Peter Doig at the Courtauld Gallery

I visited the Courtauld Gallery to see the Peter Doig exhibition (which closes on 29th May) about two weeks ago. One of the reasons I've not written about seeing the exhibition before now is because I actually found it rather disappointing.

I've seen his artwork before and liked it - which is why I visited.

But in this exhibition there was little that I liked and much that felt like reworkings of stuff he'd done before - but less successfully

There is one really good painting in the show - and that's the one of the skier. However that was about it for me. 

Alpinist (2019-2022) by Peter Doig
pigment on linen

It's a painting based on an old postcard, which was then changed (eg introduction of the harlequin suit) to make it a more monumental work.

I read the reviews of the exhibition beforehand which were almost universally were complimentary - so maybe I was disappointed because they'd built it up to be better than it is.

Gallery view of other paintings by Peter Doig

Simply put - I just didn't get it. 

• Making large paintings is what people do these days. Making large paintings does not make you better than everybody else. 
• Making paintings look brutal or about alienation is what some artists do - so what makes Doig better?
• Making paintings out of photographs? Yes, happens a lot!

The reviewer who in my opinion got nearest to my response to the exhibition. was The Arts Desk review titled Peter Doig, Courtauld Gallery review - the good, the bad and the unfinished - with a strapline of 

Paintings that run the gamut from the sublime to the banal

It turned out that the person who wrote it had taught him at the Chelsea College of Art 

I once gave Peter Doig a tutorial, when he was a student at Chelsea College of Art. He had little to say about his strange images and I came away feeling I’d seen something unique, but was unable to tell if he was a very good painter or a very bad one.

I also visited the Peter Doig Etchings for Derek Walcott - and similarly came away underwhelmed.

I think the conclusion I've come to is that 

• Peter Doig is a painter who is perfectly capable of producing genuinely new and inspired - and does - now and again.
• He is also a painter who can complete quite a lot of dross inbetween. 

I'm not surprised. This is the way for many painters. It's just that many painters have more sense than to show everything they've ever painted - even if it takes them years to finish it.

However, having come to the exhibition late, I could also judge the success of the exhibition (once I had left it) by the amount of goods for sale still left in the shop. 

Let's just say there's going to be an awful lot of cutprice catalogues very soon......

The public have spoken.....

PS I think I have at last worked out why so much contemporary art disappoints me. Those that are trying to be like Doig - given he fails to impress - cannot hope to make me happy.

British Art Fair: how to check out a lot of art galleries in one place

Art Fairs essentially benefit serious art collectors. They offer a very easy way to look at a lot of art - across all price ranges - offered by different art galleries and dealers in one place - with nice food and drink.

After the pandemic decimated art fairs, there's a lot of effort going into making sure those being held in 2022 are a great experience for buyers. Indeed, the British Art Fair is under new ownership for this year's Fair. 

Art Fairs with reputable art galleries also offer a benefit for artists. If you're keen to become a gallery artist and want to check out a number of galleries, then this could also be the place for you! 

You can check out:

• the art by other artists represented by that gallery - and how it is presented
• the people representing the gallery
• what sort of art these art galleries think is worth paying a major fee to show to people with lots of money
• the general "vibe" you get from the stand. Does it make you feel that this could be an art gallery you'd like to approach at some point in the future.

HOWEVER - and this is VERY IMPORTANT - an artist visiting an art fair is market research activity ONLY!

• The art galleries are there to sell art to wealthy individuals. Period.
• They are really NOT interested in talking to artists. 
• The very last thing you should do is announce you're an artist looking for a gallery to represent them
• If you pull out an iPad and start pitching your art, you'll get blacklisted and your name will be mud.

copyright making a mark publications

British Art Fair (BAF) 2022

View of the British Art Fair Homepage Cover Image:
Displays by Alon Zakaim Fine Art, The Nine British Art and Alan Wheatley Art at BAF 2019.
Image credit: Piers Allardyce

The 31st British Art Fair is being staged on all three floors of the Saatchi Gallery between 29th September and 2nd October 2022.

Yayoi Kusama - her life and art

I watched a documentary film about Yayoi Kusama this last week which I found fascinating.  

She's exhibited internationally all over the world and her artwork has achieved both the highest turnover at auction in one year and the highest price paid for a female artist. 

Her current exhibition at Tate Modern is sold out until it finishes in October 2021 - but if you'd like to see more of her work and find out about her as an individual and as an artist It's a programme worth watching.

Yayoi Kusama

Kusama: Infinity

Kusama: Infinity (1 hour 20 minutes) is a documentary made by director Heather Lenz in 2017, published in 2018 and broadcast by Arena in 2019 - and repeated last Monday on BBC4. 

It's available for the next 24 days on BBC iPlayer. I'm going to be rewatching it before time is up!.

It provides an insight into the extraordinary life and world of this internationally renowned artist.

Kusama: Infinity - the Life and Art of Yayoi Kusama

Bernie Sanders and his mittens in Historical, Modern and Contemporary Art

The Bernie Sanders meme continues - and some of the best are those produced by art galleries and museums who have portrayed him within various paintings and artworks.

Now that Bernie himself has embraced the meme, put a picture of himself kitted out for cold weather on a sweatshirt which then sold out fast and donated the proceeds to feed low income senior citizens in Vermont - see Sanders hopes nation smitten by his mittens will back food charity push - I'm happy to write about it.

Chairman Sanders crewneck on his campaign store
100% of proceeds go toward Meals on Wheels Vermont

 
The art galleries and museums could also

• work with Bernie sanders to do likewise and
• sell sweatshirts of the Bernie meme to benefit those who need to use food banks at this very difficult time. 

Hence this post - suggesting just that......

