Glynn Boyd Harte : 5-23rd December 2013

An exhibition celebrating the life and work of Glynn Boyd Harte; artist,author, illustrator and traveller as well as being "one of the most curious and flamboyant characters on the London social scene," (Telegraph 2003). 10 years since his death Curwen Gallery is holding a retrospective of his remaining works, taken from the personal collection of his widow, Carrie Boyd Harte. The exhibition contains a wide selection of works from many different periods of the artist's life.Many recall periods of spent abroad, such as the vivid illustrations from his much celebrated book Mr Harte's Holiday, represented in the exhibition by Villa Les Flots (above) and Boite aux Lettre as well as many other works.Other pieces, such as the wonderful Salmon(below- a gallery favourite and one of the first to sell) and Le Bain Marie, were produced as commercial illustrations for papers and advertisements. Many of Boyd Harte's most interesting works celebrate particular times and places in the artists life, conjuring up an idea of a traditional Parisian cafe breakfast or the view of a favourite Fitzrovia shopfront.It is this effortless capturing of a moment which distinguishes him from his many imitators.His choice of scene is so often unconventional, as can be seen in L'Aquarelle (below) or Five Chairs, yet at the same time so appropriate to his subject. Also on sale are two of his exceptionally rare artists books, Temples of Power (a study of the architecture of London Power stations) and Souvenier of Metroland (produced with the poet,John Betjeman).Many of his classic lithographs are also included in the exhibition, Champagne and Sardines, two immensely successful prints which are now very hard to get hold of. Glynn Boyd Harte was born in Lancashire in 1948 and graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1973. He was also an accomplished pianist and composer and was locally famous for his flamboyant clothing and lavish fancy dress parties.He was master of the Art Workers Guild in 1995 and had regular solo exhibitions at Francis Kyle Gallery and Curwen Gallery as well as various galleries in Paris and New York. He travelled extensively, from St. Petersburg to San Francisco, with frequent stays painting in Paris. Glynn divided his time between his homes in Fitzrovia, London and Normandy, France.He died at the age of 55 on 16th December 2003, mid-way through his solo exhibition "Apples and Artichokes" at Curwen Gallery. For more information on the exhibition see the gallery website for an online catalogue of the exhibition.

Macmillan Support Fundraising Weekend

Saturday 30th November and Sunday 1st December 2013

Every year Curwen Gallery  runs a special exhibition in aid of the charity Macmillan Cancer Support.All works sold in the exhibition give a percentage (at least 10%) of the wall price to the charity.
The exhibition is an eclectic mix of many different artists including those represented by the gallery, artists that are new to us and artists that exhibit with the gallery on this one occassion and are specific to the exhibition.

Suzanne Baker, Kerry Fir I, goache, £875

This year we are very priviledged to be showing a large body of work from the distinguished scultptor Trevor Edmands. Edmands makes sculptural assemblages of found objects which have a distinct feeling of the later sculptural works of Antoni Tapies.This altered violin is a particularly close example and one of our favourite pieces from the collection.

Trevor Edmands, Spirit of the Violin, altered violin

Another interesting piece on show is Sardines by Robin Spalding, small, framed plaster castings of actual sardines, gilded with silver leaf and then painted to look (almost!) like the real thing. They were made in response to the much loved lithograph Sardines by Glynn Boyd Harte (showing immediately at Curwen Gallery after as part of a large retrospective of the artist).

Robin Spalding, Sardines, plaster, silver leaf and oil, £360

New to the gallery is Charlotte Lyon, a very successful artist currently living and working in Amsterdam.Her lovely piece Piranhas (below) is part of a small body of work which she has brought to the UK specifically for this exhibition.Also in this exhibition are a new line of mugs by gallery artist Brendan Hansbro, featuring animal characters from his otherworldly menagerie.

Charlotte Lyon, Piranhas, acrylic with charcoal, 50 x 50cm, £1200

More information on this exhibition can be found on the Curwen Gallery website.

Sineid Codd : Losing Gravity

31st October - 27th November

Sinéid Codd makes images relating to time, geological and personal, in hand-made monotype prints. Areas of often vivid and intense colour contain forensically detailed images, taken directly from found flora and fauna and, importantly, preserving actual scale and features.

Sinéid Codd, early morning

As such, her work references early photography, and film, by using rhythm and image sequencing. The prints possess a subtle and luminous quality, some with a distinct vertical composition responding to the artists’ interest in using narrative structures to articulate ideas about walking through the landscape.

