Co-owner of three London neighbourhood restaurants: Chez Bruce, La Trompette and The Glasshouse. A chef by profession, I cooked for many years but now too old and leave to younger, more agile/able protagonists. My Dad is a portrait painter and my mother was a fashion designer, so “an appreciation” of art and craft runs in the family. I love the London Original Print Fair, especially wandering around one of the private views with a large glass in-hand (and the thought of a good dinner reservation nearby to follow) and have missed it this year, along with the rest of us. But this fab online exhibition (with of course a large glass in front of me) is the next best thing.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________Stratford, Albert Irvin, 2010, Advanced Graphics : Bert and Betty Irvin lived locally to Chez Bruce and became both regular customers and CB royalty, so adored were they by all the staff. Bert and I also became friends and I have loved his work ever since he walked in through the front door about twenty years ago with a copy of his first book for me. Add into the mix the fantastic team of Louise Peck and Bob Saich at Advanced Graphics and my introduction to Bert’s work picked up pace quickly. I have bought many Bert prints from Advanced Graphics over the years, including much sought-after (by me) older work, for both home and the restaurants. This is a cracking little piece and a great portal into what Bert was all about: colour, form, space, energy and all-round pleasure.
Loose Principles, Thomas Rowlandson, 1789, Andrew Edmunds: I read History at university and love everything to do with the subject. The great British Georgian and Regency cartoonists have therefore always appealed. This Rowlandson cartoon is just glorious. The characters, their clothes, the oversized syringe, the shit bucket and of course those buttocks. What’s not to like? If I was younger, I would buy two of these and put them up in both ladies and gents loos in the restaurant.
Dark on Light; and Light on Dark, Tess Jaray, 2016, Advanced Graphics: Bob and Louise (Advanced Graphics) introduced me to the work of Tess Jaray and I now have rather a lot of it. It is easy to be seduced by Tess’s use of line and colour but one suspects she has an off-the-charts mathematical brain too. I love the precision of her work and it always has you wanting to look around the corner for more. This pair would look grand together, but I guess you could settle for one if you had to.
Blue Brad, Sir Terry Frost, 2003, Redfern Gallery: I bought a few lovely, small Keith Vaughan drawings from the Redfern Gallery a few years ago and always keep an eye out for their stand. This is a superb print. I love the way it is fully formed on the left-hand side and drifts towards (or from?) less cohesive and merely suggested shapes on the right. No idea what any of this means, but just love it; and am a sucker for this shade of blue.
Ilulissat, Barbara Rae, 2019, Stoney Road Press, Dublin: A majestic and large piece I’d just love to own by the brilliant Barbara Rae. Massive, imposing and difficult to take your eyes off. A belting print.
Kai, Lucien Freud, 1991. David Landau, Frank Auerbach, 2007. Both at Marlborough Graphics: Who wouldn’t want a couple of heads by Freud and Auerbach? Just superb, the pair. And as we know, all great painters are great draughtsmen. I once sat next to Lucien Freud, a hero of mine, as he dined at the next table at The Wolseley restaurant on Piccadilly. I so wanted to say something to him. But chickened it …..In Other Words, Fiona Watson, 2019, The Glasgow Print studio : A wonderful and affordable print. The caption on the printed page in the typewriter says it all: Every day I love you more and more. Well not every day – yesterday you were a bit annoying. Xx
Inferno, Tobias Till, 2017, TAG Fine Arts: From what I can see from the online image, this looks like an exquisitely printed piece. Full of mad detail and frenetic energy. You could enjoy many return visits to this and always find something new. Not an endorsement in itself, but what fun all the same!