I promised another post about the art I liked in the Annual Exhibition 2025 of the Royal Society of British Artists.
This is probably the most electic of all the art societies belonging to the Federation of British Artists BA Exhibitions - whose home is at the Mall Galleries.
This is because their media spans drawings and paintings in every media, all manner of fine art hand pulled prints, and sculpture in various media.
As a result, if frequently gets large and imposing works which are absolutely impossible to ignore.
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"Capital at Risk: Drawing the City of London (pen and ink, 1.5m x 2.5m) by Louis Pohl and "Effects of Lockdown" (cardboard, 170x45x45cm) by James Lake |
Two such this year that I found absolutely unmissable in the East Gallery (above) were:
- Louis Pohl's very large and incredibly impressive pen and ink drawing of "Capital at Risk: Drawing the City of London (1.5m x 2.5m)
- James Lake's Cardboard sculpture of "Effects of Lockdown" (170x45x45cm)
I work with cardboard for its immediacy, ease of availability and low environmental impact. My disability and dyslexia have also influenced my choice of material and the way I create my sculptures. For over twenty years I have created life-size three-dimensional portraits of people.
There is just so much to look at in Louis's drawing - in terms of both realism and allegory and just sheer expertise in the use of pen and ink for drawing people! I was extremely surprised that it did not get a prize for the ambition and the story-telling. As in "truly
gobsmacked"!
By way of contrast, James Lake's sculpture won The Nathan David Award for Sculpture.
I also spotted a style I recognised straight away in the East Gallery - although I've not seen it in some time. It's very memorable.
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"The Sky" by Ana Schmidt Acrylic 73x 65cm |
"The Sky" by figurative artist
Ana Schmidt reminded me a lot of the much larger painting she created which won the £20000 Columbia Threadneedle Award 2018 for contemporary figurative and representational art. She is amazing at painting urban landscapes with huge sheets of water or puddles which reflect the sky.
In the North Gallery, there were two paintings which both immediately captured my attention.