In the meantime, here are a lot of rather inventive creations of

• art curators and social media employees of various art galleries and museums
• or highlighted by those art galleries and museums!
• their visitors
• various artists 

How about it museums and art galleries - and artists? 

How about giving some support for those who can't afford to eat right now?

Museum of Modern Art 

Bernie is present https://t.co/r4z2cpyVc1

— MoMA The Museum of Modern Art (@MuseumModernArt) January 20, 2021

But he's getting around the museum and popping up all over the place and creating new art

one and three bernies https://t.co/C7HyLqTXTh pic.twitter.com/g9v9VXoYge

— laura (@laurahillegas) January 21, 2021

The Phillips Collection

Visit the London Art Fair - Online!

This weekend you can visit the London Art Fair Online.

It usually takes place at the Business Design Centre in Islington - but this year due to the pandemic and lockdown it had a virtual opening ONLINE on Wednesday 20th January (but I guess quite a few of were viewing another event on that day!) It continues until Sunday 31st January 2021.

However the London Art Fair offers 

• 63 leading Modern and Contemporary galleries in an alternative digital format.
• Each of the Galleries can feature up to 20 works per gallery

Works are presented with audio and written commentaries narrated by the galleries themselves, allowing you to interact with the works on show in an alternative format.

• This is ALSO an opportunity for artists to view the type of art which get shown at a leading art fair in the UK - without having to travel/pay to see it.

How to do you view the art galleries and the art?

London Art Fair - six of the galleries

Essentially, click the item in the menu which leads to the content you want to explore

• Viewing Rooms - takes you to the art gallery microsites
• the LAD Edit Programme - takes you to the range of events and offers also associated with this art fair e.g. 
• LAF Selects invites experts, collectors and prominent friends of the Fair to present their own personal highlights from the Viewing Rooms.
• LAF Workshops - provides a listing of online workshops on offer.
• LAF Talks - very focused on the art collector perspective. 

I think they'd have done better if they'd 

• developed some talks and workshops for artists 
• about how to deal with the current situation and share success stories about how to market art during the pandemic.

London Art Fair - what's on offer

A note about Art Fairs

I think it's safe to say that there are going to be few if any "usual" art fairs for most of this year. 

One of the key reasons is that it appears to be 

• very difficult to get public liability insurance for communicable diseases and 
• the insurance market is not offering Covid-19 cover for cancellation and business interruption. 

See this article in The Guardian Government stalls on insurance scheme for UK music festivals (which I picked up on following the cancellation of Glastonbury)

A Jeff Koons Masterclass

Jeff Koons is now teaching a masterclass on Art and Creativity on Masterclass. Why would you sign up - or why might you not?

1. Great Trailer

There's a video on YouTube which acts as a trailer for the 2 hour Masterclass by Jeff Koons - see below.

Trailer for Jeff Koons’ MasterClass lesson. Courtesy of MasterClass / YouTube

2. Masterclass Subscription

Having a subscription is great for those wanting to learn as it means no big one-off outlays.

Plus subscriptions are also great for content providers. That's because 

• if you get the right people to provide content - and the experience is valued, you're making money as soon as you've recovered the sunk costs of paying for the contributor - in this case Jeff Koons and the cost of the video. Thereafter it is "passive income" - which just goes on rolling in - so long as the contributor continues to be "a name".
• people forget they are still subscribing and hence the subscription continues to generate income for a long time after people have stopped looking at the content. (I've got a magazine subscription I really should sort out.....). 

3. BUT no other masterclasses by artists ?

So does this mean that Masterclass is getting into art? 

The thing is Jeff Koons is the ONLY artist who has so far delivered a Masterclass about art for Masterclass. 

It has nine categories - of which Arts and Entertainment is one (i.e. music, writing, acting, theatre, film-making, magic, screenwriting, choreography etc etc).

Bottom line  THERE IS NO OTHER ARTIST TEACHING ART ON MASTERCLASS.

So why would you subscribe - just for one person? Particularly if that one person has a particular take on art

Here's what the New York Times thinks:

• CRITIC’S NOTEBOOK: Can Jeff Koons Teach Me to Paint? By Andrew Russeth (27 December 2020)
• as in I couldn't find anybody else who's taken the class and written about it!

Really, this is a sumptuously produced infomercial for Mr. Koons’s art, and the best moments — the funniest, the weirdest — are when he feels free to cast off his teaching responsibilities and just talk giddily about his art, not yours, and his zest for Titian and Rubens, Bernini and Queirolo. (Women do not figure in this curriculum.)

Personally speaking I don't like how Masterclass handles Privacy - where they seem to make a virtue out of something that should be a LOT more upfront and transparent and controllable than it is (.e. I want to switch off cookies before entering the site). Instead it reinforces my notion of them as a "a slick operation". I think they might very well be breaking the law in relation to certain territories - but I'll wait for our own pet dragon (the Information Commissioner) to take that on.....

Notes: This is the Press Release - which tells you just how much you read elsewhere is actually original writing as opposed to regurgitation of the press release.

This is what it has to say about Masterclass (this is them not me)

ABOUT MASTERCLASS:
Launched in 2015, MasterClass is the streaming platform where anyone can learn from the world's best. With an annual membership, subscribers get unlimited access to 100+ instructors and classes across a wide range of subjects, including Arts & Entertainment, Business, Design & Style, Sports & Gaming, Writing and more. Step into Anna Wintour's office, Ron Finley's garden and Neil Gaiman's writing retreat. Get inspired by RuPaul, perfect your pitch with Shonda Rhimes, and discover your inner negotiator with Chris Voss. Each class features about 20 video lessons, at an average of 10 minutes per lesson. You can learn on your own terms—in bite-size pieces or in a single binge. Cinematic visuals and close-up, hands-on demonstrations make you feel like you're one-on-one with the instructors, while the downloadable instructor guides help reinforce your learning. Stream thousands of lessons anywhere, anytime, on mobile, tablet, desktop, Apple TV®, Android™ TV, Amazon Fire TV® and Roku® players and devices.

