The 2nd Derwent Art Prize - Call for Entries

Heads up - the call for entries for The 2nd Derwent Art Prize for works created in pencil has been published.

My usual summary of the information contained in the Call for Entries is below however since this is a new prize last year I thought I'd provide a recap of what happened in terms of selection, prizes and exhibition.  I wrote three posts about the Prize and the Exhibition which you can read here:

• The Derwent Art Prize - a discussion (20 July 2013) - this first post is particularly relevant to those whose experience of pencil art is limited to realistic and hyper-realistic artwork 
• Chrys Allen wins inaugural Derwent Art Prize for pencil art (19 September 2013) - This post also provides images and more information about the artwork which won prizes last year
• Derwent Art Prize 2013 - Selected Works & Artists (23 July 2013) This post includes a list of the names of the selected artists and links to their websites where these could be identified.

Announcement of the Prizes
at The inaugural Derwent Art prize Exhibition last September at the Mall Galleries

The Derwent Art Prize

Aim of the Competition

The aim of the Prize is to reward excellence through showcasing the very best international works created in pencil.

Second Exhibition

It's expected that some 80 works will be selected for the exhibition. These will then be displayed in London, Cumbria and online as follows

• The Exhibition for the Derwent Art Prize 2014 will open at the Mall Galleries in London (15th - 20th September 2014) 
• A selection from the exhibition will then be shown at The Pencil Museum, Keswick, Cumbria CA12 5NG from 1 December 2014 – 9 January 2015. 
• All selected artists will also be featured in the gallery on the Derwent Art Prize website. This will open on 21st July 2014.

You can also expect that artwork will be published on The Derwent Art Prize Facebook Page

Prizes

The prize fund for 2014 has been significantly increased and, in addition, there is a new prize for a Young Artist under the age of 25.

Who painted this? #60

Who painted this? #60

In the interests of exploring the avenues of art history we don't often get to, this week we have an artwork which is a rather different format and a bit more international than usual.

Plus - what's very special about this work?

How to participate in "Who painted this? #58"

PLEASE make sure you read the rules before posting a comment - and ONLY POST ON THIS BLOG what you think is the answer.

Click this link to read THE RULES for participating in this challenge (this saves having to copy them out for each post!).

In short:

• use your brains not software to find the answer - search using words only on a database of images 
• leave your answer as a comment on this blog - do not leave the answer on Facebook! 
• if correct it will not be published until the next post - which provides the answer 
• if wrong it will be published 
• the winner - who gets a mention and a link on/from this blog - is NOT THIS WEEK the first person to give me a completely correct answer for ALL the things I want to know. It's the person who does all this AND provides the BEST answer (see above)

Who Painted This #59 - The Answer

Hockney, Printmaker (Review #2) - The Etchings

At the end of my preview of Hockney Printmaker at Dulwich Picture Gallery, my conclusion was that it was likely to be one of the very best exhibitions I'll see in 2014.  

The last exhibition by Hockney in London was a blockbuster.  My guess is that this exhibition will also generate lots of visitors.  It includes over 100 works between 1954 and his more recent work with computers in 2009. (The links are to my reviews of his most recent exhibitions in London)

I'm going to do this review in more than one post, so I can include a lot of images, covering:

• The Etchings (this post)
• The Lithography (next post)
• Recent prints using new technology (last post)

Entrance to the Hockney, Printmaker exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery

The exhibition is curated by Richard Lloyd, International Head of Prints & Multiples, Christies who gave an in-depth and very informative introduction to the exhibition.  He gave quite the best introductory talk by curators of recent exhibitions!  The Curator's Lecture was today and was sold out - and I'm not surprised!

“This exhibition will provide an insight into an aspect of Hockney’s work which is often overlooked – that he is one of the most prolific, diverse and technically astute printmakers alive. He has been making prints since 1954 and throughout the subsequent 60 years he has continued to work and experiment. There’s a whole other side to Hockney, which he has devoted an enormous amount of energy and creativity to.”
Richard Lloyd

I was very impressed to see that a number of the prints on show are the Artist Proof.

Hockney, Printmaker

Here are the key themes:

• 

  David Hockney, Artist and Model, 1973-74, 

  Etching, 29 1/2" x 22 1/2", 

  Edition: 100, © David Hockney

  the exhibition celebrates 60 years of Hockney as a printmaker - since his first print was made at Bradford College of Art.
• printmaking is a medium which Hockney is passionate about 
• he excels at printmaking which involves drawing and his two main print techniques are etching and lithography. He hates screen prints - because they're too flat
• he's absolutely fascinated by creating novel ways of making prints 
• He switches between mediums as this polymath's ideas of what he wants to do next develop
• Hockney references other artists and their artwork all the time - but in a way which is wholly original to him. The exhibition offers the opportunity to play "spot the artistic reference".
• He is diligent in doing his homework before he starts work. It's normal for him to do extensive research, visit places and produced lots of drawings before he gets going on the final artwork.
• Hockney is a very prolific artist. This exhibition picks up on some of the main themes - but there's also a lot that's not there.
• He's a very literate artist who obviously has a deep love of poetry
• He typically works in series or themes - which are often multi-layered in their meaning. Lloyd described them as being light-hearted and even amusing on the surface, while underneath they can be an amalgam of Renaissance portraiture and 'Art Brut' or lavatorial art.
• He creates far more than he releases. This exhibition is interesting because it also includes prints which didn't make the final cut.
• Hockney has worked with some of the best contemporary Master Printmakers - including Picasso's Master Printer Aldo Crommelynk as well as Maurice Payne in the UK and Ken Tyler of Gemini in California. He has huge regard for them and has participated in novel developments in printmaking.
• Hockney is an independent man, an independent thinker and, surprise surprise, rather likes the idea of being able to make prints without needing to be assisted by a Master Printer.  So he did.
• the exhibition holds one or two surprises!

The Etchings

The Etchings are shown here in series. His activity in etching dominated the 1960s and 1990s.

Hockney, Printmaker - Preview (Part 1)

This is an excellent video by Dulwich Picture Gallery as a preamble to the new exhibition - Hockney Printmaker which opens at the Gallery tomorrow and runs until 11th May.

David Hockney is a fabulous printmaker! I'm off to see a preview of the exhibition this afternoon and am really looking forward to it. I'll be reporting back with a review later today or tomorrow.

Westminster consults on a Special Planning Policy to protect Art Galleries

The City of Westminster is currently consulting on proposals for a NEW Special Planning Policy designed to to protect the art galleries currently located in Mayfair & St James and particularly the remaining galleries in Cork Street. 

You have an opportunity to comment before 14th February - and do not need to be a resident of Westminster to do so.

The galleries include ones which have been pivotal in advancing the careers of many top artists in the UK

Cover of the Consultation Document

Below is the content of a letter I've received from Messums - one of the top dealers in the area - and a gallery who exhibits a number of artists who are mentioned on this blog from time to time (people like Daphne Todd, Pete Brown, William Bowyer, Tom Coates, Jane Corsellis, Saied Dai, Ruth Stage etc)

They are highlighting the consultation about the proposed new policy to protect art galleries in Mayfair and St. James - and the deadline for comments which is 14th February 2014.

I am writing to draw your attention to an exciting consultation paper recently issued by Westminster Council, proposing the creation of a new Special Policy Area (SPA) in Mayfair, London to protect the future of art dealers and in particular Cork Street as a centre for the arts. It builds on the existing SPAs in St James’s, in favour of art dealers and private clubs, and Savile Row, in favour of the tailors.

Our concern is that with out it, the extraordinary concentration of top class art dealers in Mayfair and St James’s, which contributes so significantly to the London art scene, will come under threat from new developments and rapidly rising rents, driven by the advance of the fashion industry and the influx of wealthy foreigners looking at property in the area as a safe place for their money.

The point we would make is that in may ways the art trade and streets like Cork Street have given Mayfair its richly hewn tapestry. It has helped to create the special character of the area and make it a desirable place to visit and live and if the art business is driven out, this character may be lost and some of the long term economic health and vitality of the area will go with it.

We are delighted that Westminster Council have accepted the possiblity of this loss, and that they are proposing an SPA policy, which aims, not to prevent the fashion trade or wealthy foreign residents from moving in, but to try and ensure that there is some balance and that this is not at the expense of the art trade.

However they do need to hear peoples views on this recommendation, and in particular from those who value and enjoy Cork Street and this part of Mayfair as an important centre for Art.

Whether you are resident in the UK or overseas, I do hope that you will consider adding your weight to what Westminster Council are trying to do and that you will write to the Council in support of their plans. The address to write to is set out on the last page of the proposal paper which can be accessed in full via this link, and the consultation period ends on 14 February, so it is important to act within time. 

Review

Relevant documents are:

• Study of Art Galleries in St James's, October 2012
• Current consultation on Westminster & St James: Developing Westminster's Local Plan - particularly pages 3, 9 and 15

All comments on the proposals should be directed to the City Planning Department of Westminster City Council - details of how to do this are on page 18 of the pdf file - BEFORE 14 February. Comments should focus on

• whether or not you support the proposed plans and 
• any planning considerations relevant to the need to make special provision to protect specialist niche economic uses which are NOT currently protected under current planning policy.

Other relevant context includes: