Feedback and debate

We appreciate feedback and we love a good debate. The great thing about discussing art is that there are no right and wrong opinions. Everyone's view is valid, no matter how diverse or extreme. At a recent private view I over heard an in-depth discussion about a painting that was being described as "Goya meets Michael Jackson". I also heard someone remark angrily "that's shit, I couldn't be paid to put that on my wall". Love them both.

When we put on an exhibition at View, the first thing we aim for is high impact. Of course we need to sell art to stay in business, but it is a secondary consideration when selecting work and curating exhibitions. First and foremost we have to be stimulated by the art, provoke a strong reaction, and enjoy the viewers' response.

Some people like to comment directly to us when they visit the gallery and that is very much appreciated. But for many, a gallery can be an intimidating place (we really hope ours isn't) and so we offer a number of ways of commenting on what we do. There is the comment box at the end of every blog, Twitter messages, postings on our Facebook pages, or comments on the work published on Flickr and YouTube. Whatever your preference, we hope you can spare a few minutes to tell us what you think - about what we do, don't do, or anything art related.

By the way, the picture above is of Sarah, our gallery manager, and she'll hate me for putting her photo on this blog. This is often how an artists feels when they are putting their art on display for everyone to critique. Some enjoy the attention and some are more reserved, but without exception they all crave feedback, both good and bad - indifference is the biggest insult of all.

Haiti Benefit Exhibition

We are proud to be hosting an exhibition which has the dual benefit of introducing some unique international artists whilst supporting a very good cause.

The Haiti Benefit Exhibition at View will be on from 22-25 July before it embarks on a UK tour. We are delighted to be the first venue to show these talented artists from Jacmel, Haiti, and launch the travelling exhibition. The vibrant colours and free expression in the abstract compositions relay messages of sadness and hope.

Earlier this year we all heard of the devastating effects of the earthquake in Haiti. One of the victims was an art community centre called FOSAJ, causing damage to buildings and death. The founder, Patrick Boucard, has set up a relief fund to help rebuild the centre so it can support the resident artists and the many handicapped and homeless people who benefit from their work. Follow the links for more information on FOSAJ and the Haiti Relief fund.

We at View were touched by the stories the art tells and impressed with the strength of expression in the painting. This is evidenced in the pain of the figure in the painting above, 'The Flight for Forgiveness' by Haiti artist Narbal.

We may not yet know the names of all the exhibiting artists, but they deserve a mention. The exhibition will include paintings by:

Prince Luc

Destin Domond

Rose Marie lamour

Desire Obelto

Jean Garibaldi

Marc Arthur Lamitie

Eddy Prevot

Jean Paul Sylvaince

NarBal

We hope many people can enjoy the work and support the foundation in the 4 days of the show.

Naked Truths Preview

Naked Truths is about how we view things, as well as what we see. We are challenged to look inside our minds and consider what we find hard to reveal and why we keep things hidden away. The show's artists explore a variety of subjects where we may find exposure difficult to address – nudity, sexuality, death, and fear. Our response may be shock, laughter, sorrow or reflection, but there is little room for indifference.

The art work also reveals some amazing creativity, technique and beauty. Each piece stands alone with aesthetic quality as well as a deeper sense of meaning.

The context of the subjects is significant. We may see nudity in a gallery as art, whereas the same image in a sex shop is pornography. Similarly, a death theme may provoke a fear of horrific memories for some people or innocent comedy to others. When we view these images, we are often looking at a reflection of ourselves.

There are seven artists featuring in Naked Truths, each with a different combination of media, style and message:

• After longer inspection, the apparent chaos of the angular shapes and striking colours in Thomas Dowdeswell’s painting starts to generate familiar figurative forms and strange stories.
• Peter Bullen is influenced by the artist/model relationship and contrasts the confident contortionist with the vulnerable first-timer in his nude portraits.
• There is a wonderful innocence and charm to David Thompson’s male figurative paintings, with an undercurrent of commentary on our attitude to sexuality.
• In ‘The Sex Shop’ series, Simon Ledson plays with our minds as we explore apparently innocent forms in imprints and wallpaper.
• Russell Oliver's large and dramatic paintings explore the attitudes to life and death through the eyes of different subjects, including a self portrait.
• Tim Perks challenges the traditional figurative sculpture, as the unusual poses and compositions of the female form involve imaginary cross breeding of species.
• In Becky Kidson's 'Young Hearts' installation three friends take it in turns to jump into a bowl of mirrors.

