Three free exhibitions to open in Sunderland in January
Smoke and Mirrors, Bottoms and The Graduates open later this month across the National Gallery for Contemporary Art and National Glass Centre
A trio of distinct free art exhibitions will open in Sunderland later this month, spanning contemporary landscape, queer identity and the legacy of glassmaking in the region.
Two exhibitions – Smoke and Mirrors and Bottoms – will open at the National Gallery for Contemporary Art (NGCA), while The Graduates opens at the National Glass Centre (NGC).
All three open on Saturday, January 31.
Smoke and Mirrors is a group exhibition drawn from NGCA’s own collection, exploring contemporary ideas of landscape through photography, painting, sculpture, film, digitally generated works and drawing. Featuring work by 15 contemporary artists and photographers, the exhibition examines how landscapes are reshaped through digital manipulation, immersive environments and fictional worlds.
Jon Weston, Curator of NGCA, said: “After the lovely response we had last year to The Skin We Live In: Portraits from the NGCA Collection we are thrilled to once again dig into NGCA’s collection, this time to uncover contemporary landscapes.
“The artists included in the exhibition use inventive approaches to capturing 21st century landscapes in a world increasingly mediated through digital screens. The artworks in the exhibition use illusion and digital technologies to challenge our understanding of traditional landscapes.”
Opening the same day in NGCA’s Collection Space is Bottoms, the first solo exhibition by Sunderland-born artist-photographer Dean Raymond Gooch. A graduate of the University of Sunderland’s BA Fine Art programme, Gooch is currently studying for an MA and was nominated for the New Blood Art – Emerging Art Prize 2025. He was also awarded The Lizzie Rowe Award.
Bottoms presents a new body of large-scale photographic works, screenprints and risograph prints exploring gay identity and community. Drawing on the visual language of pop art, advertising and fashion photography, the exhibition uses bold colour, props and theatrical composition.
Jon explained: “The images are carefully composed using props and bold colour combinations in a theatrical and playful way speaking to pride, community and solidarity in the face of continued homophobia, discrimination and violence.”
The exhibition contains mild nudity and adult themes and has been produced in partnership with University of Sunderland Fine Art and the Northern Centre of Photography. Both Smoke and Mirrors and Bottoms run at NGCA until Tuesday, May 26, with a free preview event on Friday, January 30, from 6pm to 8pm.
Meanwhile, NGC’s closing exhibition, The Graduates, celebrates three decades of the University of Sunderland’s Glass and Ceramics Department. Featuring work by 51 artists, including graduates, staff and invited contributors, the exhibition has been curated with the help of Reino Liefkes of the Victoria and Albert Museum and Helen Ritchie of the Fitzwilliam Museum.
The exhibition spans NGC’s Gallery, Balcony Gallery and Research Gallery, and includes bespoke new works reflecting on the impact and future of regional glassmaking, alongside contributions from recent graduates and community groups including Veterans in Crisis Sunderland.