All Things Considered

The Neil Cowley Trio
Posted by Simon Lewin

The Neil Cowley Trio are currently on tour in Australia. Here's an interview with Neil in Brisbane. For tour dates and other news, visit the Trio's website.

Posted by Simon Lewin on October 30th, 2009

Alice Stevenson at The Zetter
Posted by Simon Lewin

Illustrator Alice Stevenson will be exhibiting at our favourite hotel in London, The Zetter, alongside Natsko Seki, in a show entitled 'This Place Where I Live'.

Alice Stevenson was born in 1982 in west London where she grew up. She graduated from the university of Brighton in 2005 with BA Hons Illustration.

Alice has since been working as a freelance illustrator, working on numerous projects including book jackets, editorial illustration, packaging designs and designs for stationary and we were delighted to have the opportunity to launch her first printed fabric as part of our St. Jude's range, a two colour print called Treehouse.

The exhibition runs from 4th-30th November at The Zetter, St. John's Square, 86-88 Clerkenwell Road, London EC1M 5RJ. Open daily from 7am-11pm.

Posted by Simon Lewin on October 29th, 2009

Godfrey & Watt – Harrogate
Posted by Angie Lewin

Just a few days until my exhibition at Godfrey & Watt in Harrogate opens.

The exhibition features a range of my limited edition prints plus some unique collages. Many of the prints haven't been available for a while as the last copies of the editions have been reserved for the show, such as 'Meadow II', below.

The exhibition opens on Saturday 31st October and runs until 21st November. All of the work included can be viewed on the Godfrey & Watt website.

Posted by Angie Lewin on October 27th, 2009

Glyn Brewerton
Posted by Simon Lewin

Had the pleasure of meeting artist Glyn Brewerton at the opening of our Peter Green exhibition at St. Jude's today.

We realised we'd recently seen Glyn's work in his 'Drawing Journeys' exhibition at the Norwich Arts Centre.

Glyn has exhibited work nationally and internationally in exhibitions which have included “Drawing Breath” at the Fundicoa Lugar De Resende in Porto  2008, The Jerwood Drawing Prize 2007 and The Association of Illustrators Best of British Illustration Awards 2005. He is currently subject leader for Illustration at Norwich University College of the Arts.

The exhibition runs at Norwich Arts Centre until Wednesday 28th October, from 10am-6pm. Admission free.

Posted by Simon Lewin on October 24th, 2009

Durham Book Festival
Posted by Simon Lewin

Our friends at Caught By The River will be taking part in the Durham Book Festival on Sunday 1st November 2009.

Sound recordist Chris Watson will present a unique soundscape and spoken word presentation of The River Coquet (a river I am desperate to walk & fish), Kathryn Williams reads 'The Ouse Burn', a magical piece of writing about what happens when rivers flood into your life. And author of 'The Accidental Angler', Charles Rangeley-Wilson reads from his written work and introduces a new short film about what makes our chalkstreams so unique.

Tickets for the event are £8 (£6 concessions) but there's a 2-for-1 offer available via the Caught By The River website.

Posted by Simon Lewin on October 23rd, 2009

Affordable Art Fair
Posted by Angie Lewin

I will have work with two of the exhibitors at this weekend's Affordable Art Fair in London.

On stand J4, Jealous Gallery will have three of my screenprints - 'Wild Garden II', 'Birches, Ballindalloch' and my latest print 'By Green Bank' (below). If you live in London or the south east it's a good opportunity to purchase the latter two prints as these are too big to send by mail order.

Over on stand A9, Artichoke Printmaking will have a selection of lithographs, linocuts and wood engravings including the last copies of a few prints including 'Two Green Jars', 'Spey Path III' and 'Dandelion IV'.

The fair runs from Thursday 22nd to Sunday 25th October 2009 Visit the AAF website

Posted by Angie Lewin on October 21st, 2009

Devon Sproule
Posted by Kate Sullivan

Enchanting, talented and cool - Devon Sproule's compelling personality is captured throughout her songs, instantly grabbing the audience's attention at The Norwich Arts Centre last weekend. Joined on stage by her singer songwriter husband Paul Curreri (before he embarks on his own UK tour in November) they amused us by singing, dancing and laughing in perfect unison.

Her latest folksy-bluesy-country compilation "Don't Hurry To Heaven" wasn't written in her native Virginia as with her previous albums but instead written here in the UK with her touring band. Sproule's songs are whimsical, witty and charming - perhaps a result of of her upbringing on a rural hippy commune in Virginia.

"...growing up with 80+ adults (many of whom I was very close to and spent lots of one-on-one time with) creates a need for versatile communication. That's what I see in people who have lived at Twin Oaks - a desire to communicate and a willingness to do it not only on their own terms, or in their own personal language, but in whatever manner will get the job done . . growing up in an income-free environment, the lack of money never bothers me much... So yes, on the whole, I'm proud of my alternative upbringing."

Devon Sproule's UK tour dates.

Posted by Kate Sullivan on October 20th, 2009

Gavin Maxwell
Posted by Simon Lewin

Caught most of a programme on Radio 4 this morning, presented by Terry Nutkins. I have memories of him presenting Animal Magic and the like.

I hadn't realised he had spent time working with Gavin Maxwell, best known for Ring Of Bright Water - a book about his love for otters and wildlife in general.

The programme was an intriguing and very personal profile of a clearly 'complex' man, but it left me feeling drawn back to the Highlands - but the almost cliff-hanger ending suggests that next week's episode will explore a slightly darker side to the story. This second episode will be broadcast on Friday 23rd October. You can listen to the first episode via the BBC website for the next few days.

