Gordon Cheung: The Garden of Perfect Brightness at The Atkinson

Maja Lorkowska, Exhibitions Editor

Visit now

Gordon Cheung: The Garden of Perfect Brightness

The Atkinson, Southport
3 June-9 September 2023

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Gordon Cheung, Engraved Moon and Unfolding Clouds, 2023. Financial newspaper, archival inkjet, acrylic and sand on linen. 150 x 200cm.
Book now

The Atkinson presents Gordon Cheung: The Garden of Perfect Brightness, an exhibition filled with texture and light, emanating from the artist’s paintings and sculptures.

Cheung’s technique developed over time, utilises the blurred boundaries between virtual and actual reality. His work is produced in a variety of media, including stock page listings, often from Financial Times, spray paint, acrylic, inkjet and woodblock printing. This choice of materials communicates the artist’s interest in the effects of global capitalism, as well as his ‘in-between’ identity.

Visually, the works are beautiful and compelling, with intricate details and complex surfaces. Centred on the concept of a Chinese garden, The Garden of Perfect Brightness is inspired by traditional Chinese ‘scholar’s rocks’ or ‘spirit stones’. By embodying microcosms of landscapes, they become focal points for contemplation and connectors between nature and civilisation.

Where to go near Gordon Cheung: The Garden of Perfect Brightness at The Atkinson

Southport
Tourist Attraction
Town Hall Gardens

The Town Hall Gardens is a perfect spot to recharge your batteries whilst out and about in Southport.

The Engine Room Notice Board
Southport
Event venue
The Engine Room

The Engine Room is a creative community hub in Southport’s Wayfarers Arcade, offering co-working space, cultural events and collaborative opportunities for artists, freelancers and educators.

Southport
Southport Pier

Southport Pier opened in 1860, making it the oldest iron pier in Great Britain. It is also the second-longest in the country.

Southport Seafront
Southport
Beach
Southport Seafront

As well as being home to the Southport Air Show, there are many nostalgic seaside delights on Southport’s seafront, including the iconic pier.

Southport
Park
Victoria Park

In Southport’s town centre is Victoria Park, home to the famous Southport Flower Show, Southport Food and Drink Festival and the British Musical Fireworks Championship

Beach
Formby Beach

A beautiful National Trust beach which emerges from glorious coastal pinewoods. The ideal spot for walking the dog and spying red squirrels.

Ring O'Bells
Restaurant
Ring O’Bells

Popular country pub based in Ormskirk, serving classic British food and local ales.

Ormskirk
Restaurant
Moor Hall

Fine dining in a renovated grade II listed manor house. Offering some of the country’s most innovative dishes in beautiful surroundings.

Exterior of fish and chip shop
Blackpool
Restaurant
Harrowside Fish & Chips

Winner of the Good Food Award’s coveted Chippy of the Year award on multiple occasions, Harrowside is a great choice for fish and chips in Blackpool.

What's on: Exhibitions

Woman agaisnt space background
ExhibitionsManchester
(Re)collection at saan1

Across three floors of saan1, three independent curators pursue distinct interpretations of memory, nostalgia and landscape.

Free entry
ExhibitionsManchester
Nothing Gold Can Stay at texture

After recently finding a new home in Cheetham Hill, texture 2.0 hosts its second show, fittingly themed around transience and impermanence.

Free entry
Poster for Bodies in Water. A figure wearing a multicoloured, fringed costume and silver star-shaped headpiece stands knee-deep in a lake beneath dark clouds, with green hills in the distance. Bright green text reads: “Bodies in Water”, “8–25.8.26” and “PV: 7.8.26, 18–21”. Bottom left shows the PINK logo and address: Hilton House, Lord Street, Stockport, SK1 3NA.
Exhibitions
Bodies in Water at PINK

Folklore wraps around human anxiety in this new PINK exhibition, where the dragons and giants of Lake Bala become placeholders for fear itself.

Free entry

Culture Guides

Exhibitions

Summer isn’t usually a high point in the exhibitions calendar, but Greater Manchester’s small galleries seem to have made a pact to change that this year.

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre

From intimate dramas to spectacular outdoor festivals, discover the North West performances worth adding to your diary.

“the ripple” artwork by Crowns & Owls courtesy of Good Machine.
Music

From post-industrial romance to experimental country, here's a hot new batch of weird gigs in small venues.

Food and Drink in the North

It's summertime, and the dining choices are easy, thanks to our expert guide to food and drink in Manchester and the North.

Emily Lloyd-Saini as Grace in Space and Harrie Hayes as Lieutenant Strong in Horrible Science
Family things to do in the North

Whether you’re after storybook theatre, museum wanderings or illusion-bending play spaces, there’s plenty to keep curiosity ticking through winter and beyond.

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
Cinema in the North

There's no shortage of great films out at the moment, whether you're looking for the latest blockbuster, that hot arthouse flick fresh from Cannes or a cosy classic.