A commentary on how to comment on contemporary art

How do you comment on contemporary art? In my view, if you are direct and honest, you comment from your own individual perspective - and say what you see.

Those submerged in the marketplace for contemporary art or the academic world of art and/or who pursue endless degrees in art you may say something completely different. Some of which may sound quite a lot like International Art English a.k.a. "artspeak" and suggest it is "authoritative". It's not. 

As an artist, if you put your work out there you have to be prepared for the fact that not everybody will think your art is as good (or as bad) as you think it is - and that people may say precisely what they think about it. 

My personal philosophy on this blog has always been to never ever say anything negative about an artwork (i.e. say nothing at all if you don't like/rate it) UNLESS the artist is in contention for a major art prize.

Commentary on a comment

I recently came across a comment left some two years ago on my Facebook Page in relation to my posting my photo of a young chap - an emerging artist - who'd got his painting in to an exhibition at the Mall Galleries and won a prize. I'd liked the painting and the artist.

An individual commented - and he was ungracious enough to spoil the young chap's moment in the sun - and took the opportunity to call me out on my writing about art. He was initially referring to my review blog post which was a completely different post from the one he commented on.

I was very irritated by his ineptitude and rudeness and decided to respond in a robust manner.

You can read what happened below - minus the references to specific individual painters and the name of the individual who commented.

NEW Ethical slant on 2019 Power 100 "The most influential people in art"

Last month, the Annual Power 100 was published by ArtReview. This annual listing of influential people in contemporary art has been described as a barometer of influence in the artworld - and tracks people over time as well as up and down the listing.

What's unusual is that the nature of the power players has changed in the Power List for 2019.

Campaigners and activists are now very prominent in the list following their efforts to name and shame those that are deemed to:

• receive funds from patrons and sponsors who are now considered toxic in more ways than one
• exhibit art stolen from other cultures

The 2019 list was compiled in consultation with a panel of 30 artists, curators and critics from around the world. It continues to reflect a shift away from the traditional power hubs.

If you click the arrow icon to the right it explains the rationale for the choice of the individual and their placement in the Power 100 - see https://artreview.com/power_100/

The top 10 of the Top 100 in ArtReviews 2019 Power 1000  

Campaigners and activists - beyond the contemporary

Art and artists can and do effect change in the real world.

They have also now gone way beyond the contemporary art world per se - insofar as they are challenging sponsorship of and artefacts in museums and art galleries housing art which is emphatically not contemporary i.e. it's about heritage too.

The campaigners include:

• Nan Goldin - a photographer who has questioned the ethics of philanthropy and spearheaded protests against the Sackler family over its implication in the opioid crisis in the US and for its engagement in the ‘artwashing’ of profits from the sale of OxyContin by family-owned Purdue Pharma. Her campaign has led to the refusal of Sackler funds by various institutions around the world including the National Portrait Gallery and the Tate. Only last it was announced that the Smithsonian would be rebranding its Arthur M Sackler Gallery - despite the fact Arthur M Sackler died before Purdue Pharma was created by his brothers!
• Felwine Sarr & Bénédicte Savoy (6) - both undertook an investigation and authored a ground-breaking report Restitution of African Cultural Heritage. Toward a New Relational Ethics (in French: Rapport sur la restitution du patrimoine culturel africain) commissioned by President Macron which has been instrumental in questioning the function of the museum. They also advocate for the unconditional return of art obtained in suspect circumstances by Western institutions.

A GROUNDBREAKING REPORT published in November 2018 declared the restitution of Africa’s cultural heritage was “impossible no more.” Commissioned by French President Emmanuel Macron, the document is authored by French art historian Bénédicte Savoy and Senegalese economist Felwine Sarr and examines the history, inventory, and display of ill-gotten artifacts and art objects of questionable provenance in French museums (70,000 at the Musee du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, for example) and other Western institutions. The report calls for transparency and a restitution process that meets the demands of affected sub-Saharan African nations whose cultural wealth was plundered in the colonial era and beyond. | Culture Type

You can read more commentary on this topic - and see who else gets a mention - in

• The Most Important Artists Are Also Activists—Plus 3 Other Takeaways From Art Review’s Latest Power 100 List | ArtNet News
• An introduction to the 2019 Power 100 | Artreview
• ArtReview Power 100 list 2019 led by campaigners against 'artwashing' and 'looted' colonial artefacts | inews
• 11 Black Artists, Curators, Scholars and a Collector Made Art Review’s 2019 List of the Most Powerful People in the Art World | Culture Type
• Who Are the Art World's Power 100? The Annual ArtReview Ranking is Now Out! | widewalls
• Glenn Lowry and Nan Goldin topped Art Review’s 2019 Power 100 list | Artsy
• MoMA boss tops art power list after gallery's relaunch | The Guardian

A radical rethink about how galleries show art

In a year – and era – marked by disruption, protest and bitter conflict between outsiders and the establishment, not least over the question of who gets to represent culture, institutions have been forced to respond with convincing arguments or risk being sidelined.

I'd venture to suggest that the status on #1 on the list that Glenn D Lowry gets as Director of MoMA in New York reflects

• an ever present lean towards the USA in this listing
• the completion of a new $450 million extension at MoMA creating more and better space; and 
• a thorough rethinking of the museum model at MoMA - which is now leading the way in presenting a more global perspective of art
• (despite the fact that some - like the Tate - has been doing this for years at Tate Modern! ....and back to the American leaning.....)

Lowry’s goal is for a museum offering a more global representation of art’s history, and a better representation of the diversity of artists working now and across the decades.

