Current Exhibitions and Events
| Gallery | Artist | Dates |
| Crossley Gallery | George Hainsworth | 22nd Feb – 25th May |
| Mosaic/Upstairs | Peter Stanaway & Kevin Haynes | 19th Apr – 25th May |
| The Focus Wall | The Woven Warriors | 8th Apr – 28th Apr |
| Walkway Gallery, IOU | Two Rivers: collaborative project | Current |
| Walkway Gallery, IOU | Stewart Knights | Opens 13th March |
| Installation D Mill | Lost Workers | Permanent |
| Lego Brick Gallery | Lego Model | Permanent |
| Photography Gallery | Photographers including Martin Parr | Open now |
Peter Stanaway & Kevin Haynes
The Mosaic and Upstairs Galleries
19th April – 20th July 2025
Peter Stanaway and Kevin Haynes are northern artists whose subject matter is primarily concerned with the industrial landscapes and people of the textile mill towns in Lancashire. Both members of MAFA (Manchester Academy of Fine Art), they have exhibited widely both locally and internationally.
While having in common a graphic quality of painted depiction through delineated sections of colour, Peter’s work is reminiscent of the modified cubism of Fernand Léger. He uses the texture of the surfaces he works on to add depth and variation, sometimes exposing the process of building up the image. Kevin simplifies complex images into very carefully mixed sections that create a sense of depth. His faceless workers express their individuality through clothing much like one of his influences, L. S. Lowry.
George Hainsworth
A Retrospective
The Crossley Gallery
Saturday 22nd February – 25th May 2025
“Much of my work has links with that exemplified by Chardin, work that requires to be valued, understood and appreciated by an intimate and domestic audience. The paintings aspire to being ‘used by the eye’ as part of domestic life, and therefore make possible the enrichment that is implied by this experience.”
George Hainsworth describes his work as figurative in the most expansive sense. He can go from large paintings of vases of flowers composed of confident gestural impasto marks, to simple geometric assemblage. Born just before World War II, George was strongly affected by war-time events, particularly Hiroshima, which led to the production of many anti-war works throughout his career.
A student at Leeds College of Art 1955-60 and the Slade School of Art 1960-62, he went on to work in Higher Education for many years alongside his own practice, which also drew from his experiences in teaching.
“The influences upon my work are too numerous to mention. They derive from other painters and sculptors, but also from films and dance, archaeology, science, politics and philosophy. I feel that as an artist one is and should be embedded in the wider culture, interacting with it and hopefully enriching it.”
George draws on a wealth of sources, but what he produces is distinct stylistically, full of physicality and always completely sincere.
The Woven Warriors
The Focus Wall
Tuesday 8th April – Monday 28th April 2025
This show highlights the rich and diverse untold stories of the women driving the cultural life of Calderdale.
The Woven Warriors project was set up by local artist Lucy Arden and writer Miranda Roszkowski to shed light on the often overlooked stories of women dedicating their working lives to the people of the area and to inspire future female leaders.
It was inspired by Bradford born Doreen Pickles who worked for Crossley Carpets. She was a trade union leader, lecturer and champion of women’s causes throughout her life.
Doreen was born on the 30th August 1924 and died on the 8th December 2020.
She championed the rights of others throughout her life, and left a legacy of “advancing women’s involvement in progressive politics and campaigns” when she died in 2020.
Two Rivers
IOU’s Sculptural Sound Installation
IOU Walkway Gallery, Dean Clough, Halifax, HX3 5DJ
Monday-Friday: 08:00-20:00
Saturday-Sunday: 09:00-17:00
Created in collaboration with artist Richard Wincer, writer Louise Oliver, composer Dan Morrison and sculptor Andy Plant.
The installation fuses woodcuts, sculpture, technology, spoken word, and sound art to explore themes of evolution, heritage, legacy – the circle of life, the passage of time, the cycles of nature.
Walk through the installation and take in the sounds that echo around this atmospheric art space.
esK : ‘Cuiridh mi clach air do chárn -I’ll Put A Stone On Your Cairn’
IOU Walkway Gallery, Dean Clough
Opens 13th March 2025
Monday-Friday: 08:00-20:00
Saturday-Sunday: 09:00-17:00
IOU Artist in Residence esK (Stewart Knights) new exhibition reflects on his experience living at the IOU Hostel Hebden Bridge and his time in Calderdale.
Over his time in South Pennines, Stewart has developed a love for the cairns (purposefully stacked stones) of the hills and moors.
“Memorials and compasses pointing towards the mishmash of ideas and histories that I have come to know and love whilst here in Calderdale”.
This has led him to choose, for his final project as Artist in Residence, to create interactive cairn-like structures out of found and gifted objects. The exhibition explores how cairns could form in urban contexts using everyday materials. The original use of cairns and standing stones for rituals, navigation and memorial purposes are preserved in these interactive sculptures while also encouraging storytelling and play.
The Iron Man by Chris Mould
Please note: The Iron Man is currently on temporary display at The Bankfield Museum.
The Iron Man is currently on show in the entrance to The Dean Clough Galleries. Chris said “My interest in Ted Hughes’ The Iron Man began when I first found the book in the school library at a young age. It had been published in the year before I was born (1968) and continues to be a strong selling title in the children’s market today.
After being asked to produce my own illustrated version of the story I became fascinated with the idea of taking the artwork to the next stage and building the character three dimensionally.”
Copies of The Iron Man, Illustrated by Chris Mould are available in the Design Shop at Dean Clough.
The Lego Model
Visit the Lego model of the 22 acre Dean Clough site situated in the Lego Brick Gallery in D Mill next to the Upstairs and Mosaic Galleries. This model, constructed out of approximately one million Lego bricks has been created by Lego artists Michael Le Count and Tony Priestman.
Also displayed in the gallery are artefacts and photographs of the Crossley Carpet era and of the renovation of Dean Clough in the 1980s.
The Piano Club
The Piano Club started over 30 years ago, a forerunner of the many piano meet-up groups found throughout the UK. Based at the Crossley Gallery in Dean Clough, The Piano Club offers a forum for pianists to play, perform and develop within a sympathetic and friendly environment and the opportunity to discuss aspects of piano playing and repertoire with fellow musicians. Our aspiration could be summed up as mutual self-improvement through the knowledge and experience to be found within the group.
The group meets on the first Sunday of each month from 10am to 1pm. Membership is free and meetings are open to observers.
The Crossley Art Gallery at Dean Clough has a beautiful Fazioli grand piano and seats 150. It is situated close to Halifax Bus Station, and the Dean Clough car parks are free on Sundays.
The Piano Club is run by David Nelson, formerly the Artistic Director of the Hebden Bridge Piano Festival. Please contact David by phone or email for further information. Tel. 07704 873 894
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/pianoclubhalifax
Purchasing Artwork
Purchase exhibited items by debit or credit card from the Design Shop next to the Dean Clough Main Reception. When the exhibition finishes purchased items may be collected by arrangement.
Prints of some artists’ work are also for sale in The Design Shop.