The Dark Ages: an exhibition of new paintings by Bristol artist Mike Stuart

The Dark Ages Exhibition opens Friday 28th featuring live poetry with Edson Burton, Muneera Pilgrim and Tracey Heather Johnson with paintings by Mike Stuart of Disphoria Art!

HOURS. 10 Colston Yard. Colston Street. Bristol BS1 5BD
Opening from 18:00-21:00 on Friday 28th February 2025.
Also open 11:00-17:00 on Saturday 1st & Sunday 2nd February 2025.

Created as a direct emotional reaction to the current age of anxiety over the last two years, this series of monochromatic painted biro drawings tries to find sense in an unpredictable, precarious world. A stream of consciousness feed, aspiring to explore higher states, but invaded by intrusive thoughts of industrial genocide, growing fascism, rampant consumerism, unaccountable oligarchy, media overload and social isolation, while the world careers blindly towards climate breakdown…

Figures scratched in jagged black outlines dug furiously into the paper, jostle with ink-washed shadows in broken urban landscapes. Sharp-edged, gritty, and distorted, but also lyrical, dreamlike, and darkly humorous; the pictures are striving to evolve the ideal form to encompass everything we feel in these dark ages.

Mike Stuart studied Fine Art at Goldsmiths in the 80s, alongside some of the Brit Art movement artists. He exhibits regularly in Bristol. His work is influenced by baroque and Renaissance painting, comic art, street art, the attitude of punk… and cats.

Free entry

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Miranda Rae is a Producer and Presenter with over 25 years experience of working in radio and music industries including her own weekly show on BBC Radio 5 for which she won a Sony Award and many years on the infamous Galaxy Radio where Miranda played a pivotal role in the UK’s music scene. Miranda assists in overseeing, and helps to curate over 50 programmes a week. The role is multi-faceted and includes training, broadcasting, producing, programming, supporting emerging talent, social media, PR & publicity, event management and stage management, employing many technical skills including editing and using many different software as a user and a programmer.