We are delighted to share that Forbes has recognised CLOSE Gallery in their recent article “Somerset’s Hidden Gem for Art Lovers”. The piece celebrates our mission to offer art-lovers an immersive, thoughtful experience rooted in place, artists, and community.
The feature praises how Close Gallery blends the natural beauty of rural Somerset with an ambitious, contemporary curatorial programme. Founded in 2009 by curator Freeny Yianni, our gallery was born from a desire to move “beyond the art fair momentum” and to create a space where art can breathe. The article reflects on how our setting - within the 17th-century Close House and its converted barns - provides a backdrop that encourages calm, reflection, and connection.
Forbes highlights our current exhibition After Nature, which brings together established Land Artists like Richard Long and David Nash with another generation of environmental responders: Tania Kovats, Aimee Parrott, Chris Drury, Nissa Nishikawa, Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg, Onya McCausland, Fred Sorrell, Lotte Scott, Alastair & Fleur Mackie, Mercedes Balle, Alex Hartley, Magnus Hammick and Simon Hitchens. The show underscores our belief that art has a vital role to play in responding to nature and ecological change.
Also noted is The Fugitives, an exhibition of works by the late Jane Harris, whose later-period metallic abstracts are shown alongside smaller, earlier works in our London project space, giving viewers a fuller sense of her lifelong artistic journey.
From the gallery’s leadership, Forbes highlights the way we slow the process down - moving away from the frenetic pace of major art fairs to emphasise deep engagement, meaningful conversations, and supporting work that resonates intellectually and visually.
We are deeply grateful to Forbes for this thoughtful recognition. It affirms our path: that of a gallery rooted in Somerset but open to the wider world, one which values place, artist, and audience in equal measure.
Read the full Forbes article here