Naked Truths presents some beautiful art with provocative themes and offers us a mirror to reveal our hidden thoughts. The show runs from July 29th to September 12th.

Urban View 2

We're half way through the Urban View exhibition and we're refreshing it with a whole new collection of art, much of it created at this years UPFEST.

The festival this year was the biggest and best yet. The expanded area around the Tobacco Factory was packed with new and returning artists and the attendance was huge. If you haven't yet seen any photos of the festival then take a look here and you'll get a flavour of the weekend. The Urban View and UPFEST launch event was held at the gallery and this was also an exciting event. Around 300 people attended and were enjoying the live painting outside on the gallery wall and by the entrance door. Thankfully, the weather held up and we are grateful to Brothers who sponsored the event with some very tasty (and strong) pear cider. The outdoor activity was complimented by some wonderful art by UK and international artists inside the gallery. Take a look at these photos of the evening and in particular the progression of the art being created.

Urban View 2 opens on July 1st and runs through to July 18th. Some great names in the urban art world will be exhibiting, such as Fake, Agent Provocateur, T.wat, and ZeeZee. Many more new works will be part of a changing show that will look and feel different. Prices will start from just £100 for original art and there will be a more busy look to the show, with a large selection of work and artists.

It is also worth reminding ourselves of the support that UPFEST give to the NACOA charity, in terms of funding and awareness.

Enjoy the show.

Urban View

For the second year running, we're joining with UPFEST to put on a show of the best urban art being 'sprayed' this year. 'Urban View' 2010 is being extended to accommodate two shows. The first will focus on the latest creations from seven of the top spray painters around. The second will open up to a larger number of artists and feature the best of the work created in the live weekend festival of spray painting.

The festival kicks off on the Friday with the opening night at View and the live painting starts from there. We have some exciting ideas for where and when the spraying starts but as ever, these things are flexible due to the spontaneous nature of the people concerned and the challenges they set themselves; some of the objects targeted for spraying this year are pretty inventive!

There's always a buzz around Bristol for this festival and this year is no exception. As the big names get confirmed, the PR builds momentum and the energy (and stress levels) rise, we know UPFEST will be bigger and better than ever. Urban View goes international with spray stars from France and Germany exhibiting alongside some of the best of Britain.

We are also confident that the quality of art improves year on year. Urban Art is no longer just about graffiti in the back streets of Bristol. For better or worse, the cross over between fine art becomes more and more blurred. At View we consider this a positive trend as it allows us to provide broader access to this exciting genre of art and give everyone the opportunity to take home a bit of art history.

For a reminder of what happened at View last year, take a look at these photos. And to get a taste of one of the main featured artists have a look at this short video. Finally, to see the full UPFEST 10 press release click here.

Enjoy the show.

UPFEST 10 Press Release

Europe’s Biggest Urban Art Festival Just Got Bigger!

Upfest’10 - The Urban Paint Festival Releases Full Line-up

More than just Europe’s biggest urban and street art festival, Upfest has announced the broad range of events taking part at the two-day festival in Bristol.

As in previous years, the festival will be centred on live painting at the Tobacco Factory on 5th and 6^th of June. Over 200 urban artists and illustrators will be painting live over the weekend, with 50 artists having come from around the world to be a part of the event. The artists will be mixing it up with this year’s MashUP theme, with some very special collaborations due to take place.

Upfest’10 will kick off with a preview of the Urban View group show at View Art Gallery (159-161 Hotwell Road, BS8 4RY). The show features work from seven urban and contemporary artists and will run through 17th July.

