Taste of Eden at art gallery
Welcome to Wolverhampton's Pleasure Gardens – complete with huge mushrooms and plastic snails. to Wolverhampton's Pleasure Gardens – complete with huge mushrooms and plastic snails. The display, described as a 'mini Eden', has landed at the newly extended Wolverhampton Art Gallery. And organisers hope that it will act as a little oasis of calm for office workers and shoppers looking to escape the bustle of the city centre. Pleasure Gardens is the first touring show to go on display in the spectacular new triangular wing at the gallery. Read the full story in the Express & Star.
The display, described as a 'mini Eden', has landed at the newly extended Wolverhampton Art Gallery.
And organisers hope that it will act as a little oasis of calm for office workers and shoppers looking to escape the bustle of the city centre.
Pleasure Gardens is the first touring show to go on display in the spectacular new triangular wing at the gallery.
As well as plants and flowers, there are interactive features and videos projected onto screens.
Jenny Parkins, marketing officer, said Pleasure Gardens was an example of the more ambitious works the gallery could put on thanks to the new £6.7 million extension.
The room will be used to hold major international touring exhibitions and displays put together by curators from the Lichfield Street venue.
Miss Parkins said: "It's a chance to bring high profile touring shows, which we didn't have before."
She added Pleasure Gardens, on show until June, would appeal to residents as much as visitors to the gallery from further afield.
"People can come and sit and take time out of the working day. It's a bit of an Eden and it's quite child-friendly," said Miss Parkins.
Seven new artists are behind the Pleasure Gardens exhibition, which was created at the National Gallery for Contemporary Art in Sunderland.
A whole range of different types of art are featured from photography, through to sculpture and video.
From June, the new gallery will house its first commissioned show from Choi Jeong Hwa, known as Korea's premier pop artist.
Miss Parkins said: "It's his first UK solo show, which is quite an important step. Art from the Far East is coming to prominence and quite fashionable at the moment in Britain." The new extension, which will also house the renowned pop art exhibition, opens on Saturday after 18 months of building work to create the stunning new space.