Others in the same vein are:

• the Studio Museum of Harlem’s Thelma Golden (7) who has 

devoted her career to ‘creating space’ for the expression of diverse voices, which she describes as a ‘cultural act, but also a political act’.

• Maria Balshaw, Director of the Tate is 9th on the list for the Tate’s recent efforts to decolonise and ‘decentre’ its own collection. 

Banksy also landed back in the top 100 at #14 for the first time since 2008. He's described as Street artist taking on the global artworld media spectacle and

The artist Banksy (14) makes this list precisely for the way in which his existence highlights institutional willingness (and struggle) to accommodate an artist who has no need for the establishment. As the battle for control over who gets to represent culture plays out, the dominant institutions and narratives will continue to come under pressure to adapt.

Lest we forget

The listing is also still dominated by the rich, powerful and well connected (see example)

But for how long?

RECOMMENDED: There is no F in Art

Imagine you came across a book which says all the things about contemporary art that you think - but only occasionally say 'out loud'.

Imagine a book about 'art' which really makes you think about what's art and what's not.

Who says it's art and should we believe them?

You'd want to read it - or at the very least look at the juxtaposition of pictures and quotations and statements of facts about the current art market.

It's not often I come across small books which make you think about art - and the art world. This is one of them

I was sent a copy of There is No F in Art by its author Eli Castelli and found it both provoking and and enjoyable.

The book is a bit like a rather clever picture book which highlights the juxtaposition of words - often quotations - with images images of artwork and some clever graphics.

In essence it really highlights how much the importance and value of art very often lies 

• NOT in the art itself or the artist 
• but rather in the words written about it - often written by people other than the artist!

These are my comments to the author.

You love words don't you? I keep wondering what your background is - and it has to involve words....

It's thought provoking. I think the bits which hit home clearest for me was how the art is often in the words of those labelling or marketing the art and the value is often attributed by the words rather than created by the artist i.e. who makes the art - the artist or the wordsmith or marketeer.

I kept getting a sense I'd heard some things said before - but that made sense when I got to the bibliography at the back and might possibly be to do with my own reading on similar subjects.

Nevertheless it's a much more accessible way of making the essential points.

I've maintained for a very long time that Damien Hirst's real talent lies in marketing!

It turns out I was right and the author's background involved marketing and the music business in the past.

It takes a marketing person to spot what's product and what's marketing - and where the value lies!

I feel conceptual ‘art' relies on 'art speak’ to justify it as a genre, as most of it fails to speak for itself - Eli Castelli

About the book - There is no F in Art

RECOMMENDED: This is a small book which identifies what you really need to know about contemporary art and the art market.

I very definitely RECOMMEND this book

• to art students 
• to those wanting to get involved in the contemporary art market - as either an artist or art collector 
• to all those who want to write about art - mainly so they stop sounding like pretentious [expletive (plural) deleted].

The book covers:

• What is Art
• Who says it's art and should we believe them?
• Isn't Charles Saatchi the Artist?
• Is Conceptual Art a Con?
• The Art of Marketing Art to the Art Market?
• Is the Best Art the Most Expensive?
• Tate Modern - Scared Institution or Sunday Playground? 
• The Next ...Ism

Title: There is no F in Art
Author: Eli Castelli (it's a pseudonym. This and the name of the publishers is why I said yes when asked did I want to review it)

Thanks for the swift reply Katherine. You are only the second person to notice the "juxtaposition" of Eli Broad and Leo Castelli

Publisher: Sven Dali Press - note the puns continue!
Pages: 112 pages
Paperback / Product Dimensions: 17.7 x 1.3 x 12.1 cm
Price (new) £7.99
You can find it

• on Amazon UK (associate) 
• on Amazon.com (associate)
• in Foyles and Waterstones and most leading/good sellers of art books.

About the author

My background is Marketing and when Saatchi first put a Shark on display in Boundary Rd, I said to my aspiring artists friends "this feels more like my world than yours!" I was at the Tate Modern in February 2018, looking to impress my visiting niece with some of the finest art and it felt more like a playground (adult sized swings & giant disco ball) than a sacred museum (attached). I was further 'uninspired' when we moved onto the Conceptual art room & more so, when the room guide told me the Curators wrote the wall descriptions.

I contacted Saatchi, Tate Modern curators and read several books by Sarah Thornton, Grayson Perry, Don Thompson, Georgina Adam, Sotheby's Philip Hook and watched endless interviews with Rauschenberg, Koons, Poons, Hirst, Gagosian, Richter, Murakami, Emin, Robert Hughes, Jerry Saltz... I also saw and thoroughly enjoyed the Swedish film, The Square.

When the book was printed The Price Of Everything came out soon after. There's a lot of common ground, purely by coincidence.

Art students are my main customers so far, an MA from St Martins saying "it's a beginners guide to the art market."

My aim was to stimulate some sort of conversation, the way art does and should in my opinion. I also tried to create a mirror effect within the book's layout & design and added art history references for people to discover & question for themselves.

Website: www.SvenDaliPress.com

Instagram: @NoFinART

Facebook: www.facebook.com/NoFinART

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoFinART1

Review - Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2019 - and pricing issues

the bottom half of the prizewinning painting by Jennifer McRae 

This is about the recent Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize Exhibition. It covers:

• the prizewinners
• the nature of the artwork selected
• the artwork I liked
• pricing of artwork

You can still see all the artwork in the virtual exhibition on the website - except you don't get a sense of size - and some were very big and some were very small.

Prizewinners

The wall of Lynn Painter-Stainers Prizewinners 2019

First Prize (£20,000 and a Gold Medal): 

Jennifer McRae, Past, present, future: tracing the female line (2018), £16,000

I was fairly cockahoop having said in my blog post about selected artists last week

Terrific contemporary figurative painting! This is who I'd give the LPS Award too. Jennifer McRae never ever disappoints.

