Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Impressive solo exhibition by 2016 Threadneedle Prizewinner

Yesterday I was really impressed when I walked into the Threadneedle Space at the Mall galleries and saw Lewis Hazelwood-Horner's solo exhibition which is part of the The Columbia Threadneedle Prize 2016 which he won earlier this year(see Lewis Hazelwood-Horner wins £20,000 Threadneedle Prize 2016).

Lewis Hazelwood-Horner and two of his large paintings about processing hops for beer.
The idea behind the prize is that the winner gets a hefty cheque - which then gives him or her the time and space to paint - and then a one week solo exhibition later in the Threadneedle Space. This serves as a 'shop window' for the potential of the artist to impress art galleries, art collectors and those who might need want to commission a work.

Well the exhibition by Lewis Hazelwood-Horner impressed me - and then some!

Beer & Guns by Lewis Hazelwood-Horner
It's one of the very best exhibitions I've ever seen in that gallery. It's well hung and 'hangs together' but it's the content which is amazing.

Lobb the shoemakers and sleeping on hop sacks

views of the hop fields and brewing process
I've been bemoaning for some time that we no longer see narrative paintings which tell a story or document the present day - where we see ordinary people in their natural context.

Instead we see landscapes without people, townscapes with anonymous people and portraits of individuals which rarely tell a story. It can get boring.

What we get with these paintings is engagement with both the process, the people and the place. It's real life and it's a really valuable exercise to be documenting these processes in 21st century Britain.

They're also very striking paintings - Lewis has a keen eye for a good composition and clearly demonstrates a real love of his media and painting.

“Lewis was such an engaging artist, bringing the spirit of our brewery to life through his paintbrush. Lewis has an extraordinary talent”.Samantha Rigby, Director of the Redemption Brewery
Smaller paintings and studies done in situ
What the artist does with this exhibition is tell complete stories about the trades and crafts. His story of brewing from hop field to brewery vat is extremely impressive.
The works reveal how old practices have evolved over time, showing the importance of the lightness of touch of a skilled and experienced craftsman (or woman), that cannot be replicated by machine.
His residencies have included time spent at:
  • Harvey’s Brewery
  • Howling Hops Brewery
  • Redemption Brewery
  • Scotney Farm
  • Hopfarm
  • Truman Brewery
  • Kernel Brewery
  • Lobbs Bespoke Shoemakers
  • Holland & Holland – Gun makers
  • James Smith & Sons – Umbrella makers
  • Freed Pointe Shoes – Ballet Shoe makers
In my opinion, any business activity which involves a craft or artisan process should seriously consider commissioning Lewis to undertake a residency. He is very clearly an artist who can bring their activity to life on the wall of their offices.

Brewing beer and views of the hop fields
"Beer and Guns" is at Mall Galleries in central London, between 19 and 24 September 2016. Admission is free and the gallery is open from 10am to 5pm (closes 4pm on final day).

If you're interested in figurative painting I very much recommend you see it.

An exhibition with a big impact!

The Columbia Threadneedle Prize 2016


Lewis's painting Salt in Tea won the Columbia Threadneedle Prize 2016 in February. His painting was selected for the top prize of £20,000 and a solo exhibition from 3,828 entries. It also won the Visitor's Choice Award - and won Lewis a further £10,000.

The painting portrayed the work of the bespoke umbrella shop, James Smith & Sons, in London’s West End and followed a two year residency.

If you want to find out more about the Threadneedle Prize you should:
  • visit the website - http://www.threadneedleprize.com
  • read my past blog posts about the prize, the call for entries, the selected artists, the exhibition and the prizewinners.  You can find my archive of posts below


Archive:


The Columbia Threadneedle Prize 2016

Threadneedle Prize 2014

Threadneedle Prize 2013



Threadneedle Prize 2012



2011 Threadneedle Prize

2010 Threadneedle Prize

2009 Threadneedle Prize

2008 Threadneedle Prize

Posted by Making A Mark on Tuesday, September 20, 2016
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1 comment:

  1. njart73Wednesday, September 21, 2016

    I agree with you ---this is an impressive exhibition ! It seems that many of these
    prizewinning events select the, " flavor of the month". Not so with this choice.
    Thank you for sharing the exhibition with us .

    ReplyDelete

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