Materialistic - April 09 -

"Beware of the Fish" by Kate Lloyd. Solder work, bone & acrylics, 58 x 40 cm.

In April 2009 we invited everyone to the launch of a new exhibition that had a tactile, material theme to it:

"I am pleased to invite you and your guests to the preview of our Spring Exhibition at The Jazz Bar.
Material-istic is a 2d/3d show with solder works by Kate Lloyd, slate works by Joshua Jack and oil paintings by Ronald Buchan.

Farewell to the winter blues and begin Spring with an event that, surprisingly, has nothing to do with the finantial crash and a lot to do with texture, colour and shape!

"Rolling Stones" by Joshua Jack. Slate, 40 x 40 cm.

Artmag April-May 09

March 2009 - New works: Ronnie Buchan, John Cannavan & Edwin Slater

In 2009 we recruited new artists like John Cannavan whose paintings of Edinburgh and Scottish landscapes became regular sight at all our existing venues at the time.

And on 5th of March we lauched a new exhibition that also included works by Ronnie and Edwin.

"Parliament Street", oil by John Cannavan
50.5 x 40.5 cm.

"Soul Mates" mixed m. 60 x 80 cm.

"Woman with cigarette" oil ,50 x 40cm.

February 2009 - Jacqui Higgs solo exhibition

After a short break to recover from all our hectic activities around Christmas time, we welcomed the new year with a Solo Exhibition by Irish artist Jacqui Higgs.


Above: Fettiye", 50 x 41.5 cm. Mixed media £495

"My Current practice involves on-site drawings, photographs and graffiti text sourced from the industrial spaces of urban and contrasting rural landscapes. These are then developed to create a multi-textured surface..."

J.H.

This painting below is my all-time favourite by Jacqui.
Due to the layer of varnish covering the canvas, the foggy quality of the "snow" is appreciated only when you see the painting in the flesh.
But when you do...you can almost feel the dampness in the air. This painting came back to mind after seeing a Portraits Exhibition in London in February 2010. From all the photographs on show, the one that caught my eye displayed an image of a young man laying with his greyhound dog in a beautiful, large field. Unlike most of the other photographs, this one had some information to complement the image. The text explained that while the guy in the photo looks somehow unaware of the camera, looking distracted; the dog, on the contrary, was looking right into it, as if posing for the photograph. It was this swap of roles between human and animal that had caught my eye. I found it surprising and interesting. And the same idea applies to Jacqui's "Walking the Dog in the Snow": the dog seems to be looking directly into the viewers' eye...with some sort of human-like awareness. He seems to be telling us about the cold and the dampness...

Paintings by Kenneth Le Riche

We closed 2008 with an exhibition of stunning work by Kenneth Le Riche.

Below: The Unbearable Likeness of Being
Oil on canvas
60" x 48"



"The Unbearable Likeness of Being" is a misquotation of Milan Kundera's book 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being'. This was the book that the young woman in the painting was reading when the idea for the piece was first thought up. I have chosen to use this misquote for two reasons: as a reference to what the woman was reading and thus where she was in her imagination as the idea was composed, and also as a comment on how in relationships there can be tension and discontent when the two parties concerned can feel too alike and each others' behaviour too predictable. In arguably a misguided way, both parties consequently look outside the relationship for contentment. In the painting I wanted to create an ambiguous psychological narrative. Kenneth Le Riche

Kenneth trained and lived in New York, where he adquired his outstanding figurative technique. 9 months after this exhibition his words "realism is the new avante-garde" served me for the introduction of an exhibition called "Beyond Realism", organised for Colours Gallery in collaboration with Spanish gallery Artelibre. What is remarkable is that one the participating Spanish artists: Aranzazu Martinez, had trained with Kenneth in New York...
It's a small world after all!

Artmag Dec 08 - Jan 09

Barnardo's Auction - December 2008

"Waiting the adoption" 76 x 56 cm. By Zohre Mirabassi
Oil on board

Barnardo’s Exhibition Launch

Wed 10th Dec 2008
6.30 pm
Joseph Pearce's Bar, 23 Elm Row.
Edinburgh

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A full moon Wednesday of December 2008 witnessed the launch of the Barnardo's Art Auction campaign, for which paintings were auctioned on the 12th of December at Joseph Pearce's Bar to raise funds for this charity devoted to helping disadvantaged and neglected kids in our community.

It highlighted the generosity of local and international artists who donated more than 30 paintings with titles as inspired as “Beginnings” (Edwin Slater).
They did their part and then it was our turn!

The exhibition and pre-autcion campaign, which included downloadable catalogues from the webiste, had an overwhelming response with a staggering amount being raised through the purchase of art. Delicartessen donated an oil painting called "Waiting for the adoption" by Iranian artist, Zohre Mirabassi. The painting sold at the auction night which took place at Joseph Pearce’s Bar, 23 Elm Row, Edinburgh.


This event proved the generosity and sensitivity of both artists and art lovers both local and afar. The money raised was dedicated to finance a summer holiday for the kids of one of Barnardo's adoption centers in Edinburgh.
The idea of giving the kids the simple, yet out of reach, opportunity of enjoying a holiday, lifted the hopes for the result of the auction and echoed Barnardos' motto of giving kids back their future...and shall we add, their present too.
We were blown away by the response of our artists and local volunteers and felt so priviledged to take part in an event like this.
As the say goes..."What goes around, comes around" (and often multiplied!) Incredilbe experience.