Seeing it in the exhibition, I was even more impressed with it.

The concept behind it - of three generations in one painting - and the utter clutter of the artist's working surface (see top of post) were both a joy to behold.  What I like about Jennifer mcRae's portraits - and I've admired a few in the past few years - is that she's never averse to the subject who looks straight out of the canvas - right at you!

Plus everything always feels quite natural - as if you've just walked through a door in her home (or the home of her sitters). There are very few portrait artists who can pull that off and I can only imagine it's something to do with the mindset of how she approaches her portrait painting.

Second Prize (£4,000) 

Lara Cobden, The Winterkeeper's Cabin (2018), £2,500

UPDATE: Many apologies to Lara Cobden - as I omitted commenting of her painting by mistake before publishing!

I kept getting a feeling before I saw it that is was somewhere heading into Peter Doig territory in terms of enigma and mystery - but not quite in terms of painterliness - although it's very well painted.  The painting certainly did not disappoint on viewing and I can well imagine that it was one of those which stuck in the brains of judges - which is what I always think a prizewinning painting should do.

Young Artist Award (£4,000) - For an artist who is 25 years of age or under: 

Ewan White, No.7 (2018)

It's really good to see young artists tackling scenes involving a group of figures - a subject which is ignored by very many portrait artists. This domestic subject has a curious perspective but reminded me of some of the narrative paintings of the past.

Brian Botting Prize (£5,000) - for an outstanding representation of the human figure

Charlie Schaffer, Preston (2018), NFS

I was extremely impressed with this portrait painting - and particularly liked the technique in relation to to the mark-making which you can see in the crop of detail below.  To me it's the type of portrait I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised to see in the BP Portrait Award.

The Daphne Todd Prize: £2,000

James Lloyd - in my room

James Lloyd has a habit of winning prizes with self-portraits of painting in his studio! (See James Lloyd wins The Ondaatje Prize for Portraiture 2008)

Selected artwork

I thought it a better exhibition than last year - and I LOVED the hang on the end wall - particularly the three central paintings.

Lynn Painter Stainers 2019 - selected artists and events

This year's Lynn Painter-Stainer Prize Exhibition can be seen at the Mall Galleries until 17th March 2019 (Open daily, 10am to 5pm | Admission free).  However if you are unable to get to London, you can see the 87 artworks selected for the exhibition online now

The winner of the £20,000 First Prize - and the other prizes - will be announced tonight.
Very oddly there's absolutely no tweets about it online.

Selected Artists

The Judges for 2019 comprise 3 artists and 2 gallerists.

• Christopher Green, artist and former prize winner
• Tom Hewlett, Portland Gallery
• Robin Lee-Hall PPRP, artist
• Jennifer Scott, Dulwich Picture Gallery
• Ben Sullivan RP, NEAC, artist

Below is the list of artwork they have selected (+ price of the artwork) ordered alphabetically by surname of the artist.

I do wish people putting artwork online in a digital gallery would remember that we have no way of appreciating the size UNLESS THE PROVIDE DIMENSIONS. (Yes - I am shouting to be heard!). Details of media would also be much appreciated.

There aren't enough hours in the day for me to search for all the websites of selected artists. However I'm very happy if artists want to contact me and let me know what their website URL is - and I'll embed it in their name.

Below you get my sporadic comments - very much first reactions as I worked my way through the digital gallery. Note - these were all written prior to the announcement of the prizes. I've added in the tweets - of artists with their paintings - by the Painters Company afterwards.

Two new art fairs in London plus goodbye to a popular old one

There have been some major changes in independent art fairs in London in 2019. 

There are two new fairs:

• Connect – The Independent Art Fair is a brand new art fair - run by art dealers - being held at the Mall Galleries next week 
• The Draw Art Fair London will be held at the Saatchi Art Gallery in Chelsea, in May.

Both NEW Art Fairs suggest a rethinking of the approach to dealing art and making sales.

Sadly the Works on Paper Art Fair which I used to go to every February - and recommended is sadly no more.

Connect – The Independent Art Fair

Home Page of the The Connect Independent Art Fair

This is a NEW art fair at the Mall Galleries organised by an art dealer led co-operative - and it opens on Tuesday 29th January.

I've been saying for ages - to anybody who will listen to me - that the Mall Galleries provides an excellent venue for anybody wanting to host a small niche art fair in London - and such activities seem a very appropriate related income stream for the FBA Trust and the Galleries.

Seems like somebody else has had the same idea as me!

Apparently it's being run by a co-operative of art dealers (i.e. typically people without B&M galleries) who aim to cut out the event organiser as a cost of the fair.

An opportunity to view and purchase from the genuine #notonthehighstreet#galleries offering outstanding quality art at affordable prices.

Very oddly, the website does NOT actually says what it's about its USP (i.e what makes it different) and why it's worth visiting! 

• Maybe they've been focused on using press releases and social media - which is where the above comes from. 
• However, they're reposting Instagram to Twitter and losing the images in the process - so maybe they're not too social media savvy! (Shortcuts never pay off - do it properly and get images in a feed and it always pays off!)
• My take on it is that this reflects inexperience. The company that runs it is very new, was only incorporated last year and is months old (see details). I think it lacks social media marketing savvy. I'm almost inclined to send a note to my art business website page which stipulates what traders need on a website page when marketing online!

However, the Mall Galleries website is rather more experienced and a bit more forthcoming about what this inaugural art fair is about

Welcome to the inaugural staging of Connect - The Independent Art Fair. Our friendly dealers and well-known gallerists are bringing together a wide range of early, modern and contemporary work from London and well beyond, and will showcase a dazzling array of schools and styles, media and type. The accent will be on quality and accessibility; organised by a new co-operative of dealers, this Fair will ensure that there is every opportunity for the average collector to indulge their collecting whims, with something to suit most pockets.

