If you are put off from visiting museums because they are cold and forbidden and seem hell-bent on boring non-intellectuals to tears, then it’s way past time that you visited The Andrew Logan Museum of Sculpture. It’s not only the first museum in Europe dedicated to a living artist but Logan is also considered a national queer icon in the UK.
74-year-old Logan is a sculptor, performance artist, jewelry maker, and portraitist but is probably best known for founding the Alternative Miss World in 1972. The Event has been described as a “pansexual beauty pageant” where the “bizarre is beautiful”, and during its time it attracted figures from the world of art, fashion and entertainment, including David Hockney, Derek Jarman, Zandra Rhodes, Vivienne Westwood, Brian Eno, and Grayson Perry.
Logan was born in Witney in the heart of rural England and had initially studied to be an architect but ended up on a very different path. He influenced one of the greatest queer filmmakers of the last century Derek Jarman, whose early film-making work documented the social scene around Logan and his studios at Butler’s Wharf, London.
Even back then he had always dreamed of opening a museum to share with the world his unique approach to life and art. He wanted the museum to be a vibrant space to display examples of the work he has created over the decades and to stage events that would share his vision and skill for curating performance and spectacle.
It all started to become a reality in 1988 when Andrew and his partner Michael Davis purchased redundant squash courts in Berriew, Mid Wales. and then in 1991, The Andrew Logan Museum of Sculpture (ALMoS) opened to the public. Designed by Michael, the conversion and building works were funded partially by themselves along with grant aid and donations from patrons.
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Within the museum, you will find sculptures, mirrored portraits, water colors, jewelry and photos from the mid-sixties to the present day. On display, you will also find personal items, created by Andrew for the late actor Divine, late painter Luciana Martinez de la Rosa and Joan Simon Menkes who was the editor of the Beverley Hills Art Magazine. These pieces have been left to the museum by their estates.
In addition, you will find Andrew’s series of Birds of a Feather, which were sculptures created in the late 1970s during Andrew’s ‘mad’ period. Other fascinating works created by Andrew include The Cosmic Egg, The Living Taj Mahal, and Egypt Revisited. These are all unique sculptures that have been inspired by his many adventures around the globe.
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The UK is full of such glorious traditional landmarks BUT for any queer visitor or resident, THIS IS A MUST SEE DESTINATION. The Museum is situated in Berriew is a chocolate-box village of typical traditional Welsh black & white timbered houses located on the Montgomeryshire / Shropshire Border, so worth staying overnight.
NB The Museum closes ALL WINTER and reopens May 1st
