PRESS RELEASE
Keith Holmes and Andre Bardega
Form and Illusion
An exhibition of charcoal drawings by Keith Holmes and pastels by Andre Bardega
Monday 28 September - Saturday 10 October 2015
54 The Gallery, Shepherd Market, London W1J 7QX
Artists Keith Holmes and Andre Bardega present Form and Illusion, a joint exhibition at
54 The Gallery in London’s Mayfair.
Keith Holmes’ striking charcoal drawings redefine obsolete tools and utensils by their shadow, creating a new
aesthetic identity beyond the object’s original form and function. He started collecting old, everyday items from
antique fairs, recalling them from his childhood and struck by the pride previous owners and craftspeople had
in using and maintaining their tools - evident in their excellent condition today. Whilst these old items are a
window on the past, Keith’s work gives them a fresh context that is independent of their intended purpose.
In contrast, Andre Bardega’s warm, soft pastels of observational still life subjects and the human form are rich
in colour and texture. Observation has always been central to his work, and he is usually concerned with
realism and working directly from models and still life in a range of mediums. More recently Andre has been
exploring the possibilities of soft pastel, depicting shape and form in a fresh, new way for Form and Illusion.
Both Keith and Andre studied art conservation and met whilst working as conservators. This is their first
exhibition together.
Form and Illusion runs from Monday 28 September to Saturday 10 October 2015. Open 11am - 7pm
The Private View is on Tuesday 29 September, 5pm - 9pm
54 The Gallery, Shepherd Market, Mayfair, London W1J 7QX.
www.54thegallery.co.uk / www.keithholmes.net / www.andrebardega.co.uk
For photos, interviews with the artists or more information, please contact Alison Fordham:
alison@alisonfordham.co.uk / 07795 211366
LISTING
Monday 28 September - Saturday 10 October 2015
Keith Holmes and Andre Bardega: Form and Illusion
Charcoal drawings by Keith Holmes and pastels by Andre Bardega
54 The Gallery, Shepherd Market, Mayfair, London W1J 7QX
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Keith Holmes was born in Richmond, North Yorkshire and studied Fine Art at West Surrey College of Art &
Design before qualifying as a paper conservator at Camberwell School of Art & Crafts. He was Visiting
Professor at New York State University, where he taught Conservation Studies at postgraduate level. He is a
fellow of the International Institute of Conservation and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Keith divides his time between work as an artist, a freelance conservator (he restored the Holbein cartoon of
Henry VIII at Hampton Court Palace) and the renovation of a disused chapel and boat house where he lives.
He has exhibited at the Mall Galleries for the Royal Society of Marine Artists, the Pastel Society, the Royal
Society of British Artists, the New English Art Club, the Portrait Society and the Discerning Eye. His work can
be found at the British Library, Trinity College Dublin, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Science Museum,
the Painter-Stainers Company and many private collections.
Andre Bardega was born in Paris and attended Hammersmith College of Art and then Bath Academy of Art,
studying painting and print making. He went on to a post-graduate art conservation course at the Tate Gallery
and Courtauld Institute (London University), and spent two and half years in Tokyo learning about Japanese
painting and restoration. On returning to England in 1980, he moved to Brighton and continues to do both
painting and restoration.
He has taught at Camberwell College of Arts and exhibited at the Royal Academy, the Pastel Society (Mall
Galleries) and several other venues including the Sussex Open. Works are in private collections in the UK,
Japan, USA and Spain. Andre’s work is usually concerned with realism through observation and he works
directly from models and still life. Recently has been exploring the possibilities of working in soft pastel.