On a jolly jaunt about town with a chum, we decided to check out the Leeds Art Gallery after a good…read moreluncheon. I'd gotten my galleries confuddled, and had hoped to catch the Back To Basics display, but of course they weren't in the official gallery. (What a plum!) For that you'll have to get over to Munro house, as I intend to at some point. But, what we did find, was a fantastic display of work. The Hume sculptures are lots of fun, for some reason reminding me of Silent Hill a little, but then I'm that way inclined. As soon as we ascended upstairs we were met by a delightfully creepy old lady, painted almost green, very reminiscent of the typical vision of an old wise woman. She was looking up to the skies in an unending groan, perhaps bemoaning her creaking joints -her hand was pretty gnarly, and perhaps arthritic. Any way, I'm writing this rather tongue in cheek, but it is a fantastic image. Upstairs there's plenty of different mediums to take in, as well as the wonderfully structured library. I can't describe all the paintings, sketches and sculptures we saw as the instant I took a photograph (for posterity) I was asked to kindly desist. You're not allowed to take pictures! Having to commit everything to memory is almost defunct with one such as myself -apparently I have very poor skills at this. Even so, I can remember the overwhelming feeling of enjoyment and intrigue, and that my particular favourite image was called 'A children that has gone to cheese' by Sam Haile. Check it out. Downstairs I hadn't prepared to enjoy the pre 1900 section quite so much. My tastes usually extend to Surrealism, but the Pre-Raphaelite (forgive me if this is wrong) and Realism exhibition is really breathtaking. Don't get me wrong -the subject matter was not always of interest. I'm not religious, so the dainty Jesus wasn't to my taste. However, the landscape images were simply incredible-get right in there and take in the brush technique, and the stand back and let your eyes soak it in. Wow. What at once appears such a hapless dash of pain somehow becomes the most precise bit of foliage. There's also a truly awesome image of some kind of revolution/civil war. We took a stab, and guessed that they might be British soldiers. The striking thing is that it doesn't appear to be a war-positive picture - ususally images of that time show proud soldiers, and come across very patriotic, in my experience. Not so here. We discussed this terrifying still of horses, in the moment of rapidly approaching the viewer, and decided that it must have been created from the imagination. (As you'd be trampled were you right there at that point.) We then realised that the entire picture was quite intimidating. Firstly, the motion: horses at full pelt, almost above you, coming directly your way without falter. The soldiers looked manic, severe, and certainly not proud, or triumphant. Just determined. Then we noticed that the title was something to do with the Scottish revolution - and these soldiers were in red. Surely it's an image of some pitiless English demons, ready to rake the ground of Scottish soil? Who knows! We might be way off. We might have gotten carried away. But, isn't that the point of art? The joy must be in the discussion and intrigue, as much as the skill and still image itself. And whether or not we've gotten this painting utterly wrong, the vision of those towering horses and implacable men shall stay with me. So much movement! I'm going to have to go back and see them before me once again. So, go take a look. If you've an opinion, let me know...

I discovered Leeds art gallery when looking for a venue for a photo shoot and was surprised at the…read moreamount of contemporary work there. In smaller cities classical pieces tend to to over shadow modern art but Leeds art gallery makes use of a small space at the front for more eccentric modern work! I can't say I understood the event that was on at the time and was apparently using space and isolation as a theme. Despite my lack of knowledge I enjoyed walking around very much and it made a beautiful setting for photos. The gallery however has more timely pieces of renaissance art and more classical works. The museum is free and makes a lovely change from the hoards of crowds running in and out of Topshop and Harvey Nickles like shopping maniacs! The aura is calm and and relaxed. The gallery is small compared to those in cities such as Manchester and Birmingham however has recently been renovated with marble floors and large white walls. There is no fee to see some beautiful works so pop in for a break from your winter shopping! The cafe isn't half bad either if you want a sophisticated cup of coffee a little away from the main shopping streets,

I visited Art of Gold whilst I was strolling around the shops on a lazy day and was quite amazed at…read morewhat they did. Amongst the paintings and art prints was a Jewellery section. After speaking to the lady in the shop, I found that her son designs and makes his own jewellery in a workshop based inside the shop. he'd trained in Italy for around 5 years before he came back to England to start his own business. All of the jewellery is bespoke and 18 carat. Amongst other jewellery designers, you will find the likes of; Deborah Kelly, Shona Carnegie, Iain Henderson & Lora Leedham. The shop also intends to stock Pandora in the future which I suspect will be extremely popular with the younger crowd. The lady who runs the shop is polite and passionate about the work they display and spent ages chatting over the background behind the art to me. Go speak her, she's got some very funny stories to tell!

