”, in order that they will all fit into the space.
Books and artists go so well together and some of the artists who have shown their work in our gallery are also printers, notably James Dodds and Dale Devereux Barker, who exhibited their books as well.
As well as established professional artists we have also shown the work of young artists who are keen to have a platform for their art. We show a range of media include photography, textiles and woollen crafts and pottery as well as painting.
Artists wishing to put forward a proposal for an exhibition are advised contact us by email for terms and conditions.
Current
Previous Shows
| Eerie Essex – Bethan Briggs-Miller and Ailsa Clarke
Dates: 18/02/2023 | |
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Scary Story Sharing - with Eerie Essex |
| Over the Sofa Jan 2023 – Nancy Taplin-Locke
Dates: 08/01/2023 - 01/02/2023 | |
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Nancy Taplin Locke’s delicate paintings of birds evoke both transience and timelessness... |
| Nov 2022 – Lorna Davies and Diana Doone
Dates: 01/11/2022 - 30/11/2022 | |
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Life studies in pastel, graphite and charcoal |
| Oct 2022 – Josephine Kingsford and Ros Christian
Dates: 01/10/2022 - 31/10/2022 | |
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Life studies in pastel, graphite and charcoal |
| Sept 2022 – James Willis
Dates: 01/09/2022 - 30/09/2022 | |
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UK artist interested in trees, spikes, rivers, metaphors and light. |
| Will Finn – Second Hand Holiday
Dates: 01/08/2022 - 31/08/2022 | |
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Grounded by the pandemic, photographer Will Finn journeyed vicariously on Second Hand Holidays |
| Jayne Wallett – Blue Dresses
Dates: 01/07/2022 - 31/07/2022 | |
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Jayne Wallett's 'Blue Dresses' explore European cultural representations of women’s wealth and class through their wardrobe. On display all through July in the Bookshop 'Over The Sofa' gallery space. |
| Chris White – Ceramics
Dates: 01/06/2022 - 30/06/2022 | |
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Christopher White's powerful ceramics explore the exciting interplay between careful craft and the accidental results of Raku firing. On display all through June in the Bookshop 'Over The Sofa' gallery space. |
| Over The Sofa Things Ain’t What They Used To Be Dates: 08/05/2022 - 31/05/2022 | |
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The aurae of thirteen 'proxy dreams' escape over the sofa this month in advance of their official release from Phil Cohen's new time-slippage fantasy 'Things Ain't What They Used To Be'... |
| Dirk Paterson
Dates: 01/03/2022 - 31/03/2022 | |
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Dirk Paterson's vibrant and emotional paintings are the subject of our 'Over the Sofa' show for March. The story of the Prodigal Son has universal resonance. These paintings seek to provide an inclusive and diverse interpretation of its vital story. |
