REVIEW (Part 2): "Winners" Exhibition at the Mall Galleries

Yesterday I reviewed the Winners Exhibition at the Mall Galleries. In this post I'm going to comment on the artwork which stood out for me. 

Artwork worth a mention

I've grouped images of artwork I liked according to broad subject matter / genre.

Portraits/figures

I'd be entirely unsurprised if I had seen this double portrait painting in what used to be the annual exhibition of the BP Portrait Award. It's large and expensive....

Emily Gillbanks completes her MA in Painting at the Royal College of Art in September and this painting was included in her degree show in June. I predict we'll be seeing a lot of her work in future.

Four Things by Emily Gillbanks

Oil, 160 x 190 cm, £16,588

EMILY GILLBANKS (b. 1999) is a Painter and Researcher who grew up on the Essex and Suffolk border, United Kingdom. Emily was most recently awarded the Royal College of Art’s Fribourg Philanthropies Painting Prize 2022, and in 2021 her painting Three Things was awarded The de László medal for Excellence by The de László Foundation.

Frances Bell's portraits are getting better and better and she seems to be much in demand for commissions - and I'm not surprised! She has shown in the Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition since 2005. 

Edd in the Window by Frances Bell RP AROI
Oil, 80 x 80 cm (94 x 94 cm framed), £7,800

Curtis Holder, Winner of the Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year in 2020 (see 
Curtis Holder wins Portrait Artist of the Year (Series 7 Autumn 2020) and PAOTY Commission: Curtis Holder draws Carlos Acosta) has two large and impressive drawings in coloured pencils in the show.

Left: Will You Hear Me? by Curtis Holder
Coloured pencil, 120 x 120 cm (130 x 130 cm framed), £4,250

Right: Sunday 5:04 am by Curtis Holder
Coloured pencil, 140 x 120 cm (145 x 124 cm framed), £4,500

I'm a fan of those who paint paintings by other artists - particularly if they are paintings I recognise and also like a lot - such as in this smallish painting by Robbie Wraith.

Keys & Postcards by Robbie Wraith RP
Watercolour, 41 x 28 cm (53 x 43 cm framed), £3,500

I very much liked these two black crayon drawings by Shaun Duke - who's a new name to me. He won The Pastel Society Young Artist Award in 2022. However it's very easy to see that he's got considerable skills in drawing people. I also prefer his line drawings to his paintings.

Two drawings by Shaun Duke

both in Black crayon, 56 x 38 cm (75 x 53 cm framed), £650

The transient nature of the sittings is of great importance. To provide an honest account, marks are rarely erased and his works on paper are never altered after a session has ended. Duke wants to record instances in time between people and believes that only through documenting these small moments can we reveal a truthful view of contemporary culture.

Plants

As some may be aware I'm very engaged by those who draw or paint plants.

I loved these two stylised and organised paintings of Euphorbia Leaves II and Silage Grass VI by Gareth Brown RSMA. Gareth has a way of being able to see abstracted shapes and forms in natural subject matter. I'm a big fan and I've been repeatedly highlighting his paintings in reviews of the RSMA exhibitions 

Euphorbia Leaves II and Silage Grass VI

by Gareth Brown RSMA

Oil, 69 x 64 cm (83 x 78 cm framed), £2,950

Cherryl Fountain is a very fine watercolour painter, renowned for her ability to paint detail. She has a brother with a very extensive collection of chilli plants and this is not the first painting of Chillies by Cherryl Fountain that I've seen. It's a somewhat curious diptych.

Chilli Mania by Cherryl Fountain
Watercolour
81 x 70 cm (84 x 74 cm framed)
£1,900

Food 

I'm very fond of drawing plates of food so am apt to be impressed by anybody who does a really job of painting food! I remember Ollie Tuck from the RSMA exhibition. She won the RSMA New Generation Award 2021 and she's great at painting fish! She's also very sensible in releasing her artwork in batches and invites people to sign up to her newsletter.

Still Life with Fresh Prawns and Still Life with Cooked Prawns

by Ollie Tuck
Oil, 15 x 23 cm (22 x 30 cm framed), £475

Landscapes