All Things Considered

Barbara Jones
Posted by Simon Lewin

Born in 1912, Barbara Jones studied at the R.C.A. and was a pioneer in the field of popular culture, demonstrated by the book ‘The Unsophisticated Arts’ - published in 1951 and described by Peter Blake as “a treasure trove of information about popular art”.

Ruth Artmonsky recently published a book on Jones’ work - “A Snapper Up Of Unconsidered Trifles”. Highly recommended.

And our friend Neil Jennings is currently looking for a home for this incredible mural design, believed to date from 1961, probably designed for Mount Pleasant Sorting Office & Postal Museum. Click the image below to view in full. The image size is 3m (yes, metres) by 27cm.

Any enquiries about this framed original should be directed to Neil Jennings at enquiries@jenningsfineart.co.uk

Posted by Simon Lewin on February 12th, 2009

Starling
Posted by Simon Lewin

Here's another of the one-off collages that Mark Hearld created for our St. Jude's In The City exhibition. Whilst the collages have all sold, there are still some of Mark's various limited edition prints available - and all of the sold work is still on the walls. The exhibition closes at 6pm on Thursday.

It's early days, but we're discussing a collage related project with Mark with an accompanying exhibition in Norfolk in December. As ever, we'll issue full details nearer the time via our free newsletter.

Posted by Simon Lewin on February 10th, 2009

Caught By The River
Posted by Simon Lewin

I'm intrigued. Our friends over at Caught By The River has something up their sleeves - a free gift for subscribers to their newsletters. A downloadable compilation album no less, due to be sent out on Wednesday.

Music plays a big part at this fishing website (...that's not just about fishing), so I'll be looking out for my newsletter on Wednesday. There's still time to sign-up - just head for the box on the right hand side of their site.

Posted by Simon Lewin on February 10th, 2009

Whisky Galore
Posted by Simon Lewin

About half way through our time at The Bankside and I'm looking forward to a trip north to the Highlands. We're lucky enough to spend part of our year in a region that's home to some of the best single malts you could hope to sample, just about equidistant from Cragganmore and Aberlour. All very tempting. (PS... if you ever come across a copy of Tom Eckersley's poster below, PLEASE let me know).

Posted by Simon Lewin on February 8th, 2009

Bo Nanafana Social Club
Posted by Kate Sullivan

Some people like to dine out and have cosy conversations on Valentine's Day. Some people like to stay at home and cook flamboyant food whilst listening to Chris de Burgh.

But some, like me, will be dressing up in 1940's gear and attempting to dance The Swing at Bo Nanafana's in Norwich.

The Bo Nanafana Social Club has quite a following. I believe it's only been running a year or so, and puts on 'club nights' every five months. The dressing up is serious. If you don't make an effort, you'll regret it.

On the 14th February, the Bo Nanafana theme is 'Shore Leave, A Nautical One Night Stand' with music from the fantastic 17 piece The Love Boat Band who last year caused a stir at the Edinburgh Film Festival in the famous Spiegeltent.

For further information and where to buy tickets, click here.

Posted by Kate Sullivan on February 5th, 2009

Frank Kiely
Posted by Angie Lewin

'Glories of the Past, Citadel of the Future' - until 14th February 2009

Yesterday I set off gingerly across the icy pavements to take a look at fellow RE member Frank Kiely's latest solo exhibition.

Well known for his large scale screenprints and drawings of iconic London imagery, at Ferreira Projects he's exhibiting over twenty paintings of familiar localities around Shoreditch and the City.

Also created for this show is an interactive wallscape drawing incorporating hidden visual puns amongst the buildings, street furniture and traffic of the Shoreditch area. A limited edition giclee print is available of the drawing.

As Frank explains...

"London is in a constant state of flux... These days the buzzword is redevelopment... I intend to capture this redevelopment in its tracks before the scenes become as well known as the Kings Road, Carnaby Street and Portobello Road. I want to catch these places with their pants half down"

The exhibition runs until 14th February 2009.

Ferreira Projects, 23 Charlotte Road EC2A 3PB www.ferreiraprojects.com

Posted by Angie Lewin on February 4th, 2009

St. Jude’s at The Bankside
Posted by Simon Lewin

A slightly more formal thank you to everyone who made it along to the opening of our exhibition at the Bankside last night.

I confess that when we woke up in London to an amount of snow that we couldn't remember experiencing before, we were (more than) a little concerned about the turn out.

But we didn't need to worry. There was an almost wartime spirit to the event, and everyone involved was genuinely very touched by the number of people that came along. Lots of red dots on the wall, but still plenty of work - framed and unframed - available. I'll try and add a few images over the next day or so.

The exhibition runs until 6pm on Thursday 12th February, open daily from 11am.

Posted by Simon Lewin on February 3rd, 2009

Good night…
Posted by Simon Lewin

... in more ways than one.

Thanks to everyone who braved London's worst snow in 18 years to come to the opening of our St. Jude's In The City exhibition at the Bankside. More on that tomorrow.

We made our way back across the Millennium Bridge, the clock at St. Paul's struck eleven, and shortly after we enjoyed 2 cups of tea and 2 bacon rolls for a total of £3.10 at Ferraris in Smithfield.

Job done.

Posted by Simon Lewin on February 3rd, 2009

Mark Hearld
Posted by Simon Lewin

Just back from the Bankside, and now part way through the hanging of St. Jude's In The City. There's snow on the ground, but at least everybody's work is now in the building!

If you're around on Monday night, do join us between 6pm and 8pm to celebrate the opening of the exhibition.

Most of the artists involved have been working on new pieces right up to the hanging deadline. Over the next few days I'll try to post a few images here of this new work.

The first (below) is Mark Hearld's "Jays On The Heath" collage.  I took this photo of the framed collage on the wall (which will help explain the fact that there's the ghostly image of me in there somewhere).

If you're in London, ignore the potentially chilly weather and join us for a glass of wine and what we hope you'll agree is a heart-warming selection of work.

Posted by Simon Lewin on February 1st, 2009