CURWEN GALLERY PRIZE FOR FIGURATIVE PAINTING: An Exhibition of the Shortlisted Artists

08-29 October 2014

Selected by

Sir Peter Blake (Artist), Anthony Green RA (Artist),

Nicholas Usherwood (Features Editor, Galleries Magazine), Jill Hutchings (Director, Curwen Gallery)

Private View & Prize Announcements on Tuesday 7th October 6-8pm

Two prize winners will be announced during the evening

Winner of the Curwen Gallery Prize for Figurative Painting (£1000 and a solo exhibition at Curwen Gallery)

Winner of the Odgers Berndtson Purchase Prize

Alison Elliot

The work of eighteen artists feature in this exhibition, each having been selected from the many submissions that were made to Curwen Gallery’s first ever prize for figurative painting. 

The panel of esteemed judges, Artists Sir Peter Blake and Anthony Green RA, and Nicholas Usherwood, Features Editor of 'Galleries' magazine joined Jill Hutchings, Director of Curwen Gallery, in making the final selection of artists.

This collection of works shows some of the great diversity in subject matter, style and approach in contemporary figurative painting.

Alison Elliott’s life-sized baby giraffe creates a huge impact as its sits at over two metres high, filling the wall from floor to ceiling. At the other end of the spectrum, Jeremy Galton still draws the viewer’s attention, albeit more quietly, with his exquisite still life of a humble hard boiled egg.

Jeremy Galton

Alongside more representational works including The Humanist (Self Portrait inspired by Erwin Panofsky) by Michael Sangster, and Richard Dack’s coastal scenes, more surreal or dreamlike imagery is seen in the work of Sandy Damon, Eileen Schaer or Josh Hollingshead. 

 In Hollingshead’s ambitiously large and detailed work Imaginary Gallery, famous works of art cover the vast hanging space from hundreds of well known artists throughout history.

Michael Sangster

One of these eighteen shortlisted artists will be announced as the winner of the Curwen Gallery Prize for Figurative Painting at the private view on 7th October, winning not only a cash prize but the opportunity of a solo exhibition at Curwen Gallery in 2015.

Josh Hollingshead

The shortlisted artists are:

Colin Allbrook, Richard Dack, Sandy Damon, Alison Elliot, Jeremy Galton, Josh Hollingshead, Peter Jones, Michael Kirkbride, Mark Lawrence, Jill Leman, Martin Leman, Bridget Moore, Colin Murray, Max Naylor, Michael Sangster, Eileen Schaer, Mark Ward and Robert E Wells.

Richard Dack

For press enquiries please contact Natalie@curwengallery.com 
or call 0207 323 4700

For more information on the exhibition see the website 

http://www.curwengallery.co.uk/prize/index.htm 

Brendan Hansbro - Animals

4- 27 September 2014

Brendan Hansbro presents a playful new collection of animal wood engravings. The collection is a menagerie of quirky illustrations coloured with the artist’s characteristic mischievous humour. They are impish and cheeky whilst at the same time retaining a timeless, archetypal quality. In a similar way to Hansbro’s own personality, these prints appear irreverent whilst simultaneously alluding to more profound ideas.

Octopus, wood engraving 20 x 23.5cm, £95 (framed)

Penguin, wood engraving, 23.5 x 20 cm, £95 (framed)

Each animal is in possession of a unique symbolic character and inhabits a common universe. When discussing these characters with Hansbro it became apparent that they are in fact parts of his own personality, wearing his expressions and often looking like him. They are elements of his psyche dressed up as caricatures and, if given further attention, are likely to evolve into elements of a personal myth.

Although at first glance they look “cute” these prints reflect a lot about the artist. They are far more meaningful than he would likely be comfortable admitting. In a first meeting to discuss the show he mentioned that the penguin was “depressed” and that the frog had a “personality disorder,” suggesting that Hansbro is fairly aware of what these characters get up to in his head when he is pretending not to look.

Dinosaur, wood engraving, 23.5 x 20 cm, £95 (framed)

These works may be a surprise to fans of his more recent gothic drawings (shown in his last show with Curwen Gallery, Pugin’s Dream in 2012) as they are quite a departure from his instantly recognisable style. These wood engravings continue an earlier trajectory begun in the 90s with his popular series of birds. In “Animals” Hansbro shows a refinement in his skills as a printmaker and expands upon the characterisation of his subjects to create a more comprehensive world of new characters

Meerkat, wood engraving, 23.5 x 20 cm, £95 (framed)

Interestingly, for Hansbro, he feels this is the most formal work he has done, mentioning that wood engraving is “the final resolution of drawing.” These works follow a tradition of popular wood engraving pioneered by 18^th Century printmaker Thomas Bewick who also favoured the natural world as his subject matter. Hansbro’s new work reinvigorates the tradition of popular wood engraving with a whimsical contemporary slant.

Owl, wood engraving, 23.5 x 20 cm, £95 (framed)

Visit http://www.curwengallery.co.uk/gallery/hansbro14/title.htm to see a full online catalogue of this exhibition