Shell Posters
This Thursday (4th June) Christies will be auctioning an incredible collection of Shell posters which belong to Hugh Wickham, ex-head of marketing at Shell. It’s a long story with several twists and turns along the way, but all the proceeds from the sale of the posters are going straight to the Regeneration Fund of St John’s Church in Kingston-upon-Thames to help with the considerable cost of refurbishment.
The collection comprises 20 lots of approximately 42 posters from the Golden Age of Shell advertising and includes iconic images from artists and designers such as Edward Bawden, Ben Nicholson, Duncan Grant, Paul Nash, Graham Sutherland, Richard Guyatt, John Armstrong, Abram Games, Tom Eckersley and Eric Lombers. They are mostly from the ‘You Can Be Sure of Shell’, ‘These people Use Shell’ and ‘To Visit Britain’s Landmarks’ campaigns and date predominantly from the 1930s, with a few from the 1950s. It really is a remarkable group with great provenance and it’s a great opportunity to acquire a piece of classic British advertising history.
To find out more visit the Christies website and look for lots 17 to 37.
Ravilious
I was lucky enough to attend the opening of the major show of work by Eric Ravilious at Dulwich Picture Gallery, curated by James Russell, but the show deserved a second visit at a slightly quieter time.
I’ve always found Ravilious' work totally absorbing, whether his watercolours (which are the focus of this exhibition), his lithographs and wood engravings or his designs created for ceramics, glass and other commissioned work.
On my recent second visit to the exhibition it became so much clearer to me that these watercolours were made by a printmaker and designer. There's a sharpness and a clarity to the objects in his compositions and the palette is perhaps purposely restricted. Closer inspection reveals Ravilious is creating textures and patterns in the same way that he might when creating a lithograph.
It's hard to single out one single painting but a firm favourite would be 'Ship's Screw on a Railway Truck' (1940). Not a promising subject perhaps. The sculptural propellor gleams out from the blue and grey landscape. The top left had corner is a beautifully composed scene of ship moored by a curved harbour and tree which in itself would make a perfect engraving or motif on a Wedgwood plate. In the foreground there's a playful pattern of footprints in the snow and in the grey sky above, soft white snow flakes and diagonal marks depict this bleak winter scene in the same way that Ravilious might have drawn on a lithographic stone.
James Russell has brought together watercolours of landscapes, interiors, still lifes and Ravilious' work as a war artist too. There’s much to see that I think a third visit is definitely on the cards.
'Ravilious' is at Dulwich Picture Gallery until 31st August 2015. Visit their website for full details.
And find out more via curator James Russell's website.
Mark Hearld’s Horses
Those visiting Mark Hearld and Emily Sutton’s recent Open Studio event in York will have had a sneak preview of the new hand painted ceramic slip cast horses that Mark will be creating for his exhibition at York Art Gallery when it re-opens on the 1st of August 2015.
Mark will be curating and creating The Lumber Room: Unimagined Treasures which will feature objects from across York Museums Trust’s collections, including oil paintings, works on paper, taxidermy and social history.
Mark will also create new work in response to the objects including individually decorated ceramic slip cast horses made in response to the Leeds Horses in the collection.
We’ll be posting further details about the horses and Mark’s exhibition closer to the opening - do sign up for our e-mail newsletter if you’d like to find out more.
In the meantime, you might like to take a look at Mark's fabric and wallpaper designs for St Jude's.
Rena Gardiner
Our friends at Little Toller are soon to publish the first book about the artist and printmaker Rena Gardiner (1929-1999).
"Rena Gardiner dedicated her life to her art, doing so alone in a thatched cottage in the heart of Dorset. Combining the great tradition of British topographic artists with the rich era of autolithography of the 1940s and 1950s, she created her own very personal and individual visual style. An unsung heroine of printmaking, uninterested in publicity or fame, she created an artistic legacy that is instantly recognisable for its exuberant use of colour and texture."
Find out more about Rena Gardiner and the book from the Little Toller website.
Country Living
I was delighted to be asked by Country Living magazine to create a mug to celebrate their 30th anniversary.
This limited edition mug has been handmade and hand decorated by Burleigh at Middleport Pottery in Stoke-on-Trent.
The mug features on the cover of the magazine's April 2015 issue and inside you'll find a feature on our home and studio in the Scottish Highlands, photographed by Cristian Barnett who I've had the pleasure of working with before on two short films, including this one looking at the making of my Nature Table wallpaper.
You can find out more about the Country Living mug from their General Store.
Jonny Hannah
As we finalise details of our next Jonny Hannah exhibition in Edinburgh, we thought we'd take the opportunity to share a few photos from Jonny's 2010 exhibition at our former gallery in North Norfolk, "A Bed of Sea and Dead Men's Suits".
"The Darktown Billets-Doux" will run from 10-14 April 2015 in the heart of Edinburgh. If you'd like an invitation to the opening event, please join our e-mail newsletter.
Ashley Script
We're off to North Uist for the first time later this year. Was rummaging in a second hand bookshop and came across this, with a cover featuring designer Ashley Havinden's 'Ashley Script' typeface which is still available digitally.
