Galleries - August 2011

curating a major show of 150 new (as yet unshown) 2D and 3D work from established and aspiring artists in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. Entitled Flying Colours: Fascinating Forms and s ifted from 1,200 submitted pro- posals, it promises to be the kind of showcase the region, full of seriously underrated artists, has long needed. BITE SIZE It’s all change with the Mall Gall- eries’ big annual open print show. Previously known as ‘Originals’, taking place in March/April and completely ‘open’, it has now been renamed BITE, has moved to a later slot (24 August to 3 Sept- ember) and has, perhaps most significantly, a brand-new format. The work selected from open submission (by a distinguished panel that includes Chris Orr and Paul Coldwell) is shown alongside that of established artists nomin- ated by the panel. Though it is always important to change and experiment with exhibition form- ulas I only hope this is not another creeping case of ‘them’ and ‘us’ – see the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition . . . Meanwhile one thing that has not changed is that Galleries is still offering a prize – for best student work, to be publicised here next month. While we are talking printmaking, don’t miss Bank- side’ s always lively summer show of work by the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers (to 21 August). WINNING THE BATTLE In the battle to restore some semblance of authority and dom- inance in the art world, Sotheby’s scored a resounding victory not only over their opponents but for the London market. Their total for the recent three weeks of auctions was an amazing £365 million with the two highest prices of the period going to Guardi’s ‘Rialto Bridge’, sold for £26.7 million and £24.6 million was paid for Sch- iele’s painting of ‘Houses and Laundry’. The Post-war and Cont- emporary auctions alone realised £128 million, the highest total of a London auction series of Cont- emporary Art ever. But even more astonishing was the Evill/Frost sale of 20th C. British Art which gained 8 auction records and totalled £42 million with 100% of all lots sold, a very rare event at any time. Christie’s had their successes though, with a total of over £140 million for their Impressionist eve- ning sale, much bolstered by 20 lots from the Beyler Foundation. They also achieved a world record price for a very handsome George Stubbs painting of the Race Horse ‘Gimcrack’, sold for over £22 million and £6.5 million was paid for a very swagger Gainsborough portrait. These spectacular results hopefully reflect a solid step forward for the London Market across the board. William Jackson 7. GALLERIES AUGUST 11 ANTENNAE ARUNDEL MEETS ST IVES High Summer and the art trails proliferate though there is, to my knowledge, nothing quite like the Arundel Art Trail (20 to 29 Aug- ust). As part of a wider music and arts festival, all the galleries and studios in this small, astonish- ingly lively and charming West Sussex town open their doors for 10 days – this year that will mean 150+ artists and a likely visitor total of some 10,000. No room to go into detail here – just get the leaflet, follow the trail and you can’t fail to see some excellent art (and beautiful studios) – but to give you an idea of the trail’s ambition, try the show of cele- brated St Ives’ artist, Yankel Fea- ther, at one of the town’s most established spaces, Zimmer Stewart. Feather, who died in 2009, was a prolific and gifted painter and draughtsman in the expressive, figurative tradition and the drawings and paintings shown here, many not previously exhib- ited, will certainly make for an exhilarating experience. EASTERN ANGLE This column has paid tribute in the past to the excellent themed sh- ows Yvonne and John Millwood helped organise for some 10 sum- mers at Salthouse Church in North Norfolk. Now they are turning their attention to Norwich itself where, in a first for this handsome Georgian venue, the Assembly House arts centre , they are