Art Unlocked Viewing Room
Time for art to be unlocked because we can be sure artists haven’t shut down even if the world has. With actual galleries silent, shuttered and padlocked, artists are still producing and still want their work to be seen. To these ends, we’re launching Art Unlocked which offers wall space and a viewing room to artists and galleries so both can fully express themselves albeit in a virtual world. But what is real is that 25% of all sales will go to Art for Heroes, a charity raising money for the NHS Heroes set up to support their exceptional, unstinting, and unselfish work.
Of course, experiencing art in a lockdown world is not ideal. There is no seeing the actual piece an arm’s length away – and no being seen. You are not able to stand within the orbit of those with big brains and amazing critical faculties, great hats and nice shoes. But there are definite advantages too. You can stand or sit and stare at an artwork indefinitely with attracting stares of your own. There is nothing or no one to cause a partial or full eclipse of the work you happen to be gazing at. You can return again and again without disrupting the one-way flow of human traffic and you can come back in the middle of the night without arousing suspicion.
Virtual is wonderful and virtual is real
So virtual is wonderful and virtual is real. As real as the works you have never seen before in The Hermitage, The Guggenheim, The Met or The Tate. So click on, come in and stay as long as you like.
Miranda Boulton
Miranda Boulton’s paintings are nature morte of flora. Flowers are memento mori. They are fulsome and life affirming but are fleeting, reminding us of the ephemeral nature of life. The acknowledgement of passing time is central to Boulton’s work, both in subject matter and through the building up of layers of paint over time. She thinks of her paintings as timelines on a tree, each layer holds it’s own memories and is integral to the finished piece. Boulton often works in series responding to historical references within this genre.
Rachel Camilleri
Rachel Camilleri is best known for her bright abstract artworks, characterised by bold layering of vibrant colours and textures. Working mostly in acrylics and spray paint and using mainly a squeegee when painting, her work is intuitive and expressive as she draws inspiration from the world around her. Her home town of Manchester, interior design, architecture, nature, street art and music are a few of her influences.
Berenice Fugard
‘My practice stems from conscious and unconscious observations inspired by my environment. I live in the countryside, in an area of France known for extremes of temperatures, turbulent storms, beautiful insects and animals, strange politics and wild boar hunters. The violence creates a conflict between life-affirming forces and anguish, akin to a dissonance in music. I paint to resolve this dissonance. My route towards harmony has always been through visual art. The physical act of marking, cutting, slicing, painting, and combining mediums to create original objects that ultimately promote a feeling of wellbeing.’
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Emma Hill
Emma Hill’s abstract paintings are spontaneous and intuitive, expressive and emotionally charged. Each picture begins with a single brush stroke, starting a conversation. A streak of turquoise leaps above a squiggle of parchment and lilac beside a glimpse of fluorescent pink. Prussian blue drips like pouring rain and brilliant white miniature dots light up the sky like stars. Gradually layers of colour build phrases of optimism.
Sue Munson
These paintings were inspired by visits to St. Ives. Simples lines and forms can be seen in my work inspired by the greats like Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson, Terry Frost and others. Her work veers from the simplicity of a straight line, and a less is more aesthetic to the complexity of layering and mark making. “It’s exciting” says Sue “to start with an idea and work in a random spontaneous way until the painting starts to reveal an identity. I then become more contemplative and thoughtful as the painting progresses. For me it’s about experimenting and solving problems.” Sue’s work has been shown in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibitions and The Royal West of England Open Exhibitions.
Liudmila Panenkova
Born in Moscow, Russia, in 1986, Liudmila Panenkova currently lives and works in Dubai. Her primary method of expression is visually characterised by its refusal to conform to any conventions or traditions. Instead, her work leans towards a direction of magical realism, in which she addresses a range of subtly different concepts. Drawing influence from the real world, Panenkova elaborately transforms the ordinary into vivid scenes.
