New work by Eoghan Bridge for FAUNA 2012

Eoghan Bridge delivered four new sculptures for our FAUNA 2012 exhibition which opens on Saturday 25 February

“Eoghan thrives on the physical and mental challenges of sculpture. His work is representational, and his fascination of the horse and rider is ever present. Recent experiments with deconstruction, light, and 3D doodling explore an extra dimension of his work. They expose the process, and release some of the inner energy of the sculpture, and his work can be seen in a whole new light. Successful exhibitions in Singapore and New York have helped establish his growing international reputation.”

Eoghan Bridge - new work for FAUNA 2012

FAUNA 2012

On Saturday 25 February 2012 we open our new FAUNA 2012 exhibition. This represents some of the most highly regarded artists producing work inspired by animal forms. We are happy to welcome Ostinelli & Priest and their ‘Ceramic Endeavor’ to the show, to join other award-winning artists including Nichola Theakston and Nick Mackman. Click on the pictures below to see larger images. For more information, e-mail us at info@gallerytop.co.uk, phone us on 44 (0) 1629 735580 or call into the gallery.

Bull by Ostinelli & Priest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Warthog by Ostinelli & Priest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

African Wild Dog by Ostinelli & Priest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Horse by Ostinelli & Priest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zeus by Ostinelli & Priest

 

Kristan Baggaley: new paintings

“The bleak and exposed landscape of the Dark Peak has been a natural environment to develop my characteristic textural layering of paint and sand. The changing weather and the coarse nature of the rocks combine to create a beautiful but potentially hostile landscape seeped in history. To interpret in paint the open moorland and characteristic edges of the peaks, I have developed a very physical approach to applying material to the canvas. When I am working the paint is splattered, dripped and scraped, building dense areas of material, all combining to reinforce the impermanence and changing nature of this upland environment.. On site, I work with various materials in sketchbooks, the immediacy, discomfort and grand scale of the landscape all combine to ensure original images and ideas for later work to be started on canvas.”

Kristan Baggaley

Click on the images for a larger view – I’ve attached large files so you can see the quality of the texture – so it may take a  moment to download. To reserve one of the paintings, or for more information, e-mail us at info@gallerytop.co.uk or phone us on 44 (0) 1629 735580

               

FAUNA 2012

Pack of Hunting Hounds by Ostinelli & Priest

The gallery is currently full of Limited Edition Prints, providing a range of colour, scale, subject and price. You can see the exhibition here but we can also source the work of any artist you may be interested in. While we are working on the Print show, we are planning the next exhibition, so this is an early alarm call for our annual exhibition called FAUNA. This exhibition of a whole host of animal inspired sculpture starts on 25 February 2012.

gallerytop: Limited Edition Season

From 14 January 2012, gallerytop will be hosting an exhibition of Limited Edition Prints by artists ranging from those in mid-career to those of international standing. We’ve printed a broadsheet of the prints and these are all the images on it. If you want to purchase a print, want to receive the broadsheet in the post  or need any other information, please e-mail us at info@gallerytop.co.uk or phone us on 01629 735580.

 

Click here to see the prints

 

 

As part of our Limited Edition Print season, we have been working with Advanced Graphics London, who publish high quality screen and woodblock prints of nationally acclaimed artists. This is how it works:

‘The artists published by Advanced Graphics London are invited to work with the technicians at our studio. Each artist works in a different way and the relationship between printer and artist is crucial to the success of the project.

The artist builds a series of backgrounds and marks to be made into stencils – they vary from large washed areas to tiny highlights. The technicians print the stencils, one at a time, by pulling ink through the screens onto the paper beneath using a squeegee. If the artist is combining woodblocks with the screenprint the technicians cut the wood into the required shape and roll thick ink onto the surface, the paper is then laid on top of the block and enormous pressure is applied using the vertical press.

There is no original painting and the prints are produced entirely by hand. Once the proofing stage is complete and the artist is satisfied with the image the technicians begin again with the edition- refering to the notes made during the proofing stage. The prints are then signed and numbered by the artist and embossed with the company stamp.’

                  

Original Artists prints

Artizan Editions is a printmaking studio in Hove. We’ve worked with Sally Gimson and her team for a number of years and many of Artizan Edition prints are in our LIMITED EDITION PRINT exhibition which starts on 14 January 2012. Sally has produced a video of the screen printing process: to really understand why artist’s original prints are so important and should never be confused with reproductions, take a look at her video.

You can see the full range of prints we have available here

Prints at gallerytop

We are putting together the limited edition prints for our January 2012 exhibition. All the prints in this post will be framed, in the gallery, from 7 January 2012. In addition to this we are printing a broadsheet catalogue of prints available via maul order. Look out for the broadsheet which will be with you by the middle of January but only if you are on our mailing list. If you are not on our list you can join it by e-mailing us at info@gallerytop.co.uk. We also have a couple of special prints, too rare to be on the broadsheet – Sir Peter Blake’s ‘HOPE’ in gold leaf, edition number 19/100 and Sir Terry Frost’s ‘Swing Blue’ – the first print of the edition, number 1. Both prints are signed by the artist. But we also have have exciting prints by less well known artists. Sign onto our mailing list for info and updates by emailing us at info@gallerytop.co.uk.

