The Art of Wonder

The Art of Wonder The Art of Wonder is a gallery, art and makers’ shop in the High Street in Ryde, Isle of Wight. We also have a community puzzle out on the table.

Come in from the cold, enjoy a hot drink or a bowl of delicious soup and put in a piece or two.

In these hot days, don’t you just wish you were an octopus, with a jellyfish for a sunshade. Fantastic prints by Mia Sew...
24/06/2026

In these hot days, don’t you just wish you were an octopus, with a jellyfish for a sunshade. Fantastic prints by Mia Sewell are available to enjoy and to purchase during our exhibition “The Art of Play”, until 4th July.

´Nothing can be more serious than play’ Paul Cowdell told his rapt audience at The Art of Wonder yesterday afternoon, bu...
22/06/2026

´Nothing can be more serious than play’ Paul Cowdell told his rapt audience at The Art of Wonder yesterday afternoon, but no two groups of Surrealists ever read the rules of the game in the same way so something new is almost certain to result. There are books of Surrealist games, but we tried out just a few ways of playing - an upside-down jigsaw, the game of blind consequences known as Exquisite Co**se, some automatic drawing, and an assemblage of objects each of us had found and brought along on our way to the talk. As well as being hugely entertaining, Paul Cowdell could answer any question on the history and practice of Surrealism. If you missed the talk, the exhibition is still available to be seen until 4 July, and Paul himself will be popping in from time to time and is more than happy to talk to you about his work, and play.

These are pieces by the fascinating young artist Xeno Kulla. Their pieces are multi-media and are inspired from their ex...
20/06/2026

These are pieces by the fascinating young artist Xeno Kulla. Their pieces are multi-media and are inspired from their experiences of growing up in Estonia, dealing with neurodivergency and their mental health. Their art demonstrates how memories and life can be transformed into art. We are lucky enough to have the art shown above and more in The Art of Wonder, so come on by to take a better look!

Wandering through Paul Cowdell‘s dreamscapes and Surrealist assemblages that make up The Art of Play, I struggled to emb...
19/06/2026

Wandering through Paul Cowdell‘s dreamscapes and Surrealist assemblages that make up The Art of Play, I struggled to embark on a description for a social media post, so I picked out one of several recurring themes to photograph. Picture 5 is from Paul‘s book « Scinlace - a premonitory aftertaste » which is among the writings available to peruse, along with the wonderful 2D art and installations. Come lose yourself in The Art of Play, and hear Paul’s free talk on Surrealism at 2pm on Sunday. Let us know you are coming and we’ll save you a chair.

The Art of Play was the title we chose for our Surrealism theme, because playing is what Surrealism is all about - makin...
17/06/2026

The Art of Play was the title we chose for our Surrealism theme, because playing is what Surrealism is all about - making art by bypassing the rational mind to see the world in an extraordinary way. The jigsaw on our table is face down for Surrealism, the instruction on our drawing table reads „don’t think, draw!“ Here, our featured artist Paul Cowdell allows an image to emerge from the marks made by rubbing a pencil across a textured surface. Pop in and just doodle with us, and see what happens.

Surrealist artwork at The Art of Wonder by Mia Sewell, India Raphael, Julian Clarke and Xeno Kulla t
17/06/2026

Surrealist artwork at The Art of Wonder by Mia Sewell, India Raphael, Julian Clarke and Xeno Kulla t

This large oil on paper painting is entitled “Waiting for the past”. Surrealist motifs populate the artworks of young a...
16/06/2026

This large oil on paper painting is entitled “Waiting for the past”. Surrealist motifs populate the artworks of young artist Xeno Kulla of which we have a dramatic selection in the gallery simultaneously with Paul Cowdell’s exhibition of Surrealist installations, art and poetry, The Art of Play. Enter this fascinating world of the extraordinary in the ordinary. As Paul says, it’s “free, because poetry should be made by all”.

Accept the lacunar invitation of time, follow the beckoning finger, don’t think, just draw, come in and play or just sto...
15/06/2026

Accept the lacunar invitation of time, follow the beckoning finger, don’t think, just draw, come in and play or just stop by and wonder at the poetry. Our new theme at The Art of Wonder opened today to great excitement. For the next three weeks our gallery is filled with assemblages of found objects, images and words by our featured artist Paul Cowdell who for many years has been a passionate adherent of Surrealism. He will be giving an artist talk at 2pm on Sunday 21 June. Please let us know if you would like to attend for the sake of numbers, but the event is free and promises to be fun and fascinating. We are also proud to be showing 2D works exploring the motifs and themes of surrealism by Mia Sewell, Julian Clarke, India Raphael and Xeno Kulla. Don’t think, just come in and enjoy The Art of Play.

Address

147 High Street Ryde
Ryde
PO332RE

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 4pm
Tuesday 10am - 4pm
Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm

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