Brighton Open Houses - 28 Portland Road

Mixed Show 28 Portland Road
Alison Hermon
Jan Hunt
Kat Furguson

Sometimes Open Houses get accused of safe playing and Knick-Knackery, so it was good to come across a house which was unashamedly uncommercial and striking because of that. Just two rooms in Portland Road (the Blacthington Road end) and 3 artists.


Alison Hermon had the back room blacked out and was exhibiting illuminated reconstructed coats, which she had once owned and many had been given to her and so had a previous life. A comment on memory and nostalgia perhaps.

Jan Hunt had a dress and window hanging quilted from used teabags - different colours and luminousity depending on the state of the light coming in.


And Kat Furguson was exhibiting folded, twisted and cut paper pictures which had both a simplicity of design but because of the use of printed paper were quite textural and had an op-art feel which changed as you moved in front of them

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Anish Kapoor at the Municipal Market

We got to Anish Kapoor's Dismemberment of Jeanne dArc last week, the colossal sculptural installation comprising 5 elements taking up the entire disused municipal market.


Whilst the sculpture itself has presence due to the pillar box red colour of the elements and the immense size, the actual building was getting just as much attention, as a fantastic venue closed for years and now set to be redeveloped. Which I suppose will be a good thing - more flats, offices a new library for Brighton University, a new events square, studios for South East Dance and a "creative industries market".


A little bit of me can't help thinking that it all sounds a bit glossy and that it may be a shame to lose the actual building which could be put to more creative use than more bloomin flats. Hopefully the Anish Kapoor exhibition may be only the first artistic use before the building work starts.

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Brighton Art & Design Guide - i gigi General Store

I gigi General Store
Brighton Art and Design Guide

Zoe Ellison founded i gigi general store in 2004 and since then has been joined by Alex Legendre. Together they opened the i gigi cafe upstairs in 2006 and i gigi menswear in the basement at the beginning of 2009.


Before Zoe opened the general store, the building housed a greengrocers. Zoe was so taken by the beautiful facade that she trailed the country trying to track down the owner. When she finally did they were so impressed by her persistence that a few months later the shop was hers.


i gigi is located on Western Road in the Brunswick area of Hove. The area has a real sense of community; i gigi has grown with this community over the past ten years and is now an integral part of it. They have a loyal local customer base grown over many years.


Zoe opened i gigi ladies boutique five doors down from i gigi general store five years earlier. Alex ran a restaurant in Australia before returning to her hometown of Brighton to start a family. They both have a natural eye for creating beautiful interiors.


A recent article described i gigi as a ‘micro department store’ and although they stock a range of products from unusual clothes and hats to plates and antiques it could be said that they "specialise in items characterised by a soft and natural charm enabling our pieces to sit well in almost any setting"


When Zoe opened the general store she was inspired by her ideal shopping environment; somewhere that was different to other shops and had a relaxed, warm, inviting and personal feel to it. Zoe’s farm upbringing has played a big part in the rustic, earthy feel of the shop. Today however i gigi is an imprint of both Alex and Zoe’s nostalgic personal style.


Artists that have exhibited at igigi recently are Peter Ellison, Susie Petrou and Annabelle Nicoll. They also stock Royal Staffordshire, Cote Table, Tadé, Maison Bengal, as well as their own range of antique furniture and pieces that have been reworked in antique linens and beautiful fabrics that maintain the integrity of the antique piece.

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Through the Keyhole - Paul Robinson

Paul Robinson lives and works in Hertfordshire. He produces his contemporary paintings from his 'outside' studio.

Paul says; 'Unfortunately my studio isn't much to look at, its basically a car port. I don't have reference material pinned to the walls as do many artists who have the luxury of a REAL studio but I do have a constant source of reference material just inside the back door - my house!' Paul has several paintings on the go at any one time and they feed off each other. In the winter it gets so cold that Paul has to keep going inside to warm his hands by the fire and look at the work from the window and in the summer flies stick to the paint! This is he says 'unavoidable - but maybe they will go down in history some day too!'

Paul moved to his home called South Lodge in March 1997. Before then he and his partner were living in rented accommodation. The house had all the character features they both wanted in a home; a five bar gate, an aga, an open fire, country views, large garden and tiled kitchen walls. Paul thought the house had enough room for an indoor studio but the kids had all the rooms instead. So, even though he could have painted indoors somewhere he decided to work outside.



'It had more space for me to make a mess and call my own. I do work inside from time to time but its mostly the thinking and drawing and sketching that happens here as I find the instant moment of a situation can be inspired by the simplest of things in my house. For instance I may be sitting by the fire and hear a news article on the TV that either interests me or infuriates me, usually to do with politics or religion or world crisis or war. I find comfort in the fact that I can put down my ideas immediately, separated from the media reality but also in the same reality.'



Paul sees his immediate surroundings running concurrent with the real world and a part of being in our modern society. One of the reasons he intertwines objects in his home with images that suggest or symbolise the things that are contemporary in society - be it war, religion, politics or just intrigue - is that he finds the two inseparable. Paul says 'I live in today's society so why shouldn't I paint about it? Its an immediate source, referenced by objects.'



Paul's home is full of incidentals! Eclectic ephemera collected and given. Splashed with the odd piece of store bought. A lot of the furniture is collected, recycled and decorated in a bohemian manner. Paul will strip a piece of furniture down paint it and add different bits or just leave something given to the family as it is. The house has a very lived in feel.

