B P Collins LLP: The Ian Johnson Suite

January 2012: Guy Warner: Cordes-sur-Ciel

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Cordes-sur-Ciel is a beautiful hilltop medieval village fortress in Southern France built by the Count of Toulouse in 1222, after the destruction of the previous village on the site by Simon de Montfort, whilst on his crusade against the Cathars.

"The traveller who looks at the summer night from the terrace at Cordes knows that if he wishes it, the beauty of this place, day after day, will banish solitude." Albert Camus, 1954

"Cordes-sur-Ciel", Guy Warner, Oil on Canvas, £590

January 2012: New Exhibiting Artist Guy Warner

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Born in Birmingham in 1985, Guy Warner is an exciting emerging talent; he uses oils and acrylics to produce vibrant landscape pictures with a fresh and radiant colour palette. His skill with tone and his adept brushwork lend each picture a greatly appealing sense of depth and texture.

Guy is entirely self taught and now lives in the Cotswolds where he continually explores new methods of representing the world around him. He derives much inspiration from his local landscape although he is equally inspired by the urban environment.

Guy regularly undertakes commissions as well as working on personal projects, selling to various collectors.

To learn more about Guy, visit his website www.guywarner.co.uk

Albert Embankment from Lambeth Bridge, oil on canvas, £950

December 2011: Bursary boost for local youth centre

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The Curzon Centre in Beaconsfield is to receive a £5000 bursary from B P Collins, being made in memory of Ian Johnson. The money will be used to support youth work being run by the dynamic High Wycombe based charity, Street Dreams.

David Stanning, who took over from Ian as senior partner nearly 3 years ago, said:

"Ian's support for the local community, for local businesses and, above all for local charities, was unstinting. He really valued the help and guidance that the team at the Curzon Centre provides for local youngsters and he recognised the importance of giving everyone the chances and opportunities to do well. We hope that by making this bursary in his name, we will be carrying on the spirit for which he was so much admired."

The first bursary cheque for £1000 was presented to The Rt. Hon The Earl Howe, president of the Curzon Centre, named after his family, who have lived and farmed in Buckinghamshire for generations. The Rt. Hon The Earl Howe said:

"I am delighted to be able to collect such a generous cheque on behalf of the Curzon Centre. It does a tremendous job in helping and encouraging young people towards a brighter and more fulfilling future and this donation will help make a real difference. It is also a very fitting way to pay tribute to the work that Ian Johnson did at the centre. His enthusiasm and input are greatly missed and we look forward to seeing the projects that Street Dreams will be taking forward in his memory."

LtR: The Rt. Hon The Earl Howe and David Stanning

December 2011: The Ian Johnson Suite

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Friday 2 December marked the official naming of The Ian Johnson Suite, the meeting room suite at B P Collins' Gerrards Cross base, renamed in recognition of Ian's long and substantial contribution to the firm.

A photo and plaque of Ian was unveiled at a special drinks reception which also provided the opportunity to present a bursary to the Curzon Centre in Beaconsfield made in memory of Ian, a long-time supporter and trustee of the Centre and former senior partner at B P Collins, who died last December.

The first bursary cheque for £1000 (the total bursary of £5000 is spread over 5 years) was presented on the night to The Rt. Hon The Earl Howe, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department of Health. The 7th Earl Howe is president of the Curzon Centre, named after his family, who have lived and farmed in Buckinghamshire for generations.

The money will be used to support youth work being run by the dynamic High Wycombe based charity, Street Dreams. Its goal is to give a fresh start to youth clubs at the Centre by providing a range of activities during clubs.

The management committee at the Curzon Centre had agreed that the new idea and energy that Street Dreams will bring to the Centre's youth work will be of major benefit to local young people.

November 2011: 50 to 1500: Various, Room 4

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Alongside 2 of Banky's most recognised prints sat Sir Peter Blake's glitter version 'Hope'. The English artist is best known for his design of the sleeve for the Beatle's album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - of which we were delighted to exhibit an edition of 500 for the preview night only.

LtoR: Banksy - Grannies; Banksy - Weston Super Mare; Sir Peter Blake - HOPE.

November 2011: 50 to 1500: Various, Room 1

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A collection of 4 dramatic artists were exhibited in Room 1 of the Suite, which juxtaposed love and hate for visitors to experience.
Patrick Caulfield was an English painter and printmaker and one of the most admired artists of his generation, with his subject matter almost always centred on bars or restaurants. Peter Kennard is a London photomontage artist - this exhibited piece was part of a project marking Tony Blair's last week as Prime Minister.

