All Things Considered

Brita Granström
Posted by Simon Lewin

Berwick based artist Brita Granström has two exhibitions running concurrently at Northumbria University in Newcastle from 18th May until 29th June 2012.

In Butcher, Baker, Cockle Sweet-Maker, Brita focuses on the town in the same way that painters such as Bawden and Rowntree documented English towns during the 1940s. As well as the buildings, she engages with local traders - the butchers, the bakers and the pub landlords.

A Breath Of Fresh Air is a broad survey of Brita's paintings of Swedish and Northumbrian subjects. These reveal a kind of windswept paradise, a terrain of boundless adventure for children, where they might enjoy fishing, messing about in boats, or discovering a dead seal on a beach.

And in the Gallery Print Room you'll also be able to see original artwork from the children's book Charles Dickens - Scenes from an Extraordinary Life by Brita and Mick Manning. Signed copies of the book will also be available during the exhibition.

For full details on all the exhibition visit the Northumbria University website.

You might also enjoy these short films show Brita at work: One | Two

From top to bottom: Pay Here Please, Brenda On The Phone, The Butcher (screenprint), The Call Of Nature, The Dead Seal and a photograph of Brita drawing on location (photograph by Tom Band).

Posted by Simon Lewin on May 13th, 2012

Julia McKenzie – Open House
Posted by Simon Lewin

Julia McKenzie will be taking part in the 2012 Dulwich Festival Artists' Open House programme on 12th/13th and 19th/20th May.

More than 200 artists in over 150 locations across Dulwich and surrounding areas are opening their homes and studios as part of the Dulwich Festival.

Julia will be including these three box works alongside other one-off pieces and limited edition prints.

Find out more about the event from the Dulwich Festival website or visit Julia's website and Facebook page.

Posted by Simon Lewin on May 9th, 2012

Eric Ravilious
Posted by Simon Lewin

Don't think we've ever seen this before - Eric Ravilious' Design For A Plant-house, watercolour over pencil.

Currently on show at The Fine Art Society in New Bond Street.

Posted by Simon Lewin on May 9th, 2012

A First Book of Nature – the exhibition
Posted by Simon Lewin

Opening on Tuesday 1st May at The Foyles Gallery (on the third floor of Foyles Bookshop, London) is an exhibition of the original artwork spreads for A First Book of Nature by Nicola Davies and Mark Hearld.

In this exhibition Mark brings nature's changing seasons and its rich cast of creatures to life - spring hares mid-leap, the buzz of insects in summer, worms by moonlight, starlings in flight and a fox padding through a winter snow-covered garden - in this delightful exhibition.

All of the original artworks will be available to purchase.

The exhibition runs from 1st May 2012 until 13th May 2012. Open Monday-Saturday 9.30am until 5pm and Sunday 11.30am until 6pm. Admission is free of charge.

The Foyles Gallery, Third Floor, 113-119 Charing Cross Road, London WC2H 0EB.

Find out more about A First Book of Nature or purchase a copy online.

Posted by Simon Lewin on April 30th, 2012

David Gentleman
Posted by Simon Lewin

It's been a good year so far for books about London. Christopher Brown's An Alphabet of London is already being reprinted and Spitalfields Life continues to find new admirers.

And this week sees the launch of David Gentleman's London, You're Beautiful. David Gentleman has been drawing London all his adult life, and for the past year has spent his days focused on looking afresh at the city. The resulting book of sketches, drawings and watercolours, arranged month by month, shows a year in the life of London and reveals the city that is hidden in plain view.

An associated exhibition of David Gentleman's work opens at The Fine Art Society on New Bond Street on the 4th May 2012.

Order a copy online via Amazon

Posted by Simon Lewin on April 29th, 2012

Bauhaus at the Barbican
Posted by Simon Lewin

The biggest Bauhaus exhibition in the UK for 40 years, Bauhaus: Art As Life, opens at the Barbican on 3rd May 2012.

From expressionist beginnings to a pioneering model uniting art and technology, this London exhibition presents the Bauhaus’ utopian vision to change society in the aftermath of the First World War.

The exhibition will feature work from Bauhaus Masters including Josef and Anni Albers, Marianne Brandt, Marcel Breuer, Walter Gropius, Johannes Itten, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Hannes Meyer, László Moholy-Nagy, Oskar Schlemmer, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Gunta Stölzl.

Find out more about the exhibition and book tickets online via the Barbican website.

Photograph: Lis Beyer or Ise Gropius sitting on the B3 club chair by Marcel Breuer and wearing a mask by Oskar Schlemmer and dress fabric by Beyer, c.1927. Herzogenrath, Berlin. © Estate Erich Consemüller

Posted by Simon Lewin on April 27th, 2012

Paul Bommer – an exhibition in London
Posted by Simon Lewin

Paul Bommer is busy preparing for his next London exhibition, 'Umbra Sumus (We Are But Shadows)' which runs from April 27-29 inclusively in Spitalfields.

As part of this exhibition, Paul has created over 120 faux Delftware tiles, taking their cue from the Spitalfields area, or from the daily blog Spitalfields Life - sometimes directly, sometimes a little obliquely.

Find out more about Paul's work.

Posted by Simon Lewin on April 18th, 2012

Edward Bawden’s map of Scarborough
Posted by Simon Lewin

This wonderful map by Edward Bawden, commissioned in 1931 by hotelier Tom Laughton is now back on display in Scarborough Library.

Friends Of Scarborough Library members raised the £2,000 required to restore this forgotten treasure. Find out more about the project

Posted by Simon Lewin on April 15th, 2012

The CH24 chair
Posted by Simon Lewin

We've just taken delivery of two CH24 chairs - also known as the Wishbone. Designed in 1949 by Hans J. Wegner, the chairs have been produced by Carl Hansen & Son without interruption since 1950.

We'd wanted these for a number of years but kept finding other more pressing uses for our funds. Whilst there are cheaper reproductions out there, we wanted to purchase Hansen-made originals.

And they have been well worth the wait. Beautifully made and incredibly comfortable.

If you're tempted, our friends at Shannon would be happy to advise.

The whole issue of reproduction furniture is being explored by Elle Deocration's Equal Rights For Design campaign. The campaign is asking that UK copyright protection for design is extended from 25 years to 70 years (as is the case for works of literature, drama, music, film and art).

Elle Decoration editior Michelle Ogundehin has been covering the campaign over on her Editor's blog and you can find out more and show your support via the campaign's Facebook page and this online petition.

Posted by Simon Lewin on April 6th, 2012

Eric Ravilious – The Hammersmith Years
Posted by Simon Lewin

On 24th April 2012, James Russell -  author of the Ravilious In Pictures series - will be giving an illustrated talk exploring a number of Ravilious paintings and designs in depth, revealing the stories and characters hidden behind the scenes. He will also be signing copies of his latest book, 'Ravilious in Pictures: A Travelling Artist', which features work painted in Hammersmith.

The talk will be preceded by a short film on the Greenside Mural painted by Gordon Cullen in 1952. This is the first of our Greenside Arts Lectures to help raise funds for the restoration of the mural and to establish the school as a local cultural hub, themed around chosen artists who have lived and worked in Hammersmith.

Find out more and book a ticket online.

Posted by Simon Lewin on April 2nd, 2012