Last Thursday, I attended the Private View of the
New English Art Club's
Annual Exhibition 2019 - however the PV was so well attended and the galleries so packed that I was unable to get an impression of the artwork as a whole. I could see paintings - but couldn't stand back from many or see the whole - and how it "
hung together".
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| photograph taken from the end of the main gallery, during the speeches at 6pm |
So I decided to make a return visit - not being aware that I would be suffering the equivalent of "exhibition jetlag" by the weekend!
(It's been very, very busy for three weeks!) So I went back again yesterday, with a fresh eye, and this is my review of the exhibition.
Key points are:
- 385 paintings, prints and drawings in the exhibition by members and (to be counted) artists selected from the open entry. Of these
- 300 were by 82 members,
- 8 were by 6 members of other FBA societies and
- 77 were by 66 artists via the open entry
- more about metrics at the end
- Sales look reasonably good. I counted 43 sales (11%) yesterday - with a few members selling more than one painting.
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| Melissa Scott-Miller (paintings in the centre) is selling well - surprise surprise! ;) |
- The President of NEAC stated very clearly at the opening of the exhibition that this is emphatically NOT an open exhibition. It's an annual exhibition by members and the vast majority of artwork is by members and although lots want to exhibit and be members only a very few are chosen each year. There is space for a small numbers of other artists to exhibit alongside members and candidates. More commentary on this below.
- It's a patchy exhibition - some parts and some artists excel while others are nondescript. I will explain below...
- It's sad to see so many paintings by very senior members who are well past their best.
- Most is quite traditional ("impressionistic") and there's very little that is very contemporary - in terms of subject matter, media and style. That might well be something to do with the ratio of members to open work and the average age of members....
The New English Art Club Annual Exhibition is a chance to experience the very best in figurative, observational and painterly work in the UK.
It showcases paintings, drawings and prints from its elected members alongside work by emerging artists whose ethos reflects its own: informed by the visual world and personal interpretation; and underpinned by drawing. Mall Galleries Introduction
- Some of the artists selected via the Open have been "emerging" for very many years(!) and are respected members of other FBA Societies. It doesn't leave much room for genuinely new art by genuinely new artists. I think the rationale behind the exhibition needs a rethink as to scope.
The exhibition continues across all three galleries at the Mall Galleries until 22nd June 2019.
You can also see all the works online by
scrolling down this page on the Mall Galleries website. Note that if you click the link it takes you to a page where you can express an interest in purchasing a work (
and the Mall Galleries operates the Own Art Scheme meaning you can pay over 10 months)
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| NEAC 2019 - Main Gallery |
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| Main Gallery - near end wall |
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| NEAC 2019 - Main Gallery near the Cafe |
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| NEAC 2019 - Threadneedle Space |
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| NEAC 2019 - North Gallery and the monochrome walls |
The New English Art Club (NEAC) was founded in London in 1886 as an exhibiting society by artists influenced by impressionism and whose work was rejected by the conservative Royal Academy.....Initially avant-garde, the NEAC quickly became increasingly conservative.....It still exists, now preserving the impressionist tradition.New English Art Club | Tate
The Open Exhibition
If the NEAC Annual Exhibition is NOT an open exhibition then the Mall Galleries needs urgently to change the heading on its website to say "
Open Exhibitions and NEAC" - and to rethink its Terms and Conditions. If Open means it is only "open to other artists" then it's essential that the artists submitting via the Open Entry need a better definition of what chances of success they can expect
6.1 Our open submission exhibitions are open to artists in the UK, EU, and outside the EU. FBA Terms and Conditions
otherwise it will get in trouble with the Advertising Standards Authority with respect to what is advertised and what is delivered. I recommend a read of the following and in particular the sections on misleading communications.
UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing (CAP Code) is the rule book for non-broadcast advertisements, sales promotions and direct marketing communications (marketing communications).
Maybe the issue is that which I have referenced previously - that
there is no open, transparent and explicit statement of "what is an open exhibition" and clarity about what those who enter can expect about the number of works which will be accepted via the open entry (i.e. are they wasting their entry fees?)
We need much better feedback for those who enter - for every exhibition - as to:
- how many artists entered
- how many artworks were entered
- how many artworks were selected by how many artists
- average number of open artworks hung per artist from the open entry
Artists (including other FBA artists) can then make an intelligent decision about whether to enter and if so, how many artworks to enter.
For more on this topic see my commentary and charts about on Exhibition Metrics at the end.
The Selection and the Hang
When I'm visiting an exhibition I always ask people I meet what they think of the exhibition and get their views before they know mine. So in offering some views below I take comfort from the fact that I know I was not alone.....
READ MORE......>>
