Humber Street Gallery’s Spring season showcases emerging local talent alongside established artist Harminder Judge

Humber Street Gallery, which is managed and run by Absolutely Cultured, has today announced its programme for April through to June.

The programme launching during the spring season includes two new exhibitions commissioned by Absolutely Cultured as well as supporting activity, performances, events and a new season of HSG Open Call.

From Wednesday 20 April in Space 2, Humber Street Gallery is delighted to present INTER_CHANGE Showcase – the culmination of the gallery’s 12–month long INTER_CHANGE talent development programme, established to support local creatives at the start of their careers, offering professional assistance and guidance. Working across a range of artforms including painting, sculpture, performance, video game design, spoken word, music and installation, this exhibition promises to present a cross-section of some of the most exciting new work being created by some of Hull’s most promising artistic talent.

This group show will explore themes of identity, conflict, activism and our relationship with the natural world presented across Space 2, offering a multi-sensory visitor experience. In support of INTER_CHANGE Showcase, the artists involved will be taking over the gallery’s Thursday Lates event on 26 May with an INTER_CHANGE Special. Featuring new spoken word, poetry and live musical performance work by artists who are currently taking part in the programme. Humber Street Gallery will also be hosting a day of talks, workshops and discussion around supporting artists, collectivism and collaboration at an INTER_CHANGE Symposium – with guest speakers to be announced in the coming months.

Opening on 27 April, established and celebrated artist Harminder Judge brings his new body of work, Ankles Absorbing Ash, to Space 1. Harminder Judge makes transportive sculptural works that simultaneously reference Indian neo-tantric painting, as well as the abstract expressionist and colourfield movements of the 20th century. His process pushes the boundaries of what painting can be and involves layering pigments into pools of wet plaster followed by prolonged periods of excavation (sanding, oiling and polishing). Referring to his work not as paintings but portals, they offer us a wide plane to look through, allowing for broader contemplation to take place.

For this exhibition, Judge reflects on a pivotal moment in his teenage years. At 15, he took part in the funeral rites of his Grandfather. After the cremation ceremony, he collected his Grandfather’s ashes, bone fragments and jewellery. This physical and spiritual transformation of body becoming ash, of material becoming immaterial, physical becoming metaphysical, are themes which have underpinned his practice over the last few years. This exhibition has been made possible by The Sunday Painter, London.

David McLeavy, Curator of Humber Street Gallery, said, “Both of our new exhibitions have been in the making for quite some time. The INTER_CHANGE showcase has been something that the artists have been building towards ever since the start of their journey with us last summer, and we have been developing Harminder Judge’s new body of work from a similar point last year. We feel there is something exciting about coming to Humber Street Gallery and seeing artists that may be at different stages in their careers, but are nonetheless still experimenting and pushing the boundaries of their respective fields.”

As visitors to the venue have come to expect and enjoy, there will be an opportunity to hear from the artists themselves and explore the themes of the shows at a free-to-attend launch party on 28 April where the artists will be present.

Humber Street Gallery is also excited to share the latest selection of works as part of its HSG Open Call 2022 project, displaying pre-existed pieces submitted by local artists for free on the walls of our vibrant ground floor café and bar space. Featuring
work by Annie Turner, Catherine Belamires, Charles Eden, Duncan Baird, Emma Garness and Jessie Davies.

The venue will continue to offer a range of wellness activities through new dates for their regularly sold-out Sound Bath experiences on the last Saturday of each month, and Yoga @ Humber Street Gallery returns every Wednesday, 6-7pm.