Interestingly a couple of articles in the Antique Trades Gazette are a little more forthcoming (see below for links)

the independent event cuts out the ‘middleman’ of an external organiser – aiming at competitive prices for exhibitors and their buyers in turn – and focuses on works ranging in price from the low hundreds to five figures at the top end.

I'll be going. Probably not on Tuesday as I hate crowded events where you can't see the artwork. Probably on Wednesday - and I'll let you know what it's like.

Note that it's open late on Thursday, opens to 7 on Friday and is open all day on Saturday (remembering that "all day" in art fairs starts at 11am!)

You can find details of the fair and its various webs and social media accounts below.

Evening openings at the Mall Galleries for the Connect Art Fair

Venue: Mall Galleries

Admission: £10 (£25 for Tuesday 29 January). Free Entry to Friends of Mall Galleries and those booking in advance at connectartfair.co.uk
Dates: 29 January - 2 February 2019

• Tuesday 29 January 3.30pm -9pm Opening Preview
• Wednesday 30 January 11am – 7pm Fair open
• Thursday 31 January 11am – 9pm Fair open (late night)
• Friday 1 February 11am –7pm Fair open
• Saturday 2 February 11am –5pm Fair open

Website: https://connectartfair.co.uk/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/connectartfair/ (Nothing much happening do far - which is unsurprising given the other marketing deficits)
Twitter: https://twitter.com/connectartfair
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connectartfair/
Venue: https://www.mallgalleries.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/connect-independent-art-fair
Articles: 

• Dealer-led art fair to launch at Mall Galleries  | Antiques Trade Gazette (July 2018) - ‘Affordable mid-point fair’ will open in January to encourage face-to-face trade
• New independent art fair in London targets younger customers with competitive prices | Antiques Trade Gazette (January 2019) - New independent art fair targets younger and fresh customers with competitive prices

Draw Art Fair London 

Draw Art Fair website

This NEW art fair for modern and contemporary drawing will be held at the Saatchi Gallery in May 2019.

This is what is about according to the website. It sounds as if it offers a comprehensive approach to drawing and at the same time is VERY BIG!

Lynn Painter-Stainer Exhibition 2018 opens today - plus events and demos

The Lynn Painter-Stainer Exhibition 2018 opens today.  

• A record 2,194 entries were received for the 2018 Prize. Of these 92 drawings and paintings (4.2% of the submission) by 83 artists were selected for the exhibition.
• The prizewinners will be announced at the Private View later today.

Venue: Main Gallery at the Mall Galleries, London SW1
Dates: Monday 5th until Saturday 17th March 2018.
Hours: open every day from 10am to 5pm
Admission: FREE

“The Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize celebrates the very best of British representational art and acts as a show case to the rest of the world. It’s all about the way in which our artists see the real world and capture it." Daphne Todd - one of this year's Judges

One of two artist painting the artist paintings in the show.
This one is by my ex-tutor James Lloyd (former BP Portrait Award and Ondaatje Prizewinner)

If you can't get to the exhibition, you can also view all the selected artworks online - in a rather curious slideshow.

I was going to do a post about the Selected Artists but that may come later this week now.

Below are details of the events being held during the course of the exhibition and pics of some of the paintings selected for exhibition.

Events - Panel Discussion, Masterclasses and Demonstrations

There's also a panel discussion this afternoon between 2-3pm at the Mall Galleries. Panel members include

• Jason Brooks - internationally renowned artist whose work intensifies the photographic process more than any photographic medium and whose previous exhibitions include a solo show at the National Portrait Gallery.
• Richard Cork - award-winning art critic, historian, broadcaster and curator.
• Daphne Todd OBE, first female President of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, winner of the BP Portrait Award 2010 and one of the Selectors for this year’s Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize.
• Anna McNeil - Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize exhibitor 2017 and recently profiled in Aesthetica Magazine.

The discussion will be chaired by Laura Gasgoigne, art critic, columnist for The Jackdaw, contributor to The Tablet, and regular reviewer for The Spectator, Apollo and Country Life.

Are you interested in representational painting? Hear art critic Richard Cork and artists Jason Brooks and Daphne Todd discuss its past, present and future @mallgalleries this Monday, 2 - 3. Book your free ticket at https://t.co/066v4pwRwO #LPS18 @MarlboroughLDN @BDPublishing pic.twitter.com/klrl7nruFm

— Parker Harris (@ParkerHarrisCo) March 3, 2018

There are also:

• Life Drawing Masterclasses with Henry Gibbons Guy on 8 March and 15 March, both 12 – 2pm
• Artist Demonstrations | 7 March, 10 March and 14 March, all from 1 – 4pm

Some of the Paintings

Below are some of the paintings that have been selected for the exhibition. Why do so few artists tweet about their success in getting selected?

Artwork was selected by

• Artist and Educator - Robin Mason - Head of Fine Art at the City & Guilds London Art School
• Art Gallery Owner - Johnny Messum - Founder and Director of Messums, Wiltshire
• Artist and prizewinner - Benjamin Sullivan RP NEAC - Artist and Winner of the 2017 BP Portrait Award and winner of the Lynn Painter-Stainer Prize in 2007
• Artists, prizewinner and experienced Judge - Daphne Todd OBE PPRP NEAC - Past President of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, BP Portrait Award winner in 2010 (and second prize winner in 1983) and latterly a television celebrity as a judge in the BBC's The Big Painting Challenge. She also exhibits at Messums and is an .Honorary Liveryman, Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers.

