**Corey Helford Gallery** brought their West Coast Style to the West Country this evening for the much anticipated opening of “Art From The New World” at the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery](http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ccm/content/Leisure-Culture/Museums-Galleries/bristols-city-museum—art-gallery.en). It seemed as though UK art fans were highly responsive to some of the wonderful work on show at the preview night, with a packed house drawing in the crowd from the length and breadth of the United Kingdom. [Arrestedmotion did a awsome blog post from the opening of this exhibition](http://arrestedmotion.com/2010/05/openings-art-from-the-new-world-bristol-city-museum/). [More info and pictures after the bump! Some real visual treats are on offer, from the knock-out Mike Stilkey** book installation in the outer lobby and all the way inside. Stilkey’s installation comprises close to 3000 books, and is a freestanding, two-sided piece - completed with the assistance of Bristolian [Ian Francis](http://www.ifrancis.co.uk/). From there on in, the inner lobby is dominated by [Buff Monster’s](http://www.buffmonster.com/) inflatable ice cream cone piece, which must stand 15 feet high inside the impressive hall which is a nod to Banksy’s ice cream truck installation in the same spot for his recent turn at the museum last year. A stunning [Dave Kinsey](http://www.kinseyvisual.com/) painting and a gem from Jan Corey and Bruce Helford’s own collection - [Todd Schorr’s](http://www.toddschorr.com/) “Ape Allegory” ([from last year’s Merry Karnowsky show](http://arrestedmotion.com/tag/schorr-mk-09/)) also take pride of place in the entrance hall. The real fun began with Gary Baseman’s** full-sized costumed figures roaming the crowd, Toby and Hot Cha-Cha (complete with HUGE phallus!) included. CHG brought an impressive number of the exhibiting artists over to attend the opening too and all seemed to be in a celebratory mood. - source arrestedmotion [gallery columns=”3” link=”file”]