'33' and 'Caution' selected for RWA 167th Annual Exhibition
On Friday the 20th of September I was delighted to receive the news that I had two paintings selected to be hung in the Royal West of England Academy 167th Annual Open Exhibition in Bristol. The two paintings selected were 'Caution' and '33'. Although, I couldn't make it for Varnishing Day on Friday the 27th, I was trilled to be able to attend the Private View Opening on Saturday the 28th. This was the first time my work had been exhibited outside of Ireland, so it made it all the more special that it got to be in such a renowned setting.
The Academy is Bristol's oldest gallery and is truly a stunning site to behold on arrival, easily generating a great sense of occasion. This continued on entry, receiving a beautiful welcome as everyone did from staff and members. There was just enough time to have a quick look around before the speeches and prize giving began and then an emotional changing of Presidents from past President Stewart Geddes to new President Fiona Robinson.
As I began to then have a good look around I found my own two pieces which were hung pretty close together in the Milner Gallery. It was truly a great feeling to see my paintings along side such great work on the walls of the Academy. The show is packed with outstanding work from selected artists and academics and I feel honored to have been selected to be apart of it.
There is a fantastic variety of medium from painting, print, pencil, drawing, ink, collage from photorealism to abstraction as well as different forms of sculpture and video work. There is so much to see you would need multiple visits.
I tried to photograph as much as I could on what was a very busy night and I've included just a few of my favorites here. The Exhibition will run until the 1st of December 2019 and you can go on to the RWA website and browse and buy artworks online.
This year's selectors included Tim Marlow, art historian and Artistic Director of the RA; Adelaide Damoah, painter and performance artist; John Talbot, art collector and Mark Hudson, award-winning art writer and critic for The Telegraph. Further selectors include RWA Academicians Malcolm Ashman, Dallas Collins, Toni Davey, Stewart Geddes and Leslie Glenn Damhus.