These 3 oil paintings will be exhibiting at The Lynn Painter Stainers Prize 2018 March 5th -17th, at Mall Galleries London @mallgalleries. My portraits of #jeremythomas movie producer, #desmondmorris zoologist, #antonysher actor, #gregdoran Royal Shakespeare Co director . #LPS18 pic.twitter.com/9e8QHcJNhb

— Carl Randall (@CarlRandallArt) February 28, 2018

Really excited to have my painting 'The Rehearsal' selected for the prestigious Lynn Painter Stainer Prize exhibition at London's the Mall Galleries, 5th -17th March. #LPS18 pic.twitter.com/PKI2W3znF1

— Robert Senior (@RobertSenior19) February 13, 2018

Delighted to have my drawing shortlisted for the Lynn Painter Stainer Prize 2018 #LPS18 pic.twitter.com/FuKMeUavfu

— Carla Groppi (@Grrropps) February 8, 2018

Pleased to have my painting shortlisted for the Lynn Painter Stainer Prize! Exhibition runs form March 5th #lynnpainterstainersprize #LPS18 pic.twitter.com/QCfbnhStoJ

— Kay Harwood (@KayHarwood_Art) January 30, 2018

Very pleased that my work, Table with Tablecloth has been selected for the Lynn Painter-Stainer's Prize exhibition 2018. Exhibition is open at the Mall Galleries from 5th - 17th March. #richardbakerpainting https://t.co/8eScVjhDvm pic.twitter.com/tfI2uKARZO

— Richard Baker (@RichardBakerArt) January 16, 2018

Delighted to be selected for the Lynn Painter-Stainer Prize exhibition. PV 5th March 2018 at The Mall Galleries with my painting ‘Sewing Silver Prayers’ inspired by a humanitarian visit to original Calais Refugee Jungle in 2014 with a Group formed by the Chiswick Comboni sisters. pic.twitter.com/rpABxgDG5u

— marguerite horner (@marge8) January 16, 2018

I will be showing Along the Loom of the Land in the #lynnpainterstainersprize 2018 #exhibition @mallgalleries 5-17 March pic.twitter.com/oknoxVxy78

— Gareth Kemp (@artistkemp) January 16, 2018

DECKCHAIRS No4 has been shortlisted for the Lynn Painter Stainers Prize, March 5-17 at Mall Galleries, London #LPS18 #contemporarypaintjng #contemporaryart #figurativepainting #renatafernandez pic.twitter.com/ggnxTSlCXp

— Renata Fernandez (@ROFZstudio) February 28, 2018

More about the Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize (2008-2018)

2018

• Lynn Painter Stainers 2018 - Call for Entries

2017

• Christopher Green wins Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2017
• Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2017: Call for Entries

2016

• Video of Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize Exhibition 2016
• Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2016: Call for Entries
• Lynn Painter-Stainers 2016 - Selected artists and works

2015

• Lynn Painter-Stainers 2015 - Prizewinners
• Lynn Painter-Stainer Prize 2015: Selected Artists & Events
• £15,000 Lynn Painter Stainers Prize 2015 - Call for Entries

2014

• Review and video of the Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize Exhibition 2014
• Catherine Davison wins £15,000 Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2014
• £15,000 Lynn Painter-Stainer Prize 2014 - deadline approaches

2013

• Lynn Painter Stainer Exhibition 2013: Review
• Lynn Painter Stainers Prize 2013 - Selected Artists
• Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2013: Call For Entries (13 Oct 2012) Overview of Call for Entries for the Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2013 for representational painting. 

2012

• Review: Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2012 Exhibition (01 Apr 2012) - review of the 2012 Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize Exhibition yesterday at the Mall Galleries 
• Antony Williams wins Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2012
• Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2012 - Selected artists & artwork
• Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2012: Call For Entries

2010

• Rachel Levitas wins Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2010 16 November 2010 
• 65 Artists selected for Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2010 28th Oct 2010 
• Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2010 - Call for Entries 03 Aug 2010 

2009

• Exhibition review: Toby Wiggins wins Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize17 Nov 2009 
• Shortlist for Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2009 04 Nov 2009 
• 82 works selected for Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 16 Oct 2009 
• 2008
• Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize - selected artists 18 Sep 2008 
• Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2008 and Exhibition 19 Nov 2008 

TRAC 2018 - The Representational Art Conference

TRAC - The Representational Art Conference 2018 - home page of the website

People in the UK and Europe often complain that all the best art conferences happen in the USA and nothing happens over here.

Well it would appear that one of the Conferences TRAC 2018: 'The Representational Art Conference' which has previously been held in the USA is this year going to be held in the northern Netherlands - where, apparently, there has been an unbroken tradition in classical fine art education that has survived the past 70 years.

This is what it's all about

the goal of the unique TRAC series of conferences is to provide a community for the discussion of exciting ideas and new developments in 21st Century representational art. It is an extraordinary gathering of artists, lecturers, philosophers, historians, critics, collectors, museum and gallery professionals.

Past keynote speakers at their conferences have included people like Roger Scruton and Juliette Aristides (according to the Huffington Post article TRAC2014, an Interview With Michael Pearce About the Representational Art Conference

Location

It's actually being held in in Leeuwarden - which the website describes as the cultural capital of Europe - and it turns out it is!  It's also a province in the northwest of the Netherlands

Leeuwarden-Friesland 2018 tackles its Capital of Culture year by sticking its head above the parapet

Previously it's been held Ventura, California in 2012, 2014 and 2015, and in Miami, Florida in 2017. 

Conference Basics

Dates: May 1st - 4th 2018

Venue: WTC/ Westcord Hotel, Leeuwarden, The NetherlandsConference Language: English - for those wondering about whether their Dutch is up to scratch!