Posted by Simon Lewin on October 16th, 2009

Bauhaus Proud
Posted by Matthew Loukes

In his first contribution to All Things Considered, Matthew Loukes reports on a recent visit to Pension Briol - a hotel we've been keen on visiting for some time...

It’s not hard to find representations where modernism and 20th century design are seen as being all about synthetic materials, science and hard surfaces. Concrete, glass and steel, allied to some vaguely expressed but sinister ideas of monochrome socialism and uniformity. ‘Egg boxes’, scoff the readers of mid-market newspapers, while stepping into their grey cars that are only distinguishable from one another by the badge on the front. A visit to Pension Briol; some four thousand feet up the rocks that separate (but hardly divide) Italy, Austria and Germany ought to put paid to that lazy notion. The building itself remains defiantly modern (even though it went up in 1928) but emphasises wood as much as stone, grass as much as concrete and looks far less out of place on the side of a mountain than something mock Tudor does beside our own unlovely A3 trunk road.

One can get close to Briol by road, from Innsbruck or Munich, by rail from Verona or, as we did, from the hilariously over-done yet impressive Milan train station – a place that would look ostentatious in Las Vegas. But whichever way you choose, you can only get close. The last lap is done on foot and takes an hour or more, or by jeep which is faster if on the hair-raising side of things tearing up roads made from mud and adrenalin. The first sight of the building is both dramatic and charmingly homely. A line of bright white washing flaps in front of a yellow and dark wood facade; both sitting in front of an alpine scene that would have Julie Andrews clearing her throat. As soon as we step out of the car, we’re grinning stupidly, eyeing the wooden terrace, the furniture and the paint on the window frames. I can tell this place is special because my partner nudges me in the ribs. “Look at those chairs!” (continues below)

Hubert Lanzinger designed pretty much everything about Pension Briol, from the cutlery and crockery (still in use today) to the furniture, which looks like the sort of stuff Marcel Breuer might have done when there was no tubular steel handy. The owners smiled indulgently while we took photos of light switches, door handles and window catches. Johanna, descendant of the original owner, and her wonderfully named husband , Urban, are pleased to find enthusiasts but this is a working hotel and there are guests to book in, towels to wash and chemotherapy-strength schnapps to hand out. I stand on the terrace with a buzz that’s part alcohol and part wonder. Behind me is a mountain range of great beauty and majesty. That’s all very well, but in front of me are a solid wood supporting column and a coffee pot that are breaking my heart.

In the rooms the theme of modernity allied to more or less natural materials continues. The beds are wooden and screech like turkeys when you sit on them (or do anything else).  I find it hard to put down a backpack made from a by-product of the oil refining business. It just feels out of place. Part of me wishes I’d come with a leather suitcase, a hawthorn walking stick and socks made from goat’s wool. There aren’t any private bathrooms just a white tin jug and bowl for a quick splash. The shared facilities are the one part of the place that has been modernised and are beyond reproach. Sneaking a look into the other rooms on our floor (there are maybe five on each floor) the layouts are a little different but all the details are the same, from the bedside lamps to the designs on the shutters. Turns out that I don’t really mind homogeneity; as long as it meets my taste. (continues below)

Mealtimes at Briol revealed that although the place is nominally in Italy, this area of the South Tyrol is more German than anything else. The food is a combination of noodle and strudel that doffs a feathered cap towards Italy without ever letting the calorie content fall below the belt-busting. And since the deal is for full or half board everyone gets together for dinner when a cow-bell is rung and the people-watching can start in earnest. During the day there’s an outside pool that’s not infinity but a pretty long time nevertheless and a series of trails that range from an easy stroll to Air Ambulance material. Each of the tracks brings you across mountain meadows covered in wild flowers that make one realise that designers and artists will always have something to aim for. (continues below)

My expectation was that Pension Briol would attract an arty crowd. The severe spectacles, no hair and Moleskine notebooks brigade. But I was on my own. Mostly the guests were families with kids, dogs or both. The main feeling was of a slightly upmarket resort with an emphasis on healthy outdoor activity and heartiness. That’s not to say people ignored the surroundings;  anyone that I asked agreed there was something very special going on. They just didn’t make a fuss about it. On my last day I chatted to a couple of older women from Germany who looked like Bohemians in retirement. They enthused about the design and the feeling of preserved history but also passed on the news that Lanzinger went on to do some work in the war era that he may have come to regret. Like Milan train station – and I guess many parts of Germany and Italy – there are reminders of a dreadful past amid things of great beauty. That’s true of Britain too, when one thinks of it a little more.

Pension Briol, Barbiano, Val d'Isarco, Italy. www.briol.it

Matthew Loukes is a London based Crime Writer. His novel ESTRELLA DAMN is available from the usual outlets. A new novel GOOSE FLESH comes out in mid November 2009. More information from www.soulbaypress.com

Posted by Matthew Loukes on October 15th, 2009

Peter Green OBE RE
Posted by Simon Lewin

Here's 'Shore Forms', another of the woodcut & stencil prints that we'll be featuring in our forthcoming solo exhibition by printmaker Peter Green.

The exhibition opens on Saturday 24th October and runs until Saturday 14th November 2009. Please do come along and join us on the opening Saturday.

A number of the prints that we'll be exhibiting are now available to purchase online at our new print store.

Posted by Simon Lewin on October 12th, 2009