Fine Art Blog

National Portrait Gallery – ‘ideath’ Painting of a girl on her iPod wins BP Visitor’s Choice Award 2010

A picture of a girl on her iPod has become the annual winner of this prestigious prize sponsored by BP. The piece was taken from the ‘Visitor’s Choice’ exhibition that has been on display in the gallery.

‘ideath’ painting by Michal Ozibko

Interestingly this was voted on by people actually visiting the museum, not by some ‘panel of experts’ as so often is the case & visitors where able to vote via a touch screen monitor outside the exhibition - new for the 2010 competition.

Michal Ozibko, a Czechoslovakian born painter, produced a major piece measuring 65 inches across by 86 inches height & called ‘ideath.’ Nearly 26,000 visitors to the National Portrait Gallery voted & ‘ideath’ received over 15% of those, scooping the BP sponsored Portrait Award for 2010.

You can see the voting results on the Gallery’s website on the links section

Thank you

Jessica

Links:
National Portrait Gallery

Daily Telegraph’s coverage

The Guardian’s coverage

Nigel Hemming & Steven Townsend appearance - 5 days left to go

The excitement is now building as we are only 5 days away from one of the biggest Dog Art events of the year.

For the first time ever UK artists Nigel Hemming and Steven Townsend will be appearing together in the same venue for a 2 man exhibition and appearance.

‘Picture Perfect Gallery’ of London are organising the event in Birmingham UK and is being held at: Claire Galleries, 7 The Orb, Tenby Street, The Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham, B1 3EL

On Saturday 1st & Sunday 2nd December 2007
From 10.00 am to 5.00 pm, both days

Nigel Hemming’s very latest release: Just Dogs - Brown Roan Italian Spinone 2

I will personally be at the event and will publish a report soon after. Although I have been lucky enough to be in the company of Nigel Hemming several times, I have never met Steven Townsend and am very much looking forward to it.

Steven Townsend’s very latest release: Striding Stones - Porth Nanven, Cornwall

I’m sure this event will prove hugely successful, Nigel Hemming and Steven Townsend are arguably the most famous published canine artists in the UK and possibly the world.

Out of interest, Nigel has become best known for his gun dog Limited Edition prints and Steven for both his border collie and wildlife Limited Edition prints. As you can see by the image in this blog post, Steven is also an accomplished landscape and seascape artist.

The Exhibition is free to attend.

thank you

Russell

Links:

Full details: Nigel Hemming & Steven Townsend exhibition
Free Invitation Front - View or Download
Free Invitation Reverse - View or Download
If you don’t have Acrobat Reader (for .pdf files), please download here:
Adobe Acrobat Reader

NIGEL HEMMING - STEVEN TOWNSEND - Joint exhibition and appearance - Dec 1st & 2nd 2007

Some incredible breaking News, for the first time ever two of the UK’s greatest canine artists will be doing a joint exhibition and appearance in Birmingham UK, Saturday 1st & Sunday 2nd December 2007. This is also the first time the two artists have met each other.

Congratulations to the hosts, Picture Perfect Gallery of London, who are holding the exhibition at the following Venue:

Claire Galleries, 7 The Orb, Tenby Street, The Jewellery Quarter,
Birmingham, B1 3EL

Saturday 1st & Sunday 2nd December 2007

Full Information, including directions can be found on Picture Perfect Gallery’s Website, including your free invite (.pdf format) and directions.

This event is open to all and you do not need to RSVP

Nigel Hemming specializes in Gun Dog Art.
Steven Townsend specializes in Border Collies, Wildlife and British Landscapes but both have painted many breeds.

thank you

Russell

Some Helpful links:

Free Invitation Front - View or Download
Free Invitation Reverse - View or Download
If you don’t have Acrobat Reader (for .pdf files), please download here:
Adobe Acrobat Reader

Pop Art Portraits at the National Portrait Gallery

‘Pop Art Portraits’ at the National Portrait Gallery (Wolfson & Ground Floor Galleries)
11th October 2007 to – 20th January 2008

Starting in October 2007 British and American artists of the Pop Art era will have their work on display side by side at ‘Pop Art Portraits’ at the National Portrait Gallery in London. This is sure to be an exciting and well attended display, with works including UK artists David Hockney, Peter Blake & Richard Hamilton and from the USA: Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Ray Johnson & Richard Hamilton and art portraits featuring Elvis, John F Kennedy & Marilyn Monroe to name but a few.

In the first in a series of exhibitions on Pop portraits -The National Portrait Gallery will see a lay ‘chapel’ in honour of Marilyn Monroe, created. This will bring comparisons to a 1960’s New York art exhibition that took place a few years after her death, where she was celebrated as the patron saint of celebrity culture.

Infact the exhibition will contain 16 pieces which were actually part of a 1967 display in New York where UK and US artists jointly showed their works in honour of the Hollywood Idol.

Sandy Nairne, the NPG director, said that this era was significant in the history of portraiture, blazing a trail for the cutting edge artists of today, such as Sam Taylor.

The NPG curator, Paul Moorhouse, has spent almost 5 years gathering pieces for the exhibition. But with work such as Richard Hamilton’s: a portrait of John F Kennedy as an astronaut with the quote “together let us touch the stars” from his famous speech, nearby to his portrait of Hugh Gaitskell, showing Hamilton’s anger at his commitment of the Labour party to nuclear weapons, Paul Moorhouse states:

“It will be a double-edged exhibition….Nobody could say that pop art was just one long party.”

Further reading:
‘Pop Art Portraits’ at the National Portrait Gallery

thank you

Russell