Sinéid Codd, Night Garden 1

Sinéid studied at Winchester School of Art, Goldsmiths College, University of London and the Central School of Art & Design. She has exhibited with many UK galleries including the Whitechapel Gallery and the Royal Academy, London. Her work is held in private and public collections in UK, France and USA, including the National Maritime Museum and the Paintings in Hospitals Collection. She has been a gallery artist with the Curwen Gallery since 2005. 

Landscapes & Seascapes: Jane Corsellis, Richard Pikesley and David Poole

This month in the main gallery we are showing an exhibition of the landscapes and seascapes of three established artists; Jane Corsellis, Richard Pikesley and David Poole. Each artist has been chosen for this exhibition because of an outstanding ability to capture the essence of a natural environment in traditional mediums, including oil on canvas, watercolour and pastel drawing.

David Poole is particularly well known for his portraits, having undertaken portrait commissions for many members of the Royal Family including The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh and The Queen Mother. His landscapes are rarely seen but much admired by those few who have been lucky enough to view them in his home. This exhibition is one of the rare occasions that this aspect of his work has been displayed in a gallery setting.

David Poole, Lavender Fields,
 pastel on paper,  30 x 46cm (paper size)
£5500

Jane Corsellis had many solo exhibitions with the New Academy Gallery between 1985 and 2004. Many of these were hugely successful and she acquired countless admirers and collectors of her paintings. Jane shares her time between London and Pembrokeshire, where she has had a house and a studio for many years. Many of her new landscapes in this show are based on scenes from around her studios in Pembrokeshire and London. 

Jane Corsellis, The White Sail, Newport,
 oil on canvas, 61 x 76cm (image size) ,
£8500

Richard Pikesley exhibited at the Curwen/New Academy Gallery many years ago and it is with great pleasure that we welcome him back. His stunning oil paintings capture the beauty of sunlit coastlines of various UK locations, including Dorset and Cornwall.He is an active member of the Royal Watercolour Society and the New English Art Club. 

Richard Pikesley, Gig Boat Turning, Lyme Regis,
oil on canvas, 81 x 86cm (canvas size),
 £3700

Brenda Hartill, "Emboss", 3rd - 26th October 2013

In the downstairs space of Curwen Gallery Brenda Hartill, an artist we have been showing for almost 30 years, is showing a range of new works using collagraph (a print made from a collage) as a starting point. 

Brenda Hartill, Golden Icon IV
collagraph, 85 x 64cm fr
 £330 unframed, £420 framed

To make these works printing plates are constructed using a variety of ordinary materials, from plant skeletons and natural fibres, to card, plastic, rope and found objects, often using plaster to combine them together.

These are firmly glued and sealed then inked and run through a heavy printing press to print in a very sculptural way. This method of working enables her to capture the forms and energy the natural materials, along with the sculptural strength from using plasters and variety of collaged materials.

Brenda Hartill (left) working in her studio with her printers Nicola and Dawn

The embossed watercolours are developed freely from embossing the paper first, then developing the painting while allowing the textures and patterns of the embossing to enrich the glowing transparency of the watercolour. 

Brenda Hartill, Flowers in the Wind I
embossed watercolour, 86 x 101 cm framed
 £3250

Her new monoprints, are inked in rather subtle colours, then combined with placing various materials on top of the plate before printing to create areas of subtle blind embossing. She has also produced a series of black and white works, which contrast the strong black abstract imagery with embossed white on white textures, which come alive with directional lighting.

Brenda Hartill, Black on White II
Collage, 90 x 85cm framed
 £2800

Brenda Hartill will be talking about her work at Curwen Gallery on Tuesday 15th October from 7pm. To see more of her work online click here.

Albany Wiseman "Garden Squares of London" with Robin Ollington

Albany Wiseman (left) and Robin Ollington (right)
discussing the success of "Garden Squares of London"

Last night Albany Wiseman and Robin Ollington met up at Curwen Gallery  to discuss the success of last month's exhibition "Garden Squares of London". The exhibition, originally the brainchild of Robin Ollington, was a study of many beautiful garden squares of London by the celebrated watercolourist, Albany Wiseman.

Albany Wiseman, Manchester Square, £875, SOLD

Over the course of the year Albany visited 23 squares with his fold up easel, painting from life in watercolour.Albany was exceptionally dilligent, working in rain, shine and snow, to produce a wonderful exhibition which documents many of the hidden residential areas of London.

 Yesterday, when I met them both for a photo shoot for Garden Square News magazine, both were full of life and discussing their next project together, an exhibition of the watercolour illustrations from their book "Tommy Atkins Goes to War".
. 

Rachel Clark "Transitions"

This month Curwen Gallery are very excited to be showing a solo show by a new artist to us. We originally came across Rachel Clark three years ago after she graduated from her MA in Printmaking at Camberwell College Arts. She was chosen to feature in Hot Off The Press, our annual exhibition of our favourite graduating MA printmakers from the London Schools. 

Thank You Wandsworth and Goodbye, etching, £495 (unframed)

Since then she has shown her printmaking with us in our group exhibitions as well as in numerous other exhibitions including The Clifford Chance Award and the National Portrait Gallery’s BP Portrait Awards. 

The Riddle of Tinmath, etching, £395 unframed

Her new exhibition features both painting and printmaking, both of which share a similar sensitivity to colour and abstract form. She says of her work “Abstract Painting is a way of connecting the inner and outer world”. More images from the show can be found online here

Quiddity, oil on canvas, £4500

NORTHERN GRADUATES 2013

Private View: 5th August, 6-8pm

Exhibition: 6th - 31st August 2013

Bethany Armstrong, Huddersfield Uni

Northern Graduates 2013 is the 24th annual exhibition, providing a showcase for the best of this year’s graduates from the North of England. These select few are all artists who have stood out amongst the hundreds of graduates all completing their degrees this summer and show the most promise for becoming successes of the art world in years to come.

Francesca Aikman, Uni Central Lancashire

The work in the exhibition covers various mediums including painting, printmaking, sculpture and many elements of mixed media and found objects. This group of artists also show a great variety of styles and methods. Francesca Aikman’s mixed media paintings focus on ‘ignored spaces’, the work in this show all feature underground spaces, painted in monochrome, giving an eerie and industrial quality to the image.

Hannah Davies, Manchester School of Art

On a far more personal level, Hannah Davies exquisitely executed paintings of close up distorted faces have an unsettling feeling in their directness and intimacy, heightened by her use of colour capturing the quality of skin extremely convincingly. Bethany Armstrong investigates portraiture in a contrasting way, her printed portraits of faces rearranged using geometric shapes deal with cognitive neurophysiology and how our brains work unconsciously to make sense of unordered situations.

Jessica Shandley, Manchester School of Art

Another artist using photographic elements is Jessica Shandley. Her mixed media paintings incorporate found images, alongside elements of print, painting and fluorescent Perspex. More abstract styles of painting include Dawn Beever’s work, her large colourful abstract paintings show great attention to use of pigment and the qualities of the paint itself.

Kennis Chan’s paintings are built up by thousands of small marks and consider how this constructs colour and form. Bijan Amini-Alavijeh’s work plays with patterned form and loose paint strokes. Molly Smyth and Eve Laws also work in gestural and abstract painting. Alistair Woods and Harry Hartley both work with found objects; Woods creates 2D constructions, whilst Hartley produces sculptural cityscapes.

Bijan Amini- Alavijeh, Manchester School of Art

Helen Wheeler also works sculpturally, creating works referencing landscapes using a process with plaster, iron filings and magnetic attraction. Lucy Hesling’s etchings based on sound and automatic mark-making add an element of printmaking to this exhibition, alongside Denise Robson who draws on Victorian etchings which she has transformed into large standing cut outs. Other three dimensional works include Frida Cooper’s collections of found bees, encased in resin cubes or old ornate display cases.

Frida Cooper, University of Salford

 One of the most eye catching pieces are the pink fluffy tanks, which are not only objects themselves but wearable outfits. Kathryn Thompson accompanies her works with photographs of the tanks being worn around town, in an urban environment, a subversive statement on politics and warfare through the use of (an unlikely) textile.

Kathryn Thompson, Northumbria University

Whilst the exhibition as a whole reflects general tendencies in art practice in the Northern Colleges, each artist and their work is selected purely on its own merit, not to create a comprehensive survey of all these trends. Northern Graduates stands as an interesting and thought provoking exhibition in its own right. This is an opportunity for fresh, new and exciting artists to be visible to the press and public as they leave the academic environment and enter the art market.