LtoR: Patrick Caulfield - I've only the friendship of hotel rooms; Chris Ofili - Afro Lunar Lovers II; Lucy McLauchlan - Is hate too strong a word; Peter Kennard - Blair in Iraq

November 2011: 50 to 1500: Various, Room 8

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Room 8 of our 50 to 1500 exhibition hosted a colourful collection of diverse pieces of art from Tracey Emin, EINE, DFace, Pablo Picasso, Linda Hill and Kurogane to name a few. Emin's 'Rothko Blanket' - a cloth blanket with hand stitching - was an expressive addition to the exhibition, placed alongside works from the popular London graffiti artist DFace.

Andy Warhol - Museum bag, Liza Minnelli; Linda Hill - Bruce's Koi; Stephen Kenny - Breton Quotation; Kurogane - photo gel; D Van B - Colour patter on 4; Kurogane - photo gel; Copyright - Kitsune (Fox) Black; Eine - Eine; Kim Lin - Untitled; Tracey Emin - Rothko Blanket; DFace - American Depress; Simon Morley - Six Messages From The Twentieth Century; Pablo Picasso - Tete de Jeune Femme

November 2011: 50 to 1500: Keiichi Tanaami

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Keiichi Tanaami, born in 1936 in Tokyo, is one of the leading pop artists of postwar Japan and has been active as a multi-genre artist since the '60s as a graphic designer, illustrator, video artist and fine artist. At the height of psychedelic culture and pop art, his kitschy, colourful illustrations and design work received high acclaim, in addition to his album cover art for legendary bands The Monkees and Jefferson Airplane.

Keiichi Tanaami, Japanese Woodcuts, Mixed Media Prints

November 2011: 50 to 1500: Andrew McAttee

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Andrew McAttee's work is, in many ways, a reflection of his background both as a graffiti artists and a fine art student where he became increasingly interested in abstract expressionism and pop art - both elements of school and street have shaped his work.

Since graduating in 1995, his work has featured in exhibitions in New York and Europe. He also runs numerous youth workshops working with teenagers who have challenging behaviour. His work has been commissioned by Nike and has featured regularly in the national press.

Andrew McAttee, Genie's Out, 76/85, Mixed Media Print, 2007

November 2011: 50 to 1500 Exhibition

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A number of guests were warmly invited to the B P Collins Christmas Champagne Reception and Art Exhibition, hosted in the newly named Ian Johnson Suite at the end of November.

Entitled the 50 to 1500 show, clients who were stuck for Chirstmas presents again were invited to buy their loved ones a piece of original artwork at an affordable price. Nearly half of all original art is bought as a gift for others and we saw this as a great opportunity for them to start their own collection or give somebody a fantastic Christmas present.

Contemporary or classic, pastel or paint, original art, limited and open edition prints - this private viewing allowed visitors to experience a wide selection of affordable yet desirable works of art, personally selected by celebrated artist and regular curator of the Suite, Wayne Warren, chosen from a variety of London and international shows.

Exhibited: Hazel Nicholls, It's What's Inside That Counts, £100.00

September 2011: Mike Cull: Guitar Player

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September 2011: Mike Cull: Easter Morning, Leon

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September 2011: Mike Cull: Waiters

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"Examples from a larger series of paintings based on the waiters working in St Marks Square, Venice. The high contrast light in the piazza gives their white coats a dazzle and shimmer and we see that what we know as pure white has many reflected colours. These waiters are part jugglers, dancers and acrobats." Mike Cull

September 2011: Mike Cull: Portraits

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"The face paintings are from a series looking at new ways of exploring and representing the human face. These are not portraits in the traditional sense but more about groups and emotions. The face as landscape and how life and actions impact upon us. This work is part of an ongoing series in which technique is crucial." Mike Cull

September 2011: Mike Cull: Street Jazz

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September 2011: Mike Cull: Fruit

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"A selection of paintings with fruit as their subject. Fruit is often seen in the collective sense. Here I have tried to explore the individual beauty using larger than life super real images. It gives the subject a grandeur, a monumentality and even a hint of the spiritual. It is also about natural form, texture and complexity, exposing the potential of the seed." Mike Cull

