Galleries - September 2013

8. GALLERIES SEPTEMBER 13 the first woman artist to be shown at the Jockey Club, among them. Meanwhile in the Rutland mark- et town of Uppingham, which is rapidly becoming an art hub for Central England, Woodbine Con- temporary Arts are now going to concentrate all their activities at new premises in busy Orange Street, just along the road from Goldmark . Opening with new works from seven of their est- ablished artists, it is a bold move but, one senses, a concentration of galleries in one place can often prove a powerful magnet for buy- ers, and that can only be bene- ficial to everyone. think that there’s a spirit of new- found optimism in the air once again. First up is Thompson’s Contemporary, a new venture in the King’s Road by the well- established Marylebone and Alde- burgh dealers, situated within what has recently been rebranded as the Chelsea Design Quarter, aka the hub of sparky, indepen- dent interior design shops at the far end of the Road. In short a smart move and probably a good place to showcase a number of fresh and up-and-coming young painters and sculptors, among them shortlisted BP Portrait Award artist Paul Wright and Jo Taylor, New Artist Fair A nice contrast in the two art fairs opening this month: on the one hand the longest established of them all, the 20/21 British Art Fair (11 to 15September) at the RCA and, on the other, a comparatively new arrival on the scene, the New Artist Fair (6 to 8 September) at the Old Truman Brewery. To see what some of the galleries are showing at the former, go to our Special Feature on p30. Mean- while I also have a lot of time for the aspirations of the New Artist Fair which aims to show the work of a wide range of emerging and recently established artists from around the world direct to the public in affordable, friendly gal- lery environments in Central Lon- don. Even with the steady expan- sion of London’s gallery system it is still surprisingly difficult for many younger artists to get a foothold here, so a fair which enables them to get a showing at reduced com- mission rates has to be a good thing. Established in 2011, they run around two such shows a year, with 50 artists exhibiting in this particular one. With free entry and 500 artworks, ranging across a broad spectrum of styles and media, it seems a good deal from the point of view of both artist and punter. And New Spaces With news of two established galleries opening further spaces this month, it’s encouraging to ANTENNAE Looking Forward . . . October is the month when the market wakes up properly after the summer siesta. Galleries’ October issue will feature a Van Gogh self portrait which is on public exhibition at Eykyn Maclean (see listing for details). London will be at full capacity with visitors to Frieze and Frieze Masters, while the National Open Art (Competition) opens for the first time in London at The Royal College of Art. We also look West to Cymru and explore the burgeoning art world from Cardiff to Anglesey.