I have to state upfront that I know absolutely nothing about it - but what I have done is:

• review the website - which looks to me like a proper art conference website - with a "call for papers" (which is how come come I know about it) and some suggestions of serious topics for discussion

TRAC2018 is specifically interested in papers about 21st Century representational art. What does it say about our current condition? What ideals does it seek to express? How does it relate to the history of art? What does it tell us about our current social reality? Does the artist have a new role? What cross-cultural themes will dominate 21st Century figurative art?

• checked out media coverage in the past - which is respectable

I'd recommend people take a look. For those interested in representational art - from a serious perspective - you may well find much to interest you. You might also want to contribute a paper!

Capital of Culture

For those more generally interested in the Capital of Culture activities check out 

• the website https://www.friesland.nl/en/european-capital-of-culture
• The Programme - this is the main programme

It all kicks off at the end of this month with the opening weekend!

Christopher Green wins Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2017

The winner of the Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2017 is a large scale ink drawing by Christopher Green. He wins the £15,000 First Prize and the Gold Medal funded by The Lynn Foundation.

This post tells you about the prize and how to see the exhibition of selected works. It also contained images of the exhibition, my commentary on the exhibitions and references past blog posts about this prestigious competition.

Lynn Painter-Stainers - The Prizewinners Wall 2017

• the Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize aims to encourage the very best creative representational painting and promote the skill of draftsmanship.
• over 1,000 artists submitted more than 2,000 works
• 105 paintings were selected
• You can see all the works in the 2017 exhibition on the competition website
• The exhibition can also be seen in the Main Gallery of the Mall Galleries until 18 March 2017. Admission is free

Lunchtime, Liverpool Street is a very calligraphic drawing/painting with a lot of intense tones and masses of content and detail - although it's not drawn in a hyper-realistic way.

Winner of Lynn Painter-Stainers First Prize 2017
Lunchtime, Liverpool Street by Christopher Green
ink on paper  142 x 136 cm £5,800

Apparently, the artist spent two months standing outside a London branch of McDonald's drawing the scene that won this top prize in the UK art world.

   The work was created in sections. There are (I think) 48 pieces of paper on which the drawing has been created. He's been meticulous with the crossovers. You're aware that it's a composite but there's nothing in the crossovers that prompt this realisation. Everything butts up beautifully!

Christopher Green completed The Drawing Year at The Prince's Drawing School (now the Royal Drawing School) in 2008, after graduating with an MA Fine Art from Byam Shaw School of Art.

a close-up of the winning painting by Christopher Green

Other Prizewinners

The other prizewinners are as follows:

• Second Prize (£4,000) Self-Portrait in a Peanut Factory by Michael Chance
• Brian Botting Prize for Works for the Human Figure (£5,000) : Elfe by Júlia Moscardó i Chàfer (to be awarded to an artist aged 30 or under for an outstanding representation of the human figure.)
• Young Artist Award (£4,000):  Victoria by Jessica Burgess, Oil, acrylic, collage on canvas,100 x 100cm, £850
• The People's Award (£2,000) will be announced at the end of the exhibition.

Second Prize
Self-Portrait in the Peanut Factory by Michael Chance
Oil on board,122 x 152cm, £8500

Winner of Brian Botting Prize for Works for the Human Figure
Elfe by Júlia Moscardó i Chàfer
Oil on board,66 x 66cm, £2000

Winner of Young Artist Prize
Victoria by Jessica Burgess, 
Oil, acrylic, collage on canvas,100 x 100cm, £850

Commentary on the exhibition

I sat in the middle of the exhibition and tried to work out why the exhibition looked different.

My conclusions were as follows:

• There are lots of familiar names - typically people who enter competitions - and get selected - but also some of the members of art societies who enter competitions plus somebody I'd not hear of before.
• Fewer drawings than usual - which is odd given that this prize is supposed to be about contemporary representation drawings as well as paintings
• overall the exhibition fits the brief of being contemporary and representational. 
• The selected works are also diverse in terms of how they've been drawn or painted
• However, the palette of colours is NOT diverse. 

I knew that there was something about the colour which kept tugging at my brain and finally I worked it out. 

The palette throughout the exhibition is earths, blues, greens and neutrals. There's incredibly little within the red-purple spectrum (see the images of the exhibition below to see what I mean). What little red there is really bounces off the wall at you.

More about the Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize (2008-2017)

2017

• Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2017: Call for Entries

2016

• Video of Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize Exhibition 2016
• Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2016: Call for Entries
• Lynn Painter-Stainers 2016 - Selected artists and works

2015

• Lynn Painter-Stainers 2015 - Prizewinners
• Lynn Painter-Stainer Prize 2015: Selected Artists & Events
• £15,000 Lynn Painter Stainers Prize 2015 - Call for Entries

2014

• Review and video of the Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize Exhibition 2014
• Catherine Davison wins £15,000 Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2014
• £15,000 Lynn Painter-Stainer Prize 2014 - deadline approaches

2013

• Lynn Painter Stainer Exhibition 2013: Review
• Lynn Painter Stainers Prize 2013 - Selected Artists
• Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2013: Call For Entries (13 Oct 2012) Overview of Call for Entries for the Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2013 for representational painting. 

2012

• Review: Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2012 Exhibition (01 Apr 2012) - review of the 2012 Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize Exhibition yesterday at the Mall Galleries 
• Antony Williams wins Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2012
• Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2012 - Selected artists & artwork
• Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2012: Call For Entries

2010

• Rachel Levitas wins Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2010 16 November 2010 
• 65 Artists selected for Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2010 28th Oct 2010 
• Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2010 - Call for Entries 03 Aug 2010 

2009

• Exhibition review: Toby Wiggins wins Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize17 Nov 2009 
• Shortlist for Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2009 04 Nov 2009 
• 82 works selected for Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 16 Oct 2009 

2008

• Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize - selected artists 18 Sep 2008 
• Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2008 and Exhibition 19 Nov 2008