For more information see the gallery website here: http://www.curwengallery.co.uk/gallery/ngrad13/title.htm

West End Extra and Islington Tribune Article

Text Reads:

CURWEN GALLERY AUCTIONS

at Curwen Gallery in Fitzrovia this July

This month the Curwen Gallery in Fitzrovia will be holding two auctions comprising of over 200 artworks. Throughout the gallery’s long history, and its association with The Curwen Studio, it has accumulated a large collection of artworks, many of which are from established 20^th Century masters. Most of these pieces are rarely seen by the public; only those lucky enough to be invited down to the basement beneath the gallery will have seen the contents of this ‘Aladdin’s Cave’ of precious art.Many of these gems from the collection are being  auctioned at Curwen Gallery and online through The-Saleroom.com.

 

Sandra Blow, Borderline (2000), Estimate: £700-900

All of the artwork in the auctions is currently on display at the gallery, covering the walls from floor to ceiling to allow viewing of the 233 lots. Here, works by master printmakers such as Sir Terry Frost, Ceri Richards or Edward Bawden sit alongside exciting works by young emerging artists, some of whom were discovered through the gallery’s renowned Northern Graduates exhibition. Pieces of particular interest include two originals by Leonard Rosoman, one of the Directors of the Curwen Gallery for many years, a screenprint from Sandra Blow, a brightly coloured lithograph of ‘Doctor Dog’ from Paula Rego, and a wonderful portfolio by Chloe Cheese, ‘Still Life in London & Paris’ from 1979 which contains 6 delightful lithographs.

 

Terry Frost, Suspended Forms, Estimate:£1000-1500

The beauty of these particular auctions is that there is such a variety of art work available that any size, taste or budget should be catered for. From the seasoned collector looking for serious investment pieces, to the first time art buyer looking to furnish a new home or office, there will be appropriate artworks for so many people. Most of the artworks are expected to sell for considerably below their normal price and in addition there will be no commissions/ buyers premiums to pay on either auction. Also the majority of the lots will not have a reserve placed on them. This is a fantastic opportunity to acquire artworks from the gallery’s collection and the possibility of a great bargain to be had!

 

Patrick Hughes, Poets Typewriter, £500-700

The Online Auction is already underway, finishing at 9pm on 22nd July. The Live Auction will take place on the evening of Tuesday 23rd July from 7pm at Curwen Gallery. Bid’s can be left for both auctions online, however in the case of the Live Auction bidders are encouraged to bid in person at the event itself. For anyone that cannot attend the Live Auction in person we will be providing a live video stream of this exciting event enabling bidders to take part over the internet.  To see the catalogues for both auctions visit www.curwengallery.com/auction.

A Passion for Colour: Monoprints by Manfred Welling

Manfred Welling's first solo exhibition with Curwen Gallery; "A Passion for Colour", is currently showing in our upstairs gallery. It is a unique exhibition of his newest monoprints, made by transfering an image from a matrix to paper using an etching press.

One of the stars of the show, Blue Cliff, sold moments after the exhibition opened.

One of the original works, Earthflow,
sold quickly on the opening night.

These matrices can consist of natural and man-made materials such as various kinds of paper and fabric, leaves, grasses and other plant materials, plastic film as well as etching and collagraph plates. Each is a one off artwork which cannot be replicated.

The exhibition really surprised us when we first encountered it as we had long been acquainted with Manfred Welling as a regular visitor to the gallery but only fairly recently saw his work and decided to give him his first solo exhibition with us.

 The exhibition was originally scheduled for last year, but was postponed because of the essential building work in the gallery during the original timing. Since last year however huge developments have been made in Welling's style with the newer works feeling more resolved than the works chosen for the exhibition last year.

New work Gyras is still available for purchase.

Although the process used to produce the newer work remains largely the same, his new pieces have a completely different substance to them, being more reminiscent of microscopic images of cells rather than the original works which spoke more of landscape contours and natural phenomena.

 Blue Dawn,one of the newest works on show,
Sold in the first few days of the exhibition.

Much of the exhibition has already sold, however there are still some great works available to buy. One of the gallery's favourite works, Illusion, is still available for £225 framed. Call the gallery on 0207 323 4700, to arrange a purchase. There are a number of people interested in this piece however, so check the gallery website for current availability.

Manfred Welling, Illusion, £225

To see a selection of Manfred Welling's work, click here (opens in a new window) see the exhibition on the gallery website.