Drawn to London

Within the shadow of the Tower

 

16 October – 3 November

Curated by: Philippa Beale

 

Artists: Alexandra Blum, Philippa Beale, John Blandy, Stella Carr, Paul Cosquieri, Paul Finn, Sue Hackney, Susannah Hubert, Martin Harrison-Priestman, Maryellen Lamb, Mark Long, Natasha Lien, Fiona McIntyre, Seema Manchanda, Emma Perring, Pat Phippard PRofit, Karen Summers, Jacqueline Wedlake-Hatton, Marion Wilcocks, Alice White, Les Williams, Sandra Wroe

 

 

“Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.”

Samuel Johnson, ‘The Life of Samuel Johnson Vol 3’, James Boswell, 1851

 

The exhibition brings together a variety of artists who have responded to the life and history of London. They follow in a tradition that reaches back to Hogarth’s etchings of Gin Lane and Monet’s impressionist visions of the Thames to Rachel Whiteread’s ghostly House in east London and Gilbert and George’s lurid evocations of Brick Lane. London has long been a conspicuously successful multi-cultural metropolis where people from different cultures have combined to create a dynamic and positive place to live, work and create art.

The show will reflect and celebrate this energy, but will also probe the implications of the city cutting itself off from the wider world in the aftermath of Brexit.

The exhibition will include members from The Society of Graphic Fine Art, The Lloyds Art Group, Gibraltar Fine Arts Society and invited artists whose work reflects different aspects of life in London.

The exhibition includes around 80 or more works of art including paintings, prints, drawings, photographs, film, sound and installation. The themes found in the works range from the women held as prisoners in Bermondsey Abbey to the minutiae of flora and fauna found within the cracks of the city itself. While some artists have collaborated with communities in London, celebrating the practice of drawing; others have engaged with the buildings and building sites, aiming to capture the essence of the city. The iconic Trafalgar Square will be newly observed, while the quotidian more mundane moments that make up parts of the everyday lives of Londoners will be under close scrutiny.

There is guaranteed something of interest for everybody in this new exhibition and works will be for sale.

 

Alexandra Blum

 

Paul Finn

 

Les Williams

 

 

Natasha Lien

 

 

Emma Perring

 

Pat Phippard

 

 

Alice White

 

 

Philippa Beale

 

 

Sandra Wroe

 

 

Jaqueline Wedlake Hatton

 

 

Seema Manchanda

 

 

Paul Cosquieri

 

 

Susannah Hubert

 

 

Philippa Beale

 

 

Maryellen Lamb

 

 

Karen Summers

 

 

Fiona McIntyre