Michael Craig-Martin's drawings on paper have been garnering hype of late - thanks to a current show at London's Alan Cristea Gallery - but it's his drawings in the air that are really stopping us in our tracks.
On show at Roche Court's New Art Centre in Wiltshire, the umbrellas, gate, hammer and light bulb may in fact be sculptures, but when rendered in a stark, brightly coloured outline in 3D, they look like an extraordinary fusion of comic book with real life.
The 70-year-old artist is known for the mechanical way he conjures everyday forms, without inflection or any sense of his own hand in his work. 'I've always wanted to make drawings that were absolutely style-less,' he says. His simple artistic vocabulary allows him to explore notions of form, function, and perspective with a powerful economy of means, conveyed all the more strongly with the sheer scale of these new works.
Alongside the sculptures, the New Art Centre is also showing a series of new paintings by the Dublin-born artist - multi-layered compositions of letters and objects that combine to characteristically perplexing effect.
'Umbrella (blue)' by Michael Craig-Martin
'Hammer' by Michael Craig-Martin
'Gate' by Michael Craig-Martin
'Bulb' by Michael Craig-Martin
Inside the New Art Centre gallery is a new series of paintings by Michael Craig-Martin, including 'SEX'
'TIME' by Michael Craig-Martin
'FLESH' by Michael Craig-Martin
'DATE' by Michael Craig-Martin
'NAME' by Michael Craig-Martin
ADDRESS
New Art Centre
Roche Court
East Winterslow
Salisbury
Wiltshire SP5 1BG
-
Get lost in Megan Rooney’s abstract, emotional paintingsThe artist finds worlds in yellow and blue at Thaddaeus Ropac London
-
‘Water is coming for the city, how do we live with that?’ asks TBA21 in VeniceArt advocacy and activism platform TBA21's Venetian project, Ocean Space, addresses the climate issues the city is facing
-
In Shanghai, Hermès conjures a ‘cosmopolitan explorer’ for its one-off show on the Huangpu RiverNadège Vanhée, artistic director of Hermès’ womenswear collections, presented ‘The Second Chapter’ of her A/W 2025 collection earlier this evening (13 June 2025) against the futuristic skyline of Shanghai
-
Lubaina Himid and Magda Stawarska’s new show at Kettle’s Yard will uncover the missing narratives in everyday life storiesThe artists and partners in life are collaborating on an immersive takeover of Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge, in an exhibition that delves into a lost literary legacy
-
See the fruits of Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely's creative and romantic union at Hauser & Wirth SomersetAn intimate exhibition at Hauser & Wirth Somerset explores three decades of a creative partnership
-
Caroline Walker's new show speaks to women everywhere, including me'Everything related to my life with young children, because it's such an all encompassing experience,' the artist says of her new show at the Hepworth Wakefield
-
Cassi Namoda is rethinking stained-glass windows at Turner Contemporary in MargateThe artist drew from an eclectic range of references when considering the traditional medium for a Turner Contemporary window overlooking the beach – she tells us more
-
Meet the Turner Prize 2025 shortlisted artistsNnena Kalu, Rene Matić, Mohammed Sami and Zadie Xa are in the running for the Turner Prize 2025 – here they are with their work
-
The art of the textile label: how British mill-made cloth sold itself to Indian buyersAn exhibition of Indo-British textile labels at the Museum of Art & Photography (MAP) in Bengaluru is a journey through colonial desire and the design of mass persuasion
-
From counter-culture to Northern Soul, these photos chart an intimate history of working-class Britain‘After the End of History: British Working Class Photography 1989 – 2024’ is at Edinburgh gallery Stills
-
Surrealism as feminist resistance: artists against fascism in Leeds‘The Traumatic Surreal’ at the Henry Moore Institute, unpacks the generational trauma left by Nazism for postwar women
