A New Light in London
Visual arts charity New Light is pleased to announce that it is coming to the renowned central London gallery Panter & Hall, from 27 June – 1 July 2016. Director of Panter & Hall and New Light Judge, Matthew Hall, has selected a number of artists from this year’s Prize Exhibition to show at the gallery, resulting in a showcase of talent on display from the North of England.
The New Light charity celebrates and promotes the best of Northern England’s contemporary art, primarily through its biennial touring Prize Exhibition, which is open to all artists who were born, studied or live in one of the historical counties of the North of England. It is the largest open prize in the region, offering generous prizes and exhibition opportunities. The Prize Exhibition launched at the Bowes Museum in County Durham in October 2015, before moving to the Mercer Art Gallery, in Harrogate. The Panter & Hall show offers the final opportunity to see some of the work from the Prize Exhibition’s selected artists.
New Light Director and artist Emerson Mayes remarks: “We were delighted when Matthew Hall invited a selection of the New Light Prize Exhibition’s short-listed artists to show in his London gallery. It is a fantastic opportunity for the artists Matthew chose to exhibit their work in one of the most respected commercial galleries in the capital, but also to introduce the best in northern contemporary art to a southern audience. This will be the first time some of the artists have exhibited their work in London, whilst others are already well-respected in the city, resulting in the show being the perfect mix of fresh and established artistic talent.”
Harrogate-based sculptor Lotty Alexander, whose work (above) will go on show at Panter & Hall, explains: “One of my international clients mentioned that I was fuelling the issue of the North being under-appreciated for the sheer depth and variety of innovative artists we have here. When I relocated back home to Harrogate, it felt right that my work should reflect the materials that I grew up with in the countryside, including famous country estates (especially deer parks such as Chatsworth House) – this led to my first deer sculpture.”
Also included in the Panter & Hall show are works from the 2015 Prize Exhibition winners. Prizes awarded in the 2015 Exhibition included the Valeria Sykes Award of £10,000, which went to Mandy Payne for ‘Broken Brutalism’; the Patron’s Choice Award of £2,500, which was awarded to Joshua Waterhouse for his painting ‘Josephine’; the Swinton Foundation Prize for emerging artists, given to Anna Poulton for ‘Figs’; and the Printmakers’ Prize, which went to Emma Lawrenson for ‘Stone Pen’. There are also three Visitors’ Choice Awards where visitors have the chance to vote for their favourite piece of art on the exhibition.