2024 Annual Exhibition held at the Mall Galleries the Mall London SW1
The 125th Anniversary Exhibition Guest Speaker was:
Michael Spender FSA, Hon RWS
Michael Spender is a writer and art historian and presently Head of Culture for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council. He has been Director of the Bankside Gallery and Secretary of the Royal Watercolour Society and Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, Director of the Embroiderers' Guild and Manager of Poole Museum.
Michael has curated and written catalogues of many exhibitions of 19th and 20th century art and artists, and his published
books include studies of the work of Ken Howard and Leslie Worth, The Glory of Watercolour, and Visions of Venice, a collaboration with 25 members of the RWS. Michael is currently working on a book about the art of Tom Coates.
Outside Exhibitions 2024
4 MAY - 29 JUNE THE PASTEL SOCIETY PASTEL EXCELLENCE AT 125
Step into a realm of captivating hues and artistic talent as the New Ashgate proudly presents the Pastel Society that celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2024
The Pastel Society presented two new prizes in the 125th Anniversary Year.
In memory of a great artist and former Pastel Society President
THE TOM COATES MEMORIAL PRIZE of £2,000 for the best non-member work in the exhibition. Selected and presented by Tom’s wife, the artist Mary Jackson NEAC RWS.
A second new prize of £500 - THE PRESIDENTS PRIZE for the best work by an artist under 35.
Pastel Society Members Workshops 2024
Featured Artist
Keith Bennett PS
Artist's Statement:
I regularly draw from the model, usually in charcoal and marvel that so much can be expressed with the various marks and textures applied from a stick of this organic material.
Landscapes are my usual subject but I continue to paint still lifes and portraits. Human figures will always fascinate me and I sometimes introduce them into my landscapes and interiors.
I paint in other media but am most happy with pastels with which I can naturally express and "lose" myself. Pastels are the nearest one can get to pure pigment with their wonderful colours and the ability to mix them on the picture surface.
I am essentially a figurative painter but am eager to experiment and develop into abstraction.
Sir Kenneth Clark said that above all else art should be life enhancing. This is my constant ambition for my work.
Sponsored by Caran d'Ache
To Subscribe to the Pastel Society and receive emails about Events, Workshops, Courses and Exhibitions:
http://eepurl.com/dDVC6z
