Now We Are Six
As I’m writing you, we just finished taking the work down and putting a wrap on this show. It’s been such a heartwarming experience; and on so many levels it still feels surreal. I wanted to try sharing some pictures and insights with you but I already feels words will be lacking.
First and foremost a huge thank you to each of you that came, sent warm wishes throughout the show, left moving comments or purchased the work. Especially after this long 1.5 year, let me assure you it meant the world to me, to us all.
It’s often impossible to pinpoint a definite starting point for such project, but I’d say it seemed to happen rather naturally through overlapping friendships, mutual inspiration and shared enthusiasm. Each of us happened to be friend with the others; I personally met James the first, lucky to have him for tutor during my course at the Art Academy. I also met Andrew there, modelling for his portrait class. I met Anastasia and Inma at one of the Federation of British Artist’s Private View. Inma and I didn’t hesitate a second before programming a show together: A Painted Touch of Life that happened in 2019. I’ve always been a huge fan of Simon’s work and couldn’t wait to get to know him personally.
The thought of putting a show together started growing in our mind and it wasn’t long until we all met at The Chandos (right next to the National Portrait Gallery in London). Discussed the timeline, the work, the links, the intentions: Now We Are Six was born,
First schedule in April 2020, it had to be postponed for obvious reasons and found a little place online, before being rescheduled at the Islington Arts Factory for September 2021. We all made the most of this extra time by pushing our practice in new directions. Personally, I felt more confident about the work I presented this month than what I would have been able to propose a year and a half ago: no longer a student, I finally had the chance to focus most of my time to my personal work and explore new avenues.
Hard work it was! Aside from the painting itself, I can never fully remember how much time/energy/work goes into getting such show together (this amnesia is probably a good thing haha!). So many emails, so much time on Photoshop or In Design getting the visuals ready, creating and maintaining the website and social medias, contacting galleries and sponsors for the Private View (so very glad I came across GS Wines at Tom Mead’s Private View).. don’t get me wrong it’s a part of my practice that I really enjoy doing, but it is full on!
The hardest for me is still having the confidence to ask people to come along! I’m trying not to listen too much to those insecurities and just quickly press this sent button, but I have to say a big thank you for everyone that responded and did come! I felt so supported and loved, thank you!
My favourite moment was probably curating the exhibition. An exhausting day but it felt very precious to see it all coming together. Love those words Andrew wrote a little after:
’I'm really proud to have been in this exhibition and feel we created something greater than the sum of its parts. Neither too homogeneous as to be boring or too diverse as to be incoherent.’Andrew Hitchcock
Here’s the six of us before it got really busy on the Private View. To be honest we had no idea how many people would be able to come amidst the current context. We were blown away by the attendance: how moving to see so many people showing support and coming to see the work. Painting can feel solitary, it felt even more so lately, but this was a wonderful reminder that we also do that for those moments when we come together and celebrate.
The exhibition has been an amazing success. Out of the 61 paintings we presented, 25% sold. This is so encouraging, especially for figurative art. Thanks to you we won’t have to fulfil the starving artist myth for another few months; a wonderful support that will get us going, able to pursue our practice and create new art that will hopefully resonate with you again and again
This show meant so much to me. Being able to exhibit alongside artists I’ve been admiring for years felt very surreal and precious.
My intention was to present the various directions in which my work is heading. The first part of my practice is working from life around the sub-genre of self-portraiture: painting my head, my shadow, my hand, my home.
Self-Portrait with curtain (left, sold)
Self-Portrait blonde (middle left)
Self Portrait Y,G,R (middle right)
My hand (bottom left)
Self-Portrait evening lift (bottom, middle 1)
Home, late afternoon (bottom, middle 2, sold)
Self-Portrait paprika (bottom, right)
A second aspect of my work is working with models for observational paintings. I either keep them as memories of a moment in time, responding to someone’s presence and the light and colours of this fleeting moment; or welcome it as a starting point to a piece that then gets combined with abstraction and imagination.
Sun, Moon (left)
Riccardo (middle)
The Three Steps (right)
The Dance (below, sold)
Beyond the subject matter or the process, it’s also very important for me to keep playing with medium, surfaces and scales. From tiny paintings on linen offcut that I don’t always want to frame (some of their uneven edges, and physical presence are an intrinsic part of who they are), to bigger pieces on stretched canvas, or playful combination of oil and gouache on panel and linen, I care that each piece calls for its own language.
What’s next?
Just around the corner is the upcoming Mayfair Art Collective group exhibition themes ‘Loneliness’. For the remaining of 2021 I hope to focus on new body of works, commissions and teaching, Already planning a two-person show in April 2022 for which I’m really excited. Also needless to say it’d be amazing showing with this group again, let’s see what the future has in store for us!
(below, some pictures of the main gallery, 2/3 of the show)
