Galleries - November 2015

Talent spotting Founded in 1990 by artist Michael Reynolds, Ian Laing and the Federation of British Artists, the Discerning Eye exhibition has proved a durable and important event, its largely unchanged format of small works selected by open submission and six selectors (comprising artists, critics/curators and collectors) ensuring that it has never become stale and predictable. The 28th edition at the Mall Galleries (12 to 22 November) is no exception. Among the selectors this year are fashion designer turned sculptor Nicole Farhi, Stephen Doherty of Somerset House and Stephen Snoddy of the New Art Gallery, Walsall, ensuring a distinctly lively cross section of artistic enthusiasms. The event benefits from generous sponsorship from ING Bank, most notably with the Discerning Eye Drawing Bursary, attracting some 200 plus artists to submit work for a prize of £1,000 to pursue an ongoing programme of work. The overall quality of the work is quite astonishing (as one of the judges I can vouch for it), with the six finalists shown at the exhibition. Following a more straightforward format – a submission open to all and judged by a panel of artists, critics and curators, NOA 15 (19th National Open Art international acclaim in Paris in the early 60s before returning to Pakistan in 1967. Playing fair This month’s focus is on fairs outside the metropolis – Edinburgh Art Fair ( 13 to 15 November, see page 12), Made Brighton Design and Craft Fair (19 to 22 November) and Windsor Contemporary Art Fair (14and 15 November) to be precise. Brighton is offering top quality jewellery, ceramics, glassware and more - while the Windsor event has a splendidly eclectic selection of over 150 artists, printmakers, photographers, sculptors and ceramicists showing alongside a group of selected art galleries, with pieces pegged from £40 to £4,000. The Fair’s charity is The Prince’s Trust – appropriately enough given its location – and they have exhibiting artists producing miniature canvases for sale at £45 to raise money for local young and disadvantaged people. Nicholas Usherwood Exhibition) also provides a platform for artists, photographers and film makers to make a name for themselves, offering prize money of some £60,000. The exhibition closes at London’s Royal College of Art on 1 November, reopening in Harrogate 20 to 22 November, then going on to Pallant House in Chichester (winners’ show), 1 to 13 December – very appropriate as the competition began life in the city in the late 90s. Eyes east The annual event Asian Art in London is back in town this month with some 52 London dealers and galleries participating, plus all the auction houses and many public galleries mounting special displays. It covers everything from the rarest ancient treasures to the super contemporary. Among the public displays is the V&A’ s ravishing ‘The Fabric of India’, while out of London, Compton Verney is redisplaying their Chinese Collections with objects going back some 3000 years. Among the London dealers Eskenazi, Aktis Gallery and Albemarle Gallery are all showing contemporary Chinese artists, Liu Dan, Gao Xingjian and Jiang Shan Chun respectively, while Grosvenor Gallery has the celebrated 20th century Pakistani artist Sadequain, who found ANTENNAE 10 GALLERIES NOVEMBER 2015 from left: K evin Badni ‘Big Head Sculpture’, Discerning Eye Gao Xingjian ‘Marchers’, Aktis Gallery Carole Baker ‘Morning Mist’, Windsor Contemporary Art Fair