Saturday, the festival will be in full swing at the Tobacco Factory (North Street, BS3 1TF). From 11am, over 200 urban artists and illustrators will be painting live. Visitors to the free event are also invited to take part in the painting, with a children’s painting area and the Kiss101 Give It a Go painting boards.

The Tobacco Factory will also host a Very Affordable Art Sale and dedicated print room, where original artwork and prints by the artists painting at the festival will be available for sale at bargain prices. There will also be badge making, clothing, and art material stalls around the venue.

Throughout the weekend, DJs, beatboxers, hip hop groups and MCs will take to two stages at the Tobacco Factory (full schedule attached). Along with music, the world renowned Kompany Malakhi will host dance workshops on Saturday.

During the day (11 am to 6 pm) on Saturday, a live illustration event will take place indoors in the Tobacco Factory Theatre Foyer. In the evening (6 pm), six artists will battle it out in a Secret Wars live art competition. The public will vote to decide whether Upfest or Monorex will be named champions of the 90-minute battle at the Tobacco Factory Cafe Bar.

The evening will wrap up (10 pm to 4am) with the Upfest’10 Mid-Festival Party at Basement 45 (8 Frogmore St., BS1 5NA), presented in association with Kiss101, featuring The Loose Cannons, Ninebar Sound System, Chris Read (Music of Substance), Dave Cridge (Ninja Tune) and Kiss101 DJs. Tickets available at Bristol Tickets Shop (£4.50) or on the door (£5 before 11, £6 after).

Upfest’10 continues on Sunday at the Tobacco Factory from 10 am with additional live painting, music, and art sales. Upfest has raised over £10,000 for Nacoa (National Association for Children of Alcoholics) since the festival began and as in previous years, Upfest’10 will raise awareness of and fundraise for the charity..

Life in Stillness Preview

In many inanimate objects we see and feel life. Life in Stillness is an exhibition where five artists bring consciousness to their subjects through different sources of inspiration and use of media.

In the windows we'll see the usual high impact art and once again we'll be featuring sculpture. Dawny Tootes uses recycled aluminium from discarded household objects to create fluidity in her tree sculptures that have an apparent organic quality. These large pieces interchange between tree and female human form when seen from different viewpoints. In the rear gallery a 13ft high sculpture will dominate the space, needing to be rebuilt in the gallery for the show. Dawny's wall mounted pieces are figure landscapes where the female form is used to reflect the curves of nature.

Evocative figures appear from the depth of Fran Williams' oil paintings. Vivid colour and texture almost mask the face and body of her subjects. The strength of colour and free use of the brush are in contrast to the vulnerability of the portraiture. These are images that you can see through and discover a strong emotional connection with a person who has mystique and a story to be told.

Continuing the theme of female figurative work we have Ann Goodfellow's sculptures. Using only the sense of touch, unusual markings emerge on the self modelled ceramic bodies. A heightened awareness of her body creates exaggerated scale of the relationship between head and torso. There is energy and sensitivity in the cold, hard material that brings the figures to life and demand attention.

In the second half of the gallery we dedicate the space to photography, as part of the Bristol Festival of Photography. Two artists bring life into their images using different subjects and styles.

Frank Drake captures the music of his subjects in the drama of live performance. Limited edition large prints of images from his book 'Sounds of Music' feature photos of musicians from various album covers, commissions and WOMAD festivals around the world. Frank has had the unique opportunity to access the unguarded emotions of the performers. Signed books will also be available at the gallery.

In the front of the second gallery we feature the photography of Chris Parks. An ethereal world is created through his dynamic fluid paintings which capture light, movement and depth in a totally unique way. Using mixed media within a liquid medium, Chris creates continually changing images that develop over time and are frozen at a particular moment through photography. The paintings are naturally occurring events without digital manipulation. They only exist for a moment before they evolve and are lost for ever. In the basement installation room we are showing a stunningly beautiful film by Chris with movement of colour and shape that is quite mesmerising.

Click here to see images from a small selection of work from the show.

Life in Stillness runs from April 15 to May 30, 2010.