The SGFA have taken over the large West Gallery with 181 artworks demonstrating a wide range of artworks covering diverse subject matter and different media.
You can see the artwork exhibited ONLINE - with links from both the Mall Galleries website and the SGFA website (although you need to wait awhile before the images appear - and only if you accept cookies, which I normally always object too as per GDPR i.e. it shouldn't need cookies to work)
The default position is you can view the artwork as thumbnails
Alternatively you can view by name of the artist
Or view a large image of each artwork - which provides details about the art and the artist
HOWEVER this only applies to artwork by SGFA members and associates.
I'm also going to be uploading my photos to a Facebook Album - more or less in the order they are hung in the Gallery - and will insert a link here when this has been done
You can also follow the SGFA on https://www.instagram.com/drawingsocietyuk/
NOTE: There is no catalogue.
About the Society of Graphic Fine Art SGFA
What's different about the intended focus of this exhibition is the raison d'etre of the SGFA.
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| The purpose and objectives of the SGFA |
As it states on their explanatory panel which can be found posted around the gallery (see above), the SGFA is all about drawing and draughtsmanship.
Established in 1919, the Society of Graphic Fine Arts is the only national Society which is based in the UK which is dedicated exclusively to drawing. It exists to promote and exhibit original works of high quality in colour or black and white. This includes traditional and contemporary media. The emphasis is on excellence in drawing and draughtsmanship, demonstrated by hand.
I'll come back to that later - as I think a divergence from the intended scope of the exhibition appears to have occurred this year.
Work which is eligible for exhibition is
- Drawings in any medium, monochrome or colour - pencil, coloured pens and pencils, pen and ink, pastels and oil pastels, charcoal, conté, etc.
- Any original artwork which demonstrates evidence of drawing by hand: - original printmaking, watercolours, acrylics, oils and 3-Dimensional work.
- Any work based on a photograph must have the photographer's permission.
Work which is NOT eligible for exhibition includes
- Digital imagery generated by computer.
- Giclee prints and all other reproductions and facsimiles.
- Work shown previously at the Mall Galleries or hung in an SGFA London exhibition.
- Work that is more than three years old.
- Any work that might infringe on copyright law
The Exhibition
In general, the exhibition has a lot of excellent artwork by artists who are clearly accomplished in their design and execution of artwork with an emphasis on drawing skills.
It's not all of a very high standard - but that's the same in most exhibitions.
The exhibition comprises 181 artworks - all of which are for sale - covering
- drawings, fine art prints (engravings, etchings, linocuts,woodcuts) and paintings
- in a wide range of media: graphite, charcoal, pastels, coloured pencils, metalpoint, ink, watercolour, acrylic, paper collage, stitched media and the ever present "mixed media"
The styles on show for any one medium are diverse. In that sense this is a good exhibition to view what's possible with different media.
Dry media such as pastels and charcoals are used by exhibiting artists in various styles from the very precise to the very painterly. Coloured pencil use is more related to precise drawings.
Graphite and pen and ink are very much favoured by those who like to be very precise.
Speaking personally I'd like to see a lot more fine art prints and rather fewer paintings.
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The view of the exhibition at the entrance to the West Gallery
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The Artists exhibiting include:
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