The objects that recur in Paul's work are everyday things from kitchen utensils, ornaments, floor tile patterns, fabric patterns, ceramic bowls, room settings and children's bath time toys to the living room overmantle with its odd array of crucifixes and pine cones. Other objects are collected and family memorabilia, such as russian dolls, bears, puppets and collected chicken ornaments all feature in his work. Any object from a pan to a Ringtons Tea caddy can appear on a canvas - they are the everyday essentials. They have a modern symbolism that Paul likes.



'I seem to relate objects with occurrences; for example a Peace Lily flower in a painting called Peace Time reflected my thoughts about suffering in modern political, religious struggles, this was accompanied by the image of the bible and a cross. But it was also a reflection on a room in the house - the bathroom where peace can be obtained - relaxing. It is the contradiction and association of disparate elements that I find enthralling and puzzling, even though they say something to me. I like to contradict images within my work.'

There are many rooms in Paul's house that he find endless inspiration from - t just depends on the time and situation. Paul says, 'At the end of the day my humble surroundings have led me to exhibitions in New York, Paris, Amsterdam and London. Who needs a real studio?'



Paul will be exhibiting and selling his work at the Brighton Art Fair in October.

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Artist of the Week - Katkin Pringle

Katkin Pringle graduated last year from the University of Newcastle Upon-Tyne. The university bought two of her paintings and her show sold out! Following a skiing accident last year which prevented Katkin from being able to paint for a while as her work is so physical, she took up printmaking and learnt to etch. She now works between the two mediums.

One Favourite living artist and why?
Jenny Saville. I love her use of paint, the way she slaps paint on as if it is liquid flesh. She has merged realism with abstraction through painting a real object (predominantly the female nude) using a variety of referential photographs to make up her image.

One favourite historical artist and why?
Vermeer. His beautiful use of colour and light; especially the blues and yellows. The detail he goes into is magnificent and his paintings often tell a story of 'real life' which was rare in his time; usually artists only painted glorified occasions.

When and where did you first want to do what you do?
Since I was a little girl. My mother used to cover all the kitchen surfaces in plastic so that my sister could paint freely and make as much mess as we wanted, it was my favourite thing!



What place in the world has inspired you?
Vast landscapes in England and around the world - Himalayas, Salt flats in Bolivia, Scottish Highlands, Thailand's expanse of beaches etc

Do you work best on your own or in collaboration?
On my own, though I have done very little collaboration so there is still potential in working with others.



At age 15 who influenced your style?
Anselm Keifer and Lucian Freud

How much do you bend your 'vision' to suit the marketplace - if at all?
Sometimes I veer my work to depict landscapes more obviously as more buyers tend to be attracted to a realist image.

Who would you say buys your work?
People with a love of colour who want to brighten their houses and own an interesting painting that can be read in ones own individual way.

How do you set about starting a new project?
Think and look at images of vast landscapes, buy lots of materials and start experimenting!

Where and what is your studio?
In Hascombe in Surrey in the loft of a barn

Do you have a good work/life balance?
Running up to an exhibition I tend to completely loose my life and work manically but otherwise I do have a good work/life balance. I find it hard to switch off in the evenings unless I am out of the house.

What one word would describe your feeling of doing your work?
Satisfying

Would you rather be doing something else?
No



Are there other fields that you'd like to apply some facet of your work into?
I would like to write for art magazines and journals.

If you could exhibit in any gallery which would it be?
Very hard question, there are so many. Probably the White Cube in St James, London

Most overrated artist/maker?
I like to see a positive in every artist. The bad art is what makes good art recognisable.

Where do the majority of your inspiration / ideas come from?
Images of the earth from the air

Where did you train? Favourite / least favourite aspects of training?
Wimbledon School of art, University of Newcastle Upon-Tyne, Munich Academy of Fine Arts. Favourite aspects were being surrounded by other artists with critical opinions and different ideas. Least favourite aspects were when students compete over who can be the most extreme and different

Exhibitions

2008 Newcastle Upon Tyne Dental Hospital

Jun 2008 Varnish – Fine Art Degree show, UNCL

Feb 2009 Solo exhibition at ‘Drella’ Gallery, Surrey

Feb 2009 ‘ART’ at Vibe Bar, Brick Lane London

Feb 2009 ORIGINALS ’09, Mall Galleries, London


Katkin will be exhibiting and selling her work at the Brighton Art Fair in October, 2009.

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Boxbird - Cinemascope Exhibition

It's nice to see original prints becoming popular again, and Boxbird in Brighton is one of the pioneers of the trend. Last week saw the opening of their 'Cinemascope' exhibition which sees 30+ artists re-interpreting films and redesigning their favourite film posters. It was good to see all the red dots too so don't leave it too late to get down there! Here are some of my favourites.

Titantic - "They said it was unsinkable... let the challenge begin" - Modern Toss

Montagna Sacra - Sam Chivers

The Birds - Graham Carter

Ghost - Graham Carter.

The exhibition will be open for the 2009 Brighton Fringe Festival daily (except Mondays) until May 31st.

Boxbird

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Empyrean Speculum and Sky Mirror

This is something of a follow-up to the earlier post on Anish Kapoor - it's great that artists and the public are engaged in dialogue over art pieces even if it might tend towards pricking infated artistic ego.


In response to Anish Kapoor's Sky Mirror and as a satire on the heavy security cordon surrounding the sculpture (which both deprives locals of the use of a part of the heavily used Pavillion Gardens to sit and relax in and means that the sculpture can't be properly viewed either) Artist Jonathan Gilhooly created his own version of the Sky Mirror complete with security fence but somewhat smaller. On May 2nd the new work was displayed at the Pavilion Gardens complete with it's own security guard and caused a little rumpus, the official guards tried to evict the small version! - you can read what happened here

Photos's Stig Evans

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