Richard Goodall Gallery

I could not enter, The man told me, as «there Was Notting on The walls», great place otherwise

When I recently went to the Richard Goodall Gallery, I can’t explain what a pleasant experience it was. I was looked after for about half an hour by Ingrid and then I was taken to the main Gallery to spend an hour with Richard.
I had gone «looking» at the Leonard Cohen collection and came away having bought the most stunning print — they look so much more vibrant in reality than a photograph can ever do them credit for. Then Richard kept disappearing into a stock room and producing more items of interest.
It was a most fascinating experience and I am so glad that I was able to visit the Gallery — everyone was so warm, kind and helpful. And it made such a difference to actually see the prints and the unique way they have framed them.
3 minutes ago

And last for now on my mini art tour of Manchester is this, what an art gallery would be if a musician or ardent music fan put one together. The likes of John Lennon and Leonard Cohen didn’t or don’t just write songs you know… they draw. They paint. And this is where you’ll find their work. While its sister gallery offers posters and vinyl as part of their musically themed displays, here be photography (often of famous folk), prints, ‘lenticulars’ and some very unusual sculptures.
As for the aforementioned Cohen and Lennon, they’re not half bad you know. Both adopt a kind of endearing cartoony style which is instantly heartwarming. You can’t buy that kind of thing. Well you can, but it might bankrupt you. Lennon had always wanted to be an artist before becoming a Beatle. Now, he’s living out that dream tragically too late, but we’re all the more privileged to be seeing it on our own doorsteps.

This is a really nice gallery, but due to its location it never seems to be busy. Situated right on the edge of the Northern Quarter at the end of High Street, you wouldn’t end up walking past if you didn’t know about it. So, I’m telling you about it now… go on, it’s worth a five minute walk from the Arndale Centre!
Like Rebecca, I also popped into this gallery in the run-​up to Christmas to check out the John Lennon exhibition. I quite like art and the boyfriend is a big Beatles fan, so when I heard about this exhibition I took him down there. It was interesting to see his scribbledy pencil and ink sketches (ok, so I *quite* like art, that doesn’t make me an articulate art critic!). However, as I’m not a huge Beatles fan and the boyfriend doesn’t really like art, we probably spent a maximum of 12 minutes in this smallish gallery. There were also a few of Ray Caesar’s fantastically surreal ‘digitalised children’ pictures on sale, but you’d be lucky to find anything for much cheaper than a grand in here.
Even if you don’t have that sort of cash to splash, this isn’t a gallery which you will feel uncomfortable having a browse around.

This is a lovely, airy, bright gallery with bags of character. One of those places that you don’t stay in long (as it’s not that big…) but a great place to have a break from a hectic shopping day. I popped in while I was doing my Christmas shopping, and was met with a lovely exhibition of John Lennon’s art work. Now me, I’m not a big Beatles fan. I mean, I like the music, especially that bit in Hey Jude that goes «hey Judey Judey Judey Judeeeeey!!!» but I’ve never really gotten into them. Still, Lennon’s slapdash scribbly art granted me the perfect escape from the horrors of Christmas shopping. The Gallery also has great collections, including a collection of Leonard Cohen’s artworks.
The RG also sells books. But not like other gallery bookshops do. Their David LaChapelle tome Arists and Prostitutes will set you back a cool £2000, which is a lot to spend on a coffee table book. Heck, it’s a lot to spend on a coffee table! Still, exciting stuff, and considering a shoot with Dave LaC. will set you back $ 1,000,000, this is a slightly cheaper way of getting a bit of that magic, right? (OK, I give up, I can’t justify a £2k book…)
Back to the RG, it’s a jolly nice gallery with quite a bit of character and a real sense of arty trendiness. Or should that be trendy artiness? Oh I don’t know. Just pop in next time the Market Street madness has you reaching for your hipflask.

Whilst the original Richard Goodall Gallery on Thomas Street specialises in cool music posters, screenprints, photos and vinyl toys, this sister gallery on High Street is a more high end affair.
Housed in a big space with floor to ceiling glass windows, Richard Goodall Contemporary exhibits large paintings, photographic prints and ceramics by emerging and established artists. Rock photographers Gered Mankowitz, Mark Seliger, Kevin Cummins and Graham Nash have all shown their work here alongside painters Jamie Baldridge and Dan Baldwin. Work changes regularly and the gallery have some great names lined up for 2010. My only grumble, is that it doesn’t look or feel as inviting or exciting as the original gallery.

Fantastic gallery. Modern pop art and curios. A lot of the limited prints are well affordable even to an art miser like me

The second Richard Goodall Gallery is on Shudehill and is a much more upmarket version of the one on Thomas Street. The art they show is from up and coming artists in the modern art world and is more expensive than their other gallery. It is also bigger and more minimalist as it does not sell the Q-​Bears and books. Highly recommended