Julian Bray: Chatsworth book

Julian Bray by gallerytop Artist’s Profile | Make Your Own Book

St Ives tour: artist’s studios in Cornwall

We recently travelled to the West Country, visiting artists who we currently represent and meeting new artists, visiting galleries and the iconic places in Cornwall.

The first stop was to meet with the painter Mike Bernard in his studio near Coombe Martin. Mike has a unique and highly individual technique which has been explained in detail in his book ‘Collage, Texture and Colour in Painting’, published by Batsford. You can see the book here . You can get get an insight into Mike’s working method in the images below.

Click MIKE BERNARD for more images

From Coombe Martin we headed for Blandine Anderson’s studio near Illfracombe. Blandine’s unique ceramic sculptures are a captivating dialogue between fine art, ceramics and sculpture. Each unique work is individually hand-built in either porcelain or stoneware clay.The subject matter for Blandine’s ceramic sculpture is drawn mainly from the fauna and flora of the British Isles – many of her works are enriched by her interest in folklore, myth and fable.Blandine has exhibited her ceramics and paintings throughout the British Isles in many solo and group exhibitions. Her work is held in collections world-wide. We were able to select work for our Christmas exhibition ‘Present Perfect’ and finalise arrangements for the ‘FAUNA’ exhibition in February 2012.

Click BLANDINE ANDERSON for more images

    

From  Illfracombe we went to Truro to visit the inspirational Lemon Street Gallery and then to the centre of St Ives to meet up with Louise Thompson at the Goalyard Studios.

Louise joined Gaolyard Studios in March 2001, having graduated the previous summer from the Studio Ceramics course at Falmouth College of Art. Louise grew up in Cornwall but has also lived in North Devon, London and Bristol and has previously worked within commercial photography and cabinet making. “I have always been fascinated by the way that he colours within the landscape can be framed within natural or man-made windows. I often capture these images using photography and painting and in my ceramic work I love to explore these abstract qualities of landscape within a 3D context. I am particularly interested in the spatial and recessive qualities that can be achieved when two or more colours are placed next to each other. This interest, combined with Louise’s great appreciation of the work of traditional potters such as E. B. Fishley and Michael Cardew has evolved into her current work, which sees windows of colour as decoration on functional forms including large bowls, jugs and lidded jars.

Click LOUISE THOMPSON and the GOALYARD STUDIOS for more images

  

Just outside of St Ives is the tiny hamlet of Hellesveor where we met up with the painter Neil Davies. Neil is a well known artist on the cornwall art scene, having been painting and exhibiting there for the last ten years. Earlier this year he had a sell out exhibition at the New Craftsman Gallery.

“These paintings are the result of my emotional reaction to the distinctive nature of the Penwith landscape, in particular the sudden shifts in the elements and the transient seasons. I have attempted to capture a sense of passing time and to interpret the essence of my observations by producing a corresponding metaphor in paint.”

Click NEIL DAVIES for more images

  

Sennen Cove is a few miles south of St ives and we went there to meet the painter John brenton, who exhibited with us this summer (2011).  John has just been featured in a book on Cornish artists and we are looking forward to showing his work again. you can see his book here. John is an artist who prefers to paint from life using oils, the subject matter is the motivation of painting for most artists and the principal aim in each work is to express a personal response to a landscape. His work is directed towards meeting the challenge of painting the awe-inspiring beauty of the Cornish coastline where he was born and raised.

Click  JOHN BRENTON for more images

      

Then the Tate, the beach, the Westcott Gallery, the Porthminster Gallery, blues band in the pub ….and on to John Maltby near Crediton…

Born in Lincolnshire, John Maltby studied sculpture at Leicester and at Goldsmiths’ College, London. He taught painting for two and half years before working with David Leach at Bovey Tracey (1962-64). In 1964 he started his own workshop at Stoneshill, near Credition, Devon. Maltby is a prolific maker and has exhibited in numerous galleries in Britain and Europe. His work is represented in public and private collections worldwide, including the collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, the Museum für Kunstegewerbe, Hamburg and the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh.

Click JOHN MALTBY for more images.

  

Our final visit was to Jenny Southam in Exeter and her remarkable ceramic sculptures:

‘There is a strand of work in contemporary craft (as well as in animation) in Britain that accentuates the eccentric through the use of figures: not quite satiric and not quite cartoon. The metal and found object sculptures of Mike Abbott and Ken Ellwood come to mind, as do the ceramics of Jane Muir and to some degree the symbolic work of John Maltby. Jenny Southam’s ceramic sculptures occupy this same territory. her figures poised between a gentle reflective gravity and an approachable. quirky humour. They are figures with more than a smile on their faces.’ (Simon Olding – Ceramic Review)

Click JENNY SOUTHAM for more images