A special weekend for lovers of contemporary art

Bank Holiday Weekend Specials at Cristus

To mark the final weekend of the summer exhibition Cristus are discounting prices by 20% this weekend (does not include ceramics) so that we can make way for our exciting new season of exhibitions.

In addition, we have some very special offers which are open only to our Newsletter readers. To take advantage, sign up for our newsletter here and we will send you a coupon code. Then drop into the Gallery on Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday (28th - 31st August 2009) and simply tell us your coupon code to qualify for these offers…

1.Buy any painting, ceramics, prints or photographs with a retail value of £400 or more and choose from one of two free gifts

• EITHER a) any unframed print currently on display in the gallery, including signed limited editions!
• OR b) Two packs of high quality art reproduction greeting cards (5 cards to a pack). Normally the two packs would retail at £30.

PLUS

2. Receive a massive 20% discount on future opening night Private View purchases (as a Newsletter subscriber you will automatically be invited to all future Private Views)

PLUS

3. Collectors Special: we would like to keep our artist’s work together in single collections as far as possible. We want to encourage this with the following offer: buy two works by a single artist and receive a third at a 50% discount - this weekend only! This offer applies to the lowest priced work of the three pieces. Paintings, photographs and prints only - does not apply to ceramics.

More importantly… here is a selection of some of the beautiful art available this weekend…

 

Plus lots more art by many more artists… we look forward to seeing you at the weekend - have a great Bank Holiday.
Tel: 01303 223005
Mob: 0759 33 77 499

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Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2009

You sir! Pass my monacle.

To assert that the Royal Academy’s long standing tradition of open submission to its Summer Exhibition is a form of democracy, as the great and good would have us believe in the meeja this week, is to adopt an essentially self-contradictory position. There’s a paradox in operation.

I say so because the actual tradition of the Academy is one of conservatism, elitism, royal and aristocratic patronage, closed shops, and negative discrimination at every possible level. It has played its part in helping to build the reputation of English art as the poor man of Europe, dragging its pallid shape along in the wake of the adventurous and spunky Europeans (and Americans in the precociously recent 20th Century). Picasso, Miro, Pollock, Richter? What, when we have the St Ives school?

At this year’s exhibition, as in the past, the jury’s chosen water colourists and acrylicists rub shoulders with established artists. What’s different is that this time around, apparently it’s funky. Flirting dangerously with the 21st Century, the Academy has drafted in Emin and Hirst, like Royalty at a cup final. Britain has globally recognised stars of the art world, and here they are. We only sing when we’re winning.

This is a good mix. It is an excellent chance to compare the output of the great engine room of English artistic output, the reality of what art is for most artists (i.e. rendering approximations of observed phenomena with paint, charcoal etc), with the work of the great conceptualists of our time. Who will come off best? What will connect, emotionally or intellectually? And what will have lasting quality?

We find ourselves at a fascinating juncture in art history, entangled as never before in the reality of the market place. It’s an entertaining scramble for the Art Quid, but let’s not pretend that democracy has anything to do with it.

The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2009 continues until 16th August.

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Wish by Jessica Stride

A stunning portrait by Jessica Stride showing her typical mastery of colour. Acrylic on canvas, 20″(h) x 16″(w). Presentation is on a deep box canvas and is therefore unframed. Buy the original here. 

Buy an open edition print here.

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Summer Exhibition 2009

50 yards from the Sea: Contemporary Art Summer Exhibition To Launch in Sandgate, Kent

The Cristus Gallery summer exhibition of contemporary art will open to the public from Thursday June 4th 2009. Deborah O’Grady, the show’s curator emphasised the feelgood, optimistic nature of the artworks.

“The thinking behind the summer exhibition is very straightforward” said O’Grady. “It’s about the quality of summer light, the freshness of summer breezes, the hope and energy that a great summer can represent. It celebrates a certain lightness of being, and breaking free from whichever new global crisis we are in the middle of when people come to visit the gallery!”

Cristus Gallery, situated just 50 yards from the seaside promenade in Sandgate, is the ideal place for a Summer Exhibition.

