Author: Cheryl Culver

Denis Baxter: An Artist’s Creative Journey This is a retrospective exhibition in the Kenny Gallery at the Royal West of England Academy. Denis was born in 1936 and still today says that he hopes for his artistic development to never be static, as he continues exploring new avenues to express ideas and to keep the process alive and exciting. He will be showing etchings, watercolours, oil paintings and ceramic sculptures.

Malcolm Ashman is helping Denis with the hanging of the exhibition which will run from the 13 Dec 2022 – 8th Jan 2023

Denis Baxter: An Artist’s Creative Journey

Habib Hajalli, one of our newest/youngest members and one of our original RBA RISING STARS, could really have a newsletter all to himself, as he has so much going on. Here is a sample:

• He will be ‘Artist in Residence’ at the Watts Gallery in Surrey until April ’23
• He has also been selected as one of the recipients of The Samuel Ross Black British Artists Grants!
• He is 1 of the 8 artists selected as part of the first cohort of UAL’s Decolonising Arts Institute 20/20 programme. He’ll be working with Pallant House Gallery over the next 15 months as an artist-in-residence
• He raised over £1000 to give over 100 orphaned children in Sierra Leone food and Christmas presents!

Congratulations Habib! Especially receiving that award at the Saatchi Gallery!

HonRBA Shanti Panchal was recently interviewed online about his life and work by David Glasser from the Ben Uri Gallery & Museum, and also discussed was his amazing large scale mural ‘Endurance’ which was commissioned by Transport for London and can now be seen at Brixton Underground Station for one year – there will also be prints of the work at other tube stations:

Vicky Oldfield has a new book ‘MIXED MEDIA COLLAGRAPHS PRINTS’. It explains a range of techniques from drypoint to collagraph, as well as viscosity printing and mixed media. It has great reviews and is available from Amazon:

David Sprakes  is showing 4 sculptures with LE BLANC FINE ART, Saxby, Leicestershire until the end of December:

RBA Members who showed work in the Discerning Eye Exhibition at the Mall Galleries were:

Malcolm Ashman

Habib Hajalli

 

Sarah Spackman will be showing work in Assemble 23 with the Tregony Gallery from 1st-14th February

https://tregonygallery.co.uk/exhibitions/assemble-23/

She will also be running a 1 day course, “Colour Mixing with Oil Paint” for Hampshire Art Studio on the 20th March 2023

Several of our members are showing in the Russell Gallery Christmas Show:

Annie Boisseau

Steven Outram

Jill Leman

 

Jacqueline Taber

Martin Leman

Nick Verrall

 

Will Taylor

Olwyn Bowey

 

https://www.russell-gallery.com/mixed-christmas-exhibition-2022/gallery.php?artist=Mixed%20Christmas%20Exhibition

Callum Stannard has been too shy to mention that has been elected a member of the Society of Portrait Sculptors – Well Done Callum!!

Our RBA RISING STARS are still letting us know about their accomplishments – and it is always good to hear from them:
Showing their work in the Discerning Eye were:

Natalia Glinoer

Henrietta MacPhee

Ethan Caflisch tells us that he is donating 25% of the proceeds on the sale of ‘The country I come from’ (ten landscapes VII) to Christine Ann Domestic Abuse Services.  He says “They’ve been around my hometown of Oshkosh longer than I have, providing vital and free services to victims of domestic abuse”.

More of Ethan’s work can be seen here:
https://www.tappancollective.com/collections/editors-picks?page=2

Sadly we are too late to tell you about Diana Zrnic’s solo exhibition which took place at The Stone Space Gallery in East London – it ran from 27th Oct to 20th November

More of Diana’s work is here: https://dianazrnic.wixsite.com/portfolio

Ruth Murray has been busy during November and December showing works at the Manchester Art Fair and The Manchester Contemporary.  She says her work ‘Pope’s Den’ was in the group exhibition: Cool, Warm, Hot with Division of Labour at The Art House in Worcester.  She also included some of her ceramic work in the exhibition too.

‘Pope’s Den’

Eleni Maragaki’s work ‘Silver Light’ was one of those selected to represent Central Saint Martins UAL in The Graduation Show at The Woolff Gallery in Charlotte Street in London.

The exhibition can still be seen here:
https://www.woolffgallery.co.uk/graduate-show-2022

Rufus Martin won the Tiranti Prize at the Society of Portrait Sculptors FACE 22 exhibition, which took place in The Garrison Chapel, Chelsea Barracks London.  He received the award for his work ‘Isaac’:
Rufus Martin

Rufus Martin

Poppy Field

Thomas Merrett

 

Also featured in the same exhibition were Poppy Field and Thomas Merrett – and Thomas is now serving on the Council of the Society of Portrait Sculptors – well done Thomas!

Minyoung Choi had a solo show  ‘Always There’ with the Lychee One Gallery in Hackney, London.  The show took place November – December.  She was showing a new body of work she had been working on:

Minyoung also took part in ‘Pounding the pavement’ a group show at Galeria Pelaires in Spain

Another young artist who had a solo show was Yeonsu Ju, who had the exhibition at The Room London Gallery in Islington, London.  She also had work in the  Gazelli Art House and participated in the Delphian open call 2022 exhibition:

Miroslav Pomichal is showing work in a group show called ‘Bread and Games’ at the Aleph Contemporary at the Bindery, 53 Hatton Garden, London.  This show is on until the 12th January 2023

https://alephcontemporary.com/exhibitions/57-miroslav-pomichal-rachel-mercer-archie-franks-bread-and-text-by-paul-carey-kent/works/

Alex Wood had a solo exhibition ‘Explorer’ at the Museum of Contemporary Art London [MOCA]

 

https://www.moca.london/alexjwood.html

Alex’s sculptures, and some of his paintings, are still available to be seen at  the Paul Smith Store and online in their catalogue:

https://www.paulsmith.com/uk/helios-painted-bronze-sculpture-by-alex-j-wood
text-by-paul-carey-kent/works/

Apologies go to those whose exhibitions did not get a mention whilst they were still on.

The deadline for entries has been extended, to 12 noon on Friday 6 January 2023

Selection will remain online only

The exhibition will run at Mall Galleries between 2 March and 11 March, as advertised

Artists should log in to the OESS (and will be reminded to do so) from 12 noon on Friday 13 January to see if their work has been selected for exhibition

Selected artworks should be delivered to the gallery on Saturday 11 February, between 10am and 5pm

For a full list of the newer dates and details, please visit the call for entries page on the Mall website:

https://www.mallgalleries.org.uk/call-for-entries/open-calls/royal-society-british-artists-open-call

President Mick Davies presents a promotional Video for the Royal Society of British Artists Bicentenary exhibition at the
Mall Galleries London 2023.

https://youtu.be/NccqnVQJO5Q

Here is some of the good news we have to share:

Cheryl Culver has a 4 page article in the August edition of The Artist Magazine:

Article The Artist Magazine

Wetland and Waterway

Cheryl has also achieved a contract with the National Trust to supply 4 small mounted Giclee prints of her work for the Visitors Centre Shop at the White Cliffs of Dover – she was in action demonstrating her work there on the 20th August

Looking ahead, Cheryl also has 2 works in the RSMA Exhibition, which will take place at the Mall Galleries September 22nd – 1st October

Malcolm Taylor had work shown in the Summer Exhibition: Painting & Sculpture at the Moncrieff-Bray Gallery in Petworth – the exhibition is still online here:
https://moncrieff-bray.com/exhibitions/summer-exhibition-painting-and-sculpture-by-appointment

Kirsten Van Schreven tells us that her etching “The Last Lighthouse” was selected for the Chianciana Biennale in Siena and the show runs until the 28th August at the Muséo d’Arte, Chianciano Terme.

https://biennalechianciano.org/artisti-2022/

John Sprakes has a new book: “Drawing towards Abstraction”

It is available from https://www.ypdbooks.com/773__martha’s-press or direct from John basprakes@gmail.com at £35.00 plus £5 p&p

The Annual Exhibition of the NEAC included works by:

Austin Cole

Rowan Crew

Sarah Spackman

Shanti Panchal

Shanti Panchal was awarded The Bowyer Drawing Prize:

Some of the prizewinners in FBA exhibitions put their work into:
Winners: Award winning artists 2020 – 22 at the Mall:

Steven Outram

Martyn Baldwin

Nicholas Verrall

Annie Williams

Will Taylor

Richard Cook

Will Taylor also had a print in this year’s RA Summer Exhibition:

Austin Cole has a show, ‘A Sense of Place’ at Eames Fine Art Print Room, 159 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3UW. The exhibition runs from 25th August – 11th September:

https://www.eamesfineart.com/viewing-room/129-austin-cole-a-sense-of-place/

Liam Culver FRBA has been involved in a fascinating project in liaison with ArtAncient, who specialise in exceptional artefacts from bygone eras.  This project centres on natural sandstone formations [gogottes] formed in the natural sand dunes of Fontainebleau millions of years ago.  As with the Rorschach Inkblot Test, interpretation is in the eye of the beholder and Cinzia Bonada was commissioned to illustrate her own interpretations of what she saw, based on her own personal and professional life experiences.  Together they produced a fantastic catalogue, which can be viewed here:  
http://masterpiece2022.artancient.com

Huaicun Zhang HonRBA had a solo exhibition at the Mall Galleries in July, showing her artwork as well as books and poetry she has created – and she also included a demonstration of her amazing Chinese artwork and encouraged visitors both very young and not so young to have a go too.  By the end of the exhibition, she had sold 66 paintings and another 14 have been reserved. 

From the proceeds, Huaicun has donated £28,000 to the Art Forum at the Royal Marsden Hospital and £57,000 to the cancer hospital to be shared between buying equipment and different projects including research.
 

A wonderful gesture from a generous and caring person!

As always we are so proud of our RBA RISING STARS who have some news to share:

Samuel Owusu Achiaw was shortlisted for the RA Summer Show and was featured in a documentary [Joe Lycett: Summer Exhibitionist] which was shown on BBC 2 [and iPlayer].  His work can also be seen in the ‘Winners’ show at the Mall and he has been selected for exhibition in the Si Scottish Portrait Awards in Fine Art:

https://www.scottishportraitawards.com/spa-2022-fine-art

Rufus Martin has had his work ‘Isacc’ selected for the FACE 2022 Exhibition at The Garrison Chapel, 8 Garrison Square, Chelsea Barracks London SW1W 8BG which runs until the 2nd September:

https://www.portrait-sculpture.org/open-exibition-face2022

Rufus also had works in the Chelsea Arts Society Show

Showing works in the recent NEAC Exhibition were:

Verity Amelia

Owain Hunt

Nicholas Baldion

Chris Polunin

As well as Samuel above, other RBA RISING STARS were also represented in the Winners show at the Mall:

Merlin Bateman-Paris

Zuzanna Salamon

Chris Polunin

Emily Gillbanks

Showing their work in the RA Summer Show were:

Blaze Cyan

Ethan Caflisch

Ethan received ‘The Arts Club Award’ – one of just 8 artists to receive a prize at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition this year!

Shortlisted for the Waverton Art Prize were:

Ethan Caflisch

Alice Miller

Their work can be seen here: https://boisdaleart.co.uk/collections/all?page=1

Eleni Maragaki was one of 8 short-listed artists, competing for a six-month opportunity of subsidised arts practice and real market experience – this was the Residency Competition Group Show – 2022 which took place in August at The Muse Gallery in Portobello Road in London:

Georgina Lowbridge had a work in the Wells Contemporary Exhibition:

And Georgina is showing work at the Southampton City Art Gallery until 10th September as part of their, ‘What Does Culture Mean To You?‘ exhibition.  However, her most recent and precious creation is Arthur:

‘Congratulations Georgina!’ 

In the present economic climate, and I want to remind you all that if things are difficult for you financially due to age or illness, The Artists’ General Benevolent Institution [AGBI] are there to help any artist or artist’s family who are facing hardship.  Their contact details are:

Contact the AGBI office on: 020 7734 1193
Email:  info@agbi.org.uk

Also, of course, if you wish to make a donation to them, please also include a Gift Aid form if you are a taxpayer.

RBA RISING STARS 2022 Exhibition is still on until the 3rd July at The Royal Over-Seas League.
https://www.rosl.org.uk/visualarts/current-exhibition/14-slide-panels/arts-homepage-panels/rosl-arts/arts/1409-rba-rising-stars-2022

To follow some photographs of the Private View.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking ahead to next year.

2023 will be the RBA’s bicentenary – 200 years since it was established on the 21st May 1823 by Thomas Heaphy and friends in Lincoln’s Inn Fields. This will be a very special year for the RBA.

In the meantime the Summer News for 2022.

It’s a little late now, but John Sprakes had an exhibition at Patchings Art Centre in Nottingham which finished on the 15th May. The exhibition, ‘Painting and Drawing towards Abstraction’ emphasised the link between the two elements:

Also a little late, Kirsten van Schreven had one of her etchings, “The Fifth Lighthouse” selected for the Society of Graphic Fine Art 101st Annual Exhibition – it was on at the Mall Galleries from 17th – 21st May:

Robert E Wells will be having an exhibition at The Jerram Gallery, Sherborne, Dorset, DT9 3LN UK from the 25th June – 13th July

Images will be soon be available to view here: https://www.jerramgallery.com/

Henry Jabbour will be having a solo exhibition called ‘Saturation Point’ at the Pontone Gallery, Newman Street, London W1T 3DB, from 21st July – 21st August:
https://pontonegallery.com/exhibitions/

Several RBA Members have works in Thompson’s 40th Annual Exhibition 2022 in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, 4th – 26th June. Amongst those showing are works by the following artists:

https://www.thompsonsgallery.co.uk/exhibition.php/40th-Annual-Exhibition-2022-351/

Jacqueline Rizvi

Pamela Kay

Annie Williams

Robert E Wells

Lewis Hazelwood-Horner

Fred Cuming

Ken Howard

David Sawyer

Jill Leman and Martin Leman share a show at the Russell Gallery, 12 Lower Richmond Rd., London SW15 1JP. This exhibition is on from 26th May – 18th June:

Jill Leman

Martin Leman

Habib Hajallie is to have his first solo exhibition ‘Navigating Identity’ at the Mick Jagger Centre, Shepherds Lane, Dartford DA1 2JZ from June 1st – 30th, in a project funded by The Arts Council England. Also, his installation commissioned by Facebook has now been completed and can be seen at their new London Offices:

Habib also has two works in the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours exhibition at the Mall Galleries

Chris Aggs raffled his work ‘Primroses and Primulas’ after it did not sell at our last exhibition and raised £3,625 for Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine. He used his mailing list, Facebook and Instagram to promote the raffle:

Akash Bhatt has been featured in the Jackson’s Art Blog in an article called ‘Inside the Sketchbook of Akash Bhatt’, where he describes his variety of different sketchbooks, including custom made books designed for drawing at the different locations and situations he finds himself in, as an unrelenting observer of the world.

https://www.jacksonsart.com/blog/2022/05/19/inside-the-sketchbook-of-akash-bhatt/

Hon RBA Huaicun Zhang will be having a solo exhibition ‘Huaicun’s World Blossom’ in the Mall Galleries from 11th – 23rd July. She will be showing her artworks – traditional Chinese ink paintings and also her works in oil – along with some of her published books, because as well as being an artist she is also a poet and author of children’s literature:

https://www.mallgalleries.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/huaicun%E2%80%99s-world-blossom-%E2%80%93-solo-exhibition

Guy Portelli, aided by Will Taylor, has been setting up an exhibition at the Escape Art Centre, Old Fire Station, Castle Street, Tonbridge TN9 1BH and he has invited approx. 20 RBA members to show work there in its Summer Show, which will run until the end of June – PV is on 9th June, 6-9 p.m.

Among the invited RBA artists showing their work are:

Cheryl Culver

Peter Newsome

Malcolm Taylor

Austin Cole

Anthony Yates

Guy Portelli has also been the subject of a short film by Masterpiece Art London entitled ‘The Rise & Rise of Guy Portelli’ and it can be viewed here: http:// https://masterpieceart.co.uk/video/30-the-rise-rise-of-guy-portelli-a-masterpiece-art-produced-short-documentary-on-british-artist/

Malcolm Taylor has work in the Summer Exhibition: Painting and Sculpture at the Moncrieff – Bray Gallery in Petworth, West Sussex
from 6th May – 25th June

Peter Newsome has work at Newby Hall, Ripon, HG4 5AE, in an exhibition of contemporary sculpture by established and emerging artists, set in beautiful woodland and riverside gardens

Many of our RBA RISING STARS also have good news to share with us:
I spotted 6 of them in the longlist for Jackson’s Painting Prize 2022:

Chris Polunin

Ethan Caflisch

Sabrina Shah

Yeonsu Ju

Keziah Greenwood

[Have you spotted Keziah’s welcoming smile? – she works behind the Reception Desk at the Mall Galleries]

Showing work in the Royal Society of Portrait Painters show at the Mall:

Owain Hunt

Tedi Lena

Charles Moxon

Charlie Schaffer

Ruth Murray received a Develop Your Creative Practice (DYCP) grant from Arts Council England in August 2021. The grant is to develop the use of ceramics, alongside her painting practice. The project culminates in April / May, with a 5 week residency at c.r.e.t.a in Rome:

Ruth has been invited to become a member of the Contemporary British Portrait Painters and will be showing work with them in their annual exhibition in Brixton, London 11th – 18th June. That show includes:

Rufus Martin has had his bronze ‘Isaac Goodwin’ shortlisted for the FACE 2022 exhibition and I spotted Thomas Merrett amongst their members:

Rufus Martin

Thomas Merrett

Fanny Arnesen has received the Glenfiddich Artist in Residence Award through the RSA New Contemporaries exhibition and will be relocating to Dufftown for three months.

You can still see Fanny’s work and Rufus Martin’s work, along with Chris Polunin and Yeonsu Ju at The Royal Over-seas League where our 2022 RBA RISING STARS Exhibition is still on until the 3rd July:
https://www.rosl.org.uk/visualarts/current-exhibition/14-slide-panels/arts-homepage-panels/rosl-arts/arts/1409-rba-rising-stars-2022

The three finalists for the RBA Rome Scholarship 2022 are:

Alice Miller

Clark Broadwood-Smith

Samuel Owusu Achiaw

Our 2021 Rome Scholarship winner, Alex J Wood, arrived back in the UK on the 31st April. He had an amazing time and you can read about his travels on our Social Media pages.

Some of Alex’s paintings and sculptures are still on display at the Paul Smith shop in Mayfair, London.

The RBA Further Education Project:

The first two groups of students, who are from Hereford FE college, have arrived back from Italy and Malta, where they had work experience in a variety of establishments. We have not had all the feedback yet but we have received a short film, which we will send to our Social Media and a quote from one of the students to the Head of their FE college:

“I just wanted to get in touch to say thank you for such an incredible opportunity.
The Italy trip was such an amazing experience and one which will stick with me for the rest of my life! I understand it was a pain trying to get everything organised etc. but for me and the rest of the students it was so, so worth it.”

The RBA Raffle

“The winning ticket, #00167, was bought by Jacqueline C. from Oxford, who was “.. so delighted … she couldn’t quite believe it!”.  As a result of the raffle, £925 was raised in ticket sales and Anna Lever ‘rounded the amount up’ to £1000’

 Therefore, £500 has been sent directly to ‘Helen & Douglas House’, which provides palliative, respite and care to life-limited children and £500 was sent directly to ‘The Royal British Legion’, which provides support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants.  We thank all the RBA Stewards who helped to sell the tickets, the RBA Members and public who bought them and, of course, Anna Lever herself, for her kindness and generosity.”