September 2011: Mike Cull: Figurative Styles

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"A mix of watercolour, wax pastel and oil. A chance to compare directly the techniques as used in the figurative styles." Mike Cull

September 2011: Mike Cull: Waterfalls

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"These paintings were made following a visit to Iceland and Norway. The splendid isolation and power of these falls is one part of the natural cycle. Water taken up gently to form clouds then finally releasing an energy powerful enough to split rocks. The water cycle works well enough without the intervention of humankind. We can only stand and watch in awe." Mike Cull

September 2011: Mike Cull: Black and White

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"Drawing is at the heart of my work. It is the soul, the primitive source and the mystery of painting. A simple mark can express a profound beauty, sensitivity and spiritual dimension. The totality of work is, of course, vital but to see how it is made gives the greatest joy. The three black and white drawings, from a larger series, have intense impact and hopefully form a link to the accompanying larger painting." Mike Cull

September 2011: New Exhibition: Mike Cull

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We are delighted to announce our new exhibition by St Albans based artist Mike Cull and curated by Wayne Warren. The mixtures of watercolours, oils, pencils and pastels span over two decades of creativity from many of Mikes travels around the world.

Throughout his work, Mike has sought to find and explore the essence of painting, to ask what gives the work its integrity, unity and quality of mark. He is also exploring the more graphic interpretation using wax and dry crayon. An extended gallery of many of his works and styles can be seen on his website at http://mikecullartists.co.uk/

Over the years he has shown work at many exhibitions including the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, the Singer Friedlander/Sunday Times Watercolour Competition, and the Discerning Eye.

Below are some examples we are exhibiting from a large series of paintings based on the waiters working in St Mark's Square, Venice. The high contrast light in the piazza gives their white coats a dazzle and shimmer and we see that what we know as pure white has many reflective colours. These waiters are part jugglers, dancers and acrobats.

A full catalogue of our new exhibition will be posted very shortly.

September 2011: The Ian Johnson Suite

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We are pleased to announce we are renaming our meeting room suite 'The Ian Johnson Suite' in memory of our former managing partner who passed on 21 December 2010.

Ian qualified as a solicitor in 1973 and joined the Beaconsfield office of B P Collins where he focused primarily on the residential development and commercial property sectors. There he spent 25 years until he took over as managing partner in 1999 and moved to the head office in Gerrards Cross. He held that role until Jan 2009 and retired a year later.

He met his wife Pauline on his first day at B P Collins and she introduced him to the Young Conservatives, where he became chairman. Thereafter, he became extensively involved with local politics and became one of the most respected and familiar figures on the local business scene.

Ian was vice-chairman of the Beaconsfield Constituency Conservative Association, was elected to the Beaconsfield Town Council in 1983 and became Town Mayor for a year in 1990. He also served on South Bucks District Council from 1991 to 1999, was president of the Beaconsfield Chamber of Commerce in 1998 and later vice-president of Wycombe and South Bucks Chamber of Commerce, chairman of South Bucks Local Policing Board, trustee of the Friends of the Curzon Centre which raises funds to support this youth and community centre and had a long association with South Bucks Hospice where he became vice-president.

In recognition of Ian's community spirit and years of campaigning on behalf of others, Ian was awarded Citizen of the Year by the Beaconsfield Society in 2010. Les Davies, of the Society, commented on how he was "struck by the number and sheer variety of his voluntary activities and charity work." He went on to note how Ian could "be relied on to work selflessly and go out of his way to ensure things are done and done properly," concluding that Ian was "a very special man and has made an outstanding contribution to the Beaconsfield community."

Ian was a hugely committed person, devoting most of his life willingly and unselfishly to B P Collins and to other local activities that made him a considerable and remarkable figure in this area. He did a tremendous amount for this firm and for each person associated with it and it is an honour to name the Suite in his memory.

Below: (left to right) Helmut Otto, our first exhibitor in April 2008, and Ian Johnson.

July 2011: Stan McCartin: Private View

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Picture Perfect!

Our current Suite exhibitor, local photographer Stan McCartin, hosted a private viewing last night (Thursday 14 July) for his colleagues, friends and family.

Over 40 of his guests enjoyed a breadth of Stan's work, which spans a variety of subject matter, style and techniques over a period of time, from film days to the present digital.

