It’s hard to tell… after an exhibition, or indeed a big performance of any kind, things get a bit blurry. If I remember correctly we had a fabulous exhibition where thirty five artists showed their work over the weekend. Some really beautiful art was shown, the standard this year was phenomenal, we could all feel proud hanging our pictures next to each other.
On Saturday night we had our private view and after the hard push to get things ready, the flow of wine and canapés allowed us to decompress in the best of ways, in the company of art makers and those who love them. The food was outstanding – thank you Carole and Alexander and those who supported them.
The Artists Open House event was being run by a new team this year and they worked hard to get the footfall up, so there was not a moment over the weekend when we did not have visitors in the studio. With all the connections made and the energy generated, a good show is about so much more than sales of course, but it’s always good to see artists popping on the red dots, some for the first time.
Artists spend a good deal of time in their own company, we are used to fixing our own problems without bothering others, so it is brilliant to see how well we worked as a team, everyone selflessly pitching in to make sure it ran smoothly. Some of you will have met Ana, our administrator, for the first time; we can thank her potent organisational skills for much of the detail work which is so essential to a successful event, and this was her first exhibition too.
We are ambassadors for observational art, sharing the way we see the world and describing it using rare skills which some see as anachronistic. Browsing the show it was clear that what we do has an intensity that can only come from good quality looking and that is simply timeless.