Over The Sofa Gallery
Over the Sofa

The Wivenhoe Bookshop’s Over-the-Sofa Gallery is probably the smallest of its kind worldwide, occupying a space of 4ft x 4ft above our much-loved Bookshop sofa. Space being at a premium in our shop, we were delighted to be able to fit one in!
The idea for the gallery came when we were given a delightfully comfy red velvet sofa where readers can relax whilst browsing, and an artist friend suggested she show one of her pictures in the space above it.Ten years later the gallery is still going strong, largely due to the abundance of artistic talent in Wivenhoe and the locality, where many of our exhibitors live and work.
We show a different artists’ work each month and each December hold a unique annual retrospective where we ask each artist to produce a work no larger than 7” x 9”, in order that they will all fit into the space.
Books and artists go so well together and some of the artists who have shown their work in our gallery are also printers, notably James Dodds and Dale Devereux Barker, who exhibited their books as well.
As well as established professional artists we have also shown the work of young artists who are keen to have a platform for their art. We show a range of media include photography, textiles and woollen crafts and pottery as well as painting.
Artists wishing to put forward a proposal for an exhibition are advised contact us by email for terms and conditions.
Current
Over the Sofa Sept 2023 – Miranda Campbell
Dates: 01/09/2023 - 30/09/2023 | |
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For September we have an exciting new exhibition of contemporary art black and white photographs by Wivenhoe artist, Miranda Campbell. Miranda studied photography with the British photographers John Blakemore, Peter Goldfield and Fay Godwin. The photos in the exhibition were made using a light sensitive emulsion which has been painted… |
Previous Shows
Over the Sofa July/Aug 2023 – Anthony Jones
Dates: 01/08/2023 - 31/08/2023 | |
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Be sure to catch Anthony Jones' evocative interiors |
Over the Sofa June 2023 – Lone Quist Edwards
Dates: 01/06/2023 - 30/06/2023 | |
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Lone Quist Edwards studied design in Copenhagen in the 60s...... |
Over the Sofa May 2023 – Grace Woods
Dates: 03/05/2023 - 31/05/2023 | |
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My pieces... embrace the beauty of all womankind. |
Over the Sofa April 2023 – Amanda Jenkins
Dates: 04/04/2023 - 30/04/2023 | |
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Local landscape from memory and a sense of place. |
Over the Sofa March 2023 – Noah Carter
Dates: 28/02/2023 - 31/03/2023 | |
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Appreciate the everyday |
Eerie Essex – Bethan Briggs-Miller and Ailsa Clarke
Dates: 18/02/2023 | |
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Scary Story Sharing - with Eerie Essex |
Over the Sofa Jan 2023 – Nancy Taplin-Locke
Dates: 08/01/2023 - 01/02/2023 | |
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Nancy Taplin Locke’s delicate paintings of birds evoke both transience and timelessness... |
Nov 2022 – Lorna Davies and Diana Doone
Dates: 01/11/2022 - 30/11/2022 | |
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Life studies in pastel, graphite and charcoal |
Oct 2022 – Josephine Kingsford and Ros Christian
Dates: 01/10/2022 - 31/10/2022 | |
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Life studies in pastel, graphite and charcoal |
Sept 2022 – James Willis
Dates: 01/09/2022 - 30/09/2022 | |
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UK artist interested in trees, spikes, rivers, metaphors and light. |