Solihull Arts Complex

Honouring the legacy of Emmy Bridgwater, the great surrealist artist and poet who called Solihull home, this vibrant outdoor exhibition brings together newly commissioned works of 30 talented artists from Solihull and the West Midlands.

Bridgwater’s own bold visions shaped British surrealism, and in her spirit, each artist has created a fresh, new work on the theme of ‘Surreal’, inviting you to see the familiar in unexpected ways.

This free exhibition will run in Solihull town centre from Thursday 6 March until Saturday 31 May. Find out more about the artists below.

Our Surreal Solihull artists - click on the artist names to find out more

Sajida Asif  - ‘Beyond the Bluebell Forest’

Fiona Carr - ‘Dreamwood’

Vicky Chapple - ‘A Story about Emmy, her Birds, the Prancing Horse, and the Growth of Solihull’

Michael Clulee - ‘The Founding of Soily Hill’

Jean Dubberley - ‘Full Circle’

Ella Flavell - ‘The Chance Encounter of a Horse and a Clock Tower’

Helen Grundy - ‘Bird Land’

Anne Guest - ‘When You Come This Way’

Michele Harris - ‘Return’

Tara Harris - ‘Essence’

Milly Jackson - ‘Sally Hill’

Sara Johnson - 'Slipping through the bars'

Ava Khera - ‘Touch of Infinity’

Tegen Kimbley - ‘Fractured Reflection’

Paul Lemmon - ‘And takes me to my dreaming’

Isabella Layla Sharif - 'The Surreal Realms of Solihull'

Natalie Mills - ‘Only I Know’

Paul Newman - ‘Rumination Beetle in Mell Square’

Sandra Pamela Palmer - ‘Soliwood’

Hazel Pitt - ‘The Sublime in the Mundane’

Annette Pugh - ‘Towards the Garden’

Tom Ranahan - ‘Surreal postcards of Solihull’

Helen K. Roberts - 'Urbs in Rure'

Richard Rudge - ‘Gordon the Monkey’

Mahnoor Saparas - ‘Going Places’

Hannah Smith - ‘Hidden Places’

Boglárka Tóth - ‘Looking Glass’

Abigail Villarroel - ‘Tonada de Orquídea Sangrante/Song of the Bleeding Orchid’

Victoria Wyton-Mills - ‘Hampton Manor, Empire of Light (After Magritte)’

 

There will also be a launch weekend celebrating the exhibition with music, dance and spoken word performances on Thursday 6 March, Saturday 8 March and Sunday 9 March - find out more here.

‘Surreal Solihull’ is supported by the West Midlands Combined Authority’s Commonwealth Games Legacy Fund and developed in partnership with Solihull Council, The Mayor Gallery in London and the Emmy Bridgwater Estate.

Gallery images - 1. Helen Grundy, ‘Bird Land’, Digital collage, 2024, 2. Emmy Bridgwater, 'Night Work is About to Commence', Oil on board, 1940-43 Birmingham Museums Trust. 3. Emmy Bridgwater, 'Stark Encounter', Ink drawing, c.1940, RBSA Gallery.