Not eighteen months ago, I began thinking about getting my work back onto the London art scene after a thirty-year hiatus. Although I’d exhibited extensively in the US through most of that time, I knew that London was a different kettle of fish, and it was almost as if I had to start from scratch. In February 2017, I began working with my new agent, and we agreed a three-year strategy to get my pieces into some of the leading London galleries. We began with a brand new spanking website and Instagram account, followed by a few smaller group pop-up shows and some key PR and marketing around each one. We had a ball, but we both knew the best was yet to come.
In March 2017, my agent took me to a wonderful exhibition at Clarendon Fine Art, Mayfair, by the world-class Toby Mulligan. From that moment on I was hooked: the gallery space; the location; the friendly and knowledgeable staff; their amazing roster of artists…I knew I wanted that to be my future artistic home.
After a couple of meetings, Clarendon Fine Art agreed to include a few of my paintings in their ‘Fine Art & Fine Wine’ event – an annual event for their most loyal clients. As well as a few choice acrylics on canvas, I created a series of blue and white nudes on paper, especially for the gallery. Inspired by the smooth simplistic figures of Henri Matisse, and bright Californian blue of David Hockney, these were a great success and the majority of the twelve had sold by the time the exhibition finished in January. I was then lucky enough to be included in Clarendon’s ‘What is the Beautiful?’ show: a wonderfully curated exhibition showing the diverse depictions of women over the last 100 years. Myself and Toby Mulligan were the only two contemporary artists chosen to exhibit alongside modern masters – and my twentieth century idols – including Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall, David Hockney, Henry Moore and Pablo Picasso, to name but a few.
The reception from staff and clients alike at Clarendon has been wonderful. And today I received the fantastic news that I am now officially a Clarendon artist! My profile is up on the Clarendon Fine Art website, as well as the gallery's Artsy page and my work will now be exhibited with them exclusively in the UK, across their eight stunning galleries.
A number of pieces (above) are currently adorning the walls in the flagship Mayfair gallery, and others will be making their way to the brand-new site in Chelsea, alongside incredible contemporary artists such as Christian Hook, Vincent Kamp, Danielle O’Connor Akiyama and Jack Vettriano.
A big thank you to all my followers who have helped make this happen…I look forward to sharing many more paintings and exhibitions with you in the coming months!
A x