Leeds Corn Exchange spotlights local talent with new commercial sculpture gallery

A new “first of its kind” sculpture gallery has officially been opened by the city’s Lord Mayor, Councillor Asghar Khan in the Leeds Corn Exchange.

The gallery is owned and run by six sculptors, Pete Donnelly, David Iredale, Mandy Long, Penelope Pendle Hayes, Johnny Sunter and Steve Williams and will show their work and offer gallery space to guest artists.

The Sculpture Gallery is the brainchild of David Iredale who, having identified the need for a dedicated event or place for sculpture to be easily accessible to the public, staged an exhibition in the Corn Exchange during the autumn of 2021.

This met with such an overwhelmingly positive response from the public that David drew together five other like-minded sculptors and The Sculpture Gallery was born.

David said: “Sculpture Show North clearly showed that there is an appetite out there for buying unique sculpture, especially when presented by the Artists themselves.

“With sculpture produced in ceramic, stone, wood and mixed media, there is something for everyone, and having direct access to the Sculptors gives the public a rare insight into our world.”

Penelope Pendle Hayes added: “Most galleries concentrate on exhibiting paintings and prints whereas our gallery gives us the opportunity to concentrate on exhibiting sculpture to its optimum.

“The Sculpture Gallery is an ideal opportunity to bring beautiful, affordable and thought provoking 3D work, suitable for homes, gardens, offices and hotels, to Leeds and the North of England.

“Although things have improved in recent years, the art world can still be somewhat London/South-centric and hopefully this gallery will bring another strand in the ‘levelling-up’ initiative.”

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