Visitors travelled from neighbouring villages, some from London and as far afield as Milton Keynes. Members from his local camera club were inspired by the medium exhibited in a corporate environment.

Stan is a friendly and charismatic Glaswegian who has been an active photographer since school days, interrupted only for a while by marriage, career and mortgage, but now in reitrement he is busy in many areas of this fascinating visual art form. He learned fromo his Dad's pal who "did" weddings, and a teacher at school who ran a small extra-curricular photo club in the physics lab.

Curator of previous Suite exhibitions, Wayne Warren, was very pleased to see his friend receive praise from his peers. Wayne was instrumental in steering Stan towards a more expressive technique, having previously focussed on geometrical black and white photography in the early days.

Wayne suggested Stan try some pure nature which subsequently led to some of his work appearing in a mixed media exhibition at Edinburgh in 2003 with Wayne, Make Cull, and work from Tracey Emin and Chris Ofili. Another exhibition, solely about trees, called the Leaf Show followed with Wayne in 2004 at the Surface Gallery in Nottingham.

More adventurous and abstract techniques soon followed, and there have been several exhibitions since. He also continues to compete in the photography club arena and is a member of Harrow, amongst other camera clubs.

Now living in Wendover, Stan does his own thing with some small gourps of photographers on self inspired assignments, as well as judging and lecturing on the subject. Needless to say he is never without at least a pocket digital which captured some of the images in this exhibition.

As they say, the best camera is the one you have with you at the time.

April 2011: Stan McCartin: Fallow Deer

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The Ashridge Estate is magnificant woodland and chalk downland in the Chiltern Hills with splendid views across Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire. When Stan went down to Thunderdell Wood, just look at what he found!

Pictured: "Fallow Deer in Autumn" £225

April 2011: Stan McCartin: The need for speed!

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The Festival of Speed is the largest motoring garden party in the world – a unique summer weekend that brings together an impossibly heady mix of cars, stars and motor sport ‘royalty’ to create the largest car culture event in the world.

Held in the immaculate grounds of Goodwood House, this annual hill-climb event is a true celebration of motor sport and all things automotive.

In 2009, Stan captured some great motor shots that all can enjoy.
Pictured: "Go for it Dad!" £80

April 2011: Stan McCartin: Brighton Pier

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The Palace Pier in Brighton was informally renamed Brighton Pier in 2000 by its owners, in an attempt to suggest that it is Brighton's only pier.

The West Pier was its rival but was closed in 1975 and was subsequently severely damaged by fires and storms, with the remaining iron structure being partially demolished in 2010. Here Stan has captured this beautiful structure in its final glory.

Pictured: "Brighton Pier Shimmering" £145

"Brighton Pier Boardwalk" £145

April 2011: Stan McCartin: Blue Skies

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All Stans' pictures are digitally produced using pigment ink and archival quality paper and canvas, and will last for up to 80 years if kept out of direct unshielded sunlight and away from extreme humidity!

All his artwork is for sale and print sizes vary but are all in 40 x 50 cm framed mounts. All are in editions of 5. Most prints and canvases can be produced in different sizes. Prints can be supplied as prints only, mounted prints or mounted and framed prints.

Here you will find some examples of his work on display at B P Collins. For enquiries about any of the photography in this exhibition please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk

Pictured: "Blue Skies and Heather, Menteith Hills" £95

April 2011: New Exhibition: Stan McCartin

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We are delighted to present a new exhibitor for 2011 to the Suite at B P Collins.

Stan McCartin LRPS CPAGB APAGB, is a Glaswegian who has been an active photographer since school days, interrupted only for a while by marriage, career and mortgage, but now in retirement he is busy in many areas of this fascinating visual art form. He learned from his Dad's pal who "did" weddings, and a teacher at school who ran a small extra-curricular photo club in the physics lab. His photography was then funded by delivering milk in the morning and groceries after school and at weekends.

Most of the early work was black and white, very geometrical and graphic, using traditional "good practice" techniques. His artist friend, Wayne Warren of TAG Fine Arts, once pointed out that all his work was of man made objects and suggested that he try some pure nature. This lead to some of his work appearing in a mixed media exhibition at Edinburgh in 2003 with Wayne Warren, Mike Cull, and work from Tracey Emin and Chris Ofili. Another exhibition, solely about trees, called the Leaf Show followed with Wayne in 2004 at the Surface Gallery in Nottingham. More adventurous and abstract techniