Well, if you look at my experience, it seems to be a pub/restaurant. Yes: I’m surprised too. I called in at the Square and Compass in North Rigton today to rotate my selection of pictures on display there. As we were sharing a drink afterwards it struck me that, if you measure the success of an exhibiting venue by the number of people who have the chance to see your work, then this is by far my most successful venue. What is more, the management were very appreciative of the contribution my work makes to the atmosphere of the place.
I believe that my thoughts in this direction were stimulated by the first call of the day …. to ArtSpace, in Wetherby. It is a room devoted to exhibitions, attached to a bookshop (actually, run by the local Baptist Church). Here too the welcome was friendly and efficient. My pictures will be on display there for six weeks. These places might not carry a lot of prestige in artistic circles, but if I ask myself what is my intention in painting, it is in order for people to see my work. Is it better to hang on for the possibility that I might secure a show in some prestigious gallery, and the rest of the time for it to be sitting on a rack in my house, or better to get it up on walls where people can see it? I don’t have to debate that one for long. I do get my work into “respectable” venues, but it often costs more than I get in return, and I don’t have the assurance that all that many people will actually see it. So: I’ll grab every opportunity I can get to communicate. That’s what it’s all about.
The Great North Art Show in Ripon was worth a visit. The Cathedral is always a great place to show art work. There are around fifty exhibiting artists, principally from the north of England. I was disappointed by the high proportion of prints on show, gradually displacing painting, it seems, although I can see the logic of the organisers …. it is possible to sell many more prints than original paintings, because they are so much cheaper. Also, I think I would put photography into a separate exhibition. I have a little poem pinned to the notice board in my studio, by Rachel Fox.
“Oh, that photograph!” /They said/ “It’s beautiful/ Like a painting”
“Oh, that painting!”/ They exclaimed/”It’s marvellous/Just like a photograph”
Neither medium benefits by being compared directly with the other …. at least, not in my opinion.
On the down-side, I am not taken by sentimental pictures of animals, but I suppose again that this is a matter of the market. Also, there are too many artists who go on turning out stuff to the same formula they have been working to for ten years. (Should I name names?) There were some riveting pieces, however, which were really memorable. Sarah Sharpe’s little studies based on Jane Eyre were truly haunting. Bren Head’s group of six portraits were thoroughly engaging, both from the point of view of their psychological insight and their technique. If I had a wall big enough (and £9,000 to spare!) I could have come home with Paul Stone’s spectacular Field of Lemons. The star of the show, however, must be Catherine Inglis’ portrait of David Hockney. It’s a tour de force of pastel technique, and such a wonderful essay on character. It’s worth going all the way to Ripon just to see that. (The show closes on 21 September.)