I can tell you one thing that I really didn't expect - to find an excellent art gallery within the…read moreheart of Horsforth. It came as no surprise, to me, to find an art gallery in Otley and an art gallery in Leeds city centre - but Horsforth? What a fabulous surprise! So what do they have on offer? A range of arts, in different media and styles, jewellery and gift cards. The limited edition gift cards are of a particularly high quality, not the kind of thing you'll find anywhere else, and just that little bit more expensive - but worth the gesture in my opinion! The jewellery on offer is beautifully made, contemporary and appeared to me to be inspired by the natural world (lots of leafy shapes and such). A lot of the pendents seemed to be detailed in such a way that gave the impression it was pressed silver and certainly hand made. The artwork on show was a fantastic range too. There were some 'fusion glass' pieces which appeared to be photographs detailed with a sort of embossed piece of glass over the top, bringing out details like traffic lights and such. They were particularly interesting. As well as that there were some amazingly simplistic and sometimes textured sunset scenes by Barker, some amusing and poignant pieces by Todd White, some beautiful oriental ink nude prints by Qu Lei Lei (which were only £20!) and my absolute favourite (and stupidly, I did not note the artist) a sunburstingly orange horizon scene with a sort of marbled gold leaf effect and central silhouetted tree. I found the art work varied, challenging, decorative and inspiring. The lady who owned/managed the gallery was polite and thankfully did not try to go in for the hard sell either, which was much appreciated. I can imagine it is frustrating for them to receive browser upon browser, but I am sure if I ever manage to save I will be visiting this place for a central piece! Well worth the visit.

In a shocking development, sometimes shopping just doesn't cut it. Sometimes I'm feeling the need…read moreto be at one with my cultured side. Not often but hey it does happen. Luckily Leeds is awash with such places and the Henry Moore Institute is on that list. What I love about this place is it's fusion of old and new, classical and contemporary. Bold brass sculptures stand along from minimalistic room spaces of design and provoking debate of what art really is. It's also quite a distance away from the other galleries in Leeds, in terms of what it offers and is therefore definitely worth a lazy afternoon of contemplation and discussion. You can also look out for the touring installations involving sounds and visuals and indulgence quite regularly thanks to it's frequently changing exhibition lists. We like to celebrate a good old Yorkshire lad here in the shire and this Castleford born man came good. What better way to honour him than a stones throw away from his roots in our diverse city. You can leave your easal and berets at home though.

With its impressive black marble frontage the Henry Moore Institute looms over the art gallery next…read moredoor, but in fact offers a smaller and more intimate space focusing on all aspects of sculpture and design. The collections cover all aspects of contemporary and classical sculpture, while temporary exhibitions explore the relationships between sculpture and other mediums. You couldn't spend a whole afternoon here, but there's enough to keep even the most casual admirer of art entertained for an hour or so, and with free entry it's a great place to take a break from the hectic streets outside.

Taken me a few attempts to get in here as I kept getting days wrong etc…read more It was worth it though. The space itself is excellent. Beautiful lighting in all the rooms we went to and a great sense of space. The Barbara Hepworth material on show is outstanding and it was fascinating to read more about her. Quite a lot of other stuff there too which changes constantly. I didn't like the Franz West pieces on show but then it's impossible to please everyone with every exhibit - and besides, I'm reviewing the place itself not the temporary content. One thing I thought was brilliant as the design of the gallery itself. Vast windows offer great views across the river, weir and bridge and these have been carefully sited to get the best possible view of the water rushing past. The silence that accompanies this works really well and was an interesting part of the set up. We had a simple but tasty meal in the cafeteria - sausages and mash is easy to get right but I've known many places get it wrong! The gift shop is full of interesting stuff that is both good to look at as well as being educational. Whoever runs that has bought stock with a lot of care which is great to see. And as the place is free to get into it's terrific value too. We spent a very enjoyable couple of hours looking round and I know I'd like to visit it again. Worth the trip.

New flagship £50+million gallery to house Wakefield's collection plus recent Barbara Hepworth…read moredonations, Ben Nicholson etc. Also changing visiting exhibitions. The building (Chipperfield) is impressive and the interior gallery spaces couldn't be better - reminicent of a better 21st century Hayward Gallery - beautifully lit naturally from above, with panoramic vistas through large strategically placed windows within the gallery. If you are a Hepworth afficianado you might enjoy the insight these plasters and maquettes bring to her story along with the contextualising work of some of her St Ives cronies. I however could have screamed for some work of better quality and range from a greater spectrum of artists. The emphasis on sculpture works well being so close to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, but YSP do it better. The cafe is a joke queuing 31minutes for an Americano! Once Wakefield Council make a mess of running it, It will be brilliant when Tate take it over as a provincial extension to Tate Modern!

Art Room 4 resides in the White Rose Centre, in one of their stalls/displays lettings. Essentially,…read moreArt Room 4 consists of the work of two artists, Carol Cheyne and Ryan Larkin, and this work takes the form of canvas art in a variety of sizes and prices, with the acrylic on canvas style of abstract, landscapes, and tonal object-non-specific pieces. The pieces start off at a very reasonable £50 and go to a maximum of £200. There are some cracking pieces on display, and if you see something in one size on display, it doesn't matter, it can be made larger, smaller, size permitting into a double set or trio piece, depending on the design and your budget. Personally I think they're excellent prices, as I've paid almost £50 for a simple icon print on canvas before now. For me it was Carol's Moody Blue piece that sucked me in, it's stunning. If you want to put something in the way of art on your walls that doesn't include prints in a frame, or one of Ikea's roses, then seriously check out Art Room 4.

The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery is not very well known in Leeds. I have never before heard my…read morearty friends talk about it, or seen any promotion for it, and I am often taking short cuts through the University Campus. I heard about the gallery whilst doing data entry for an arts company, I was inputting data from a survey to decide why it wasn't very well attended. Since then I vowed that I would go and have a look, as everyone in the survey spoke very highly of it in their comments. You can find the gallery in The Parkinson Building of the University, just to the left of reception through some glass sliding doors. The exhibits I saw today were beautiful. The gallery used to consist of three rooms which have now been converted into one large space displaying the Universities permanent collection. It includes various bronze works, a display of Yorkshire pottery, a suite of glass cases displaying drawn works, and some really beautiful paintings. There is also another room which is used for temporary exhibitions. Today I saw 'Obsession: Contemporary Art from the Lodeveans Collection' which is running until the 28th November (2009). My favorite in this collection were some porcelain models of crushed cans (like coke cans) hand painted with blue flowers, as if they were an old china set. They have a variety of different pieces, from abstract to portrait paintings, sculptures, video, audio, and drawings, so if you are an art lover there will most likely be something for you. It is quite small, but it's free and also not far from the gallery in the city centre if you feel the need for more.

A very modern gallery, compared to other museums/galleries that I have visited this isn't the…read morebiggest but it is so modern and chic. There is a room which shows art and often switches it up

Established by an ex-student of Leeds. Pairing up the unused spaces in the Merrion Centre and lack…read moreof space for emerging artist to display their work this space here holds workshops, artist bookshop as well as exhibitions. Volunteers are wanted to help run this not-for-profit organisation so if this space intrigues you perhaps you should go along.

You may not have even heard of theartmarket. If you are interested in all things artistic and…read morecontemporary look into it. Showcasing the best in Leeds artistic tallent, as well as playing host to exciting number of names from overseas and from around the country, theartmarket is tucked away in the back markety space of the Merion Centre. Many people don't even know if exists, so next time you're in there, try and explore the back corridors of the Centre. It is a redundant space, so a couple of ex-art students from this city decided to do something with it. they have recently received funding from the Arts Council, and good for them! It's an exciting space, and it's easy to get involved. Whether you're interested in exhibiting or volunteering, you should get in touch with them. Details as shown on their website.

This new entry to Albion Street in the centre of town is truly a breath of fresh air. This…read moreparticular street is quite clogged with coffee shops and eateries as it is and so the addition of an art gallery shop is the perfect answer for diversity. The store itself is laid out like an art gallery with relaxing white space with which to adorn the artwork - perfect for maintaining an uncluttered feel with such a variety of artists on show. There is the main space on the ground floor and a further gallery down the narrow stairs. The lady who was working when I popped in was absolutely lovely, she was really friendly and talkative about the shop, but didn't push to sell me anything which I always appreciate. The art itself was wonderful and diverse, from the kitsch cutesy cow art by Caroline Shotten, to the modern pop-art stark portraits of Simon Claridge, to the bold graffiti art of Ge Feng there was something for everyone. My difficulty is that I could have purchased all of their pieces, since diversity is what I like best, however at around £400+ per painting I simply couldn't afford to be impulsive. I certainly don't think that it is overly expensive - art is quite often underpriced and undervalued, but in my current state of pauperdom I would have to really fall in love to make such a spend. If you are lucky enough to have that kind of cash to spend, I suggest you search for a gift in this gallery. You will find something unique and delightful herein.

I couldn't agree more with the first review. This is such a wonderful place to step into and at the…read moremoment they have a sale on so there are loads of completely juxtaposing pieces. From cartoon like paintings to classical fine art portraits of bare ladies. Rather scruffy looking as I was at the time I was pleased coercive such a warm welcome from the lady, Angela, who was working at the time I entered. Some truly breathtaking art work on display and ready for someone to buy and proudly display, unfortunately I need a new par of climbing boots before I buy anything else.