Hastings Contemporary

Hastings Contemporary

Hastings Contemporary
4
Tuesday
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
Hastings Contemporary has developed a reputation for its focus on painting and Modern British art. An ambitious programme of temporary exhibitions includes work by important Modern British artists, internationally celebrated artists, and emerging practitioners. The gallery sits among Hastings’s famous net huts, overlooking the working fishing beach.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles377 reviews
Excellent
132
Very good
133
Average
60
Poor
28
Terrible
24

MYDOGISFINN
Emsworth, UK838 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2022
This is a very fine building with great views. However the content did not really do much for me. The gallery does not appear to have any kind of core collection. When we visited there was some kind of Summer Exhibition with a large number of works of variable standard by largely unknown artists. If admission was free or a small donation it would be OK but £8 just to see the type of art one can find exhibited at Community centres is a bit steep. It must have cost millions to build but what is its purpose?
Written 26 March 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Fotheringay
London, UK77 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2022
From the outside, a beautiful building that fits well within the old town and historic fishing quarter. From the inside, more of a puzzle. For a small gallery, non concession entrance seemed steep,but a place like this does need maintenance, staff and security; so maybe not such a surprise. As for the exhibitions, when I visited the ground floor was taken up by Ibrahim El-Salahi - Pain Relief an instillation who's challenge I almost met. The first floor Seafaring exhibition was more to my taste, but mileage will vary, as they say.

What I found odd was that a building soaked in design flows very poorly. There is a lot of empty white corridor space with doors leading off marked private or having something to do with artist workshops. This leaves the visitor with a feeling the have gatecrashed someone else's party, despite having paid handsomely to be there. And that is a shame. Front of house staff were friendly, the upstairs cafe looked interesting, though I had already eaten, and there is a handy balcony with some pleasant views.
Written 23 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Andrew
St. Albans, UK7,119 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2022
I just love this art gallery and its location. On this visit, due to a very valuable painting (that was part of the Seafaring exhibition), all of the galleries blinds had to be closed. This was a shame as we windows themselves frame what are scenes that are works of art in themselves.

We visited during the colourful Lakwena Maciver’s Jump exhibition that featured very abstract portraits of basketball players. Also on was the Sir Quentin Blake’s “Birthday Biro and Bic works” – children were encouraged to make their own work in the same style.

Afterwards we visited the Drift café for some refreshments and to enjoy the excellent views it offers.
Written 13 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Clap O
11 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2021
A well curated and well laid out contemporary art space. Informative wall comentaries. Constantly introducing special exhibitions focussing on significant themes or schools or individual artists in a variety of media. Rarely does one feel that any space is just being filled out. Nice cafe with a balcony overlooking the fishing fleet and the sea.
Written 13 November 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

darrylt187
St Leonards-on-Sea, UK172 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2021 • Solo
A wonderful space to view exhibitions the latest of which included Hepwoth and Lowry. The staff are very helpful and a cohort of volunteers very enthusiastic. The cafe has some stunning views of the Stade. The only criticism lies with the shop. I expected more from a gallery of such high quality and was rather taken aback as to have no postcards, pictures or guides about the exquisite building.
Written 21 October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

futtock21
London, UK17,297 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2022 • Solo
A great new exhibition at Hastings Contemporary under the umbrella title Seafaring to present depictions of the sea from the nineteenth century to the present day in all of its galleries except the largest pee/occupied with the intriguing graphic works of the 91-year old Sudanese emigre Ibrahim-El-Salahi. Back to the sea which started badly with some mere photographic reproductions of Gericault but hit its stride with some graphic works on the theme of the Raft of the Medusa by a German artist Kippenberger contemplating his own imminent end from liver failure caused by alcohol misuse. A glorious Turner shipwreck with tiny bodies lurching between two ounces of sea and sky, then three impressive works by contemporary artist Cecily Brown (b.1969) one also of drowning occasionally apparent bodies in an abstract melange. Upstairs works by twentieth century British artists including a John Bellany print of The Old Man and the Sea, a brown mass hitting the surface water in a huge Maggi Hambling who was probably just hitting a gin and tonic as she painted it. Three works Including a seagull by Humphrey Ocean RA whose surname surely justified inclusion of his works by itself. Good to see prints by Bernard Cheese and Robert Tavener.
Written 2 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

futtock21
London, UK17,297 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2023 • Family
Since metamorphosing from an outpost of the Jerwood Foundation Hastings Contemporary had felt something of a damp squibb. The Jerwood Foundation having withdrawn its impressive collection of twentieth century British art back to London some of the first exhibitions put on by the Hastings Contemporary felt a tad below par. But now a joint exhibition of works by the Belarusian Jewish artist Chaim Soutine (1893-1943) who settled in France and from the next generation the English artist of Ukrainian descent Leon Kossoff (1926-2019). Apart from their Eastern European ancestry both artists have in common their use of heavily brushstrokes and impasto. Whereas Soutine’s masterpieces are portraits of Parisian waitresses and bellboys not to mention Provençal landscapes Kossoff described in an abstract expressionist style places such as Willesden Junction and Camden Road not a million miles from his Islington birthplace. This is one of the most impressive exhibitions I’ve seen anywhere in England this year to date. And as an added bonus there are some huge photographs and sculptures by young African artists as an added bonus in the largest gallery on the ground floor. Only the Soutine Kossoff exhibition catalogue disappointed by its thinness.
Written 20 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

David L
Wymondham, UK156 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2023 • Friends
This was a much more interesting experience than we had been expecting. The gallery was showing works by Leon Kossoff and Chaim Soutine which made a fascinating comparison. The gallery layout was first class and the staff friendly and helpful. Highly recommended.
Written 2 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kay P
3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2023 • Friends
Attractive building in the Old Town. Welcoming staff and a definite buzz. We went to see the Kossoff/Soutine exhibition. Plenty of interesting information about the artists and thought provoking works on display. Cafe on the second floor. Wheelchairs available. We filled in an Arts Council questionnaire which was more to do with sex orientation than art. Couldn’t see the relevance but hope it helps this lovely Gallery get a grant.
Written 4 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Maureen C
11 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023
Soutine/Kostoff exhibition was wonderful. Everything about the gallery was a pleasure to visit topped off by the most wonderful café.
The cafe staff were so lovely and went to great lengths to ensure that the gluten free member of our party had as wonderful an experience as I did. The food was great I just wish we lived closer so we could go all the time!
Written 13 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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