“The quality of the light here in Sandgate is remarkable” said Dan McCarthy, one of the exhibiting artists. “On a clear day you can see France across the channel, the light sparkles on the water, and the sea is a Caribbean turquoise. On a stormy day, the sky and English Channel seem to threaten to burst the sea defences. I spend a lot of my time trying to capture these mood changes, and the ancient, troublesome relationship that man has with the sea in this place”.

We wanted artists who can match their seriousness of purpose with beautiful, colourful works that are optimistic and full of light. Featured artworks include paintings by Sarah Stokes, Jessica Stride and Tracey-anne Pryke; Ceramics by Shaun Hall; digital art by Dan McCarthy.

Summer exhibition opening times are now: Fri & Sat 11 - 7.30, plus the first Sunday of every month. These will be extended during the peak season and will be announced here.

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Jessica Stride on why colour is her inspiration

As far back as I can remember, I’ve had a love of colour and when I paint, this is always my first inspiration. The images are unplanned but evolve through balance and instinct and using colours that lift my spirit with their beauty. This series of paintings was influenced by my frequent visits to Devon and reflects the vibrant blues of the coastal area. My process is one of making continual decisions, some conscious, some intuitive which affect the final outcome. I aim to produce imagery that is ambiguous, with many layers, that reveals itself slowly and gradually to the viewer.
[Jessica Stride, May 2009]

See Jessica’s striking abstract and figurative paintings, including ‘Headland’ featured above, at the Cristus Gallery Summer Exhibition, from June 4th 2009.

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Power and intensity - ‘Fire’ by Tracey-anne Pryke

Joining our list of new artists for the Cristus Summer Exhibition is Hythe-based Tracey-Anne Pryke. Though she paints mainly figurative works, this abstract departure is an example of her extensive range. It is not a painting to be avoided. There is a physical presence here, as if the surface of the painting itself has been set ablaze. Chromatic oils burn and shimmer over the blackness. The sense of immediacy reminds me of Willem de Kooning and the ‘Action painters’ of the 1950s and 60s, as though the painter has just stepped back from the canvas, bespattered and breathless - and the painting continues to burn. It is a great contrast to Tracey-Anne’s meticulous portraits and seascapes, though all possess the same rich pallette and expressionistic verve. See them for yourself, online and at the gallery from June 4th.
* Tracey-Anne has just agreed to demonstrate her skills by painting at the gallery. Date to be confirmed.

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‘Every moment is a metamorphosis’ Sarah Stokes at the Cristus Summer Exhibition

Seeking the essence of the English seaside for our forthcoming Summer Exhibition, we found ourselves in the Whitstable studio of Sarah Stokes, a self-taught artist of infectious enthusiasm and natural talent. Inside the creative space, her art adorns every wall. It’s clear at once that her style is unique and yet present in all her paintings. The colours are those of the sea: pale greens, greys and blues with vibrant darts and impasto swirls. Abstract imaginings from the artist, yet from our shared world.

All around, the surfaces are covered in the stuff of painting: pots and canvas and items specific to the individual artist, like a favourite sponge or stick or bubble-wrap daub. While outside, just yards from the shingle beach, is the inspiration behind the work: the North Sea. As muses go, this capricious stretch of coastline is not for everyone. Cold mostly, and briny, and inspite of its recent gentrification into a gallery town, still retaining its honest nautical air.

For Sarah, the ever-changing light and scene are key to her art:  ‘Every moment is a metamorphosis!’ she declares… ‘The paintings seem to form storytelling ’scapes so each viewer can form their own unique connection’.  So, no in-depth analysis required from this reviewer. Come judge for yourself at the Cristus Gallery Summer Exhibition, from June 4th.

The Cristus Summer Exhibition

The 2009 Summer Exhibition opens on Thursday, June 4th, 2009. We are featuring several artists who are new to the gallery including Sarah Stokes, Jessica Stride and Tracey Pryke.

There is a Private Viewing for Newsletter subscribers and other friends(Invitation Only) on Saturday May 30th, 2009. If you would like to join us in appreciating great art and a glass of wine, we are issuing invitations to the next 50 people who join our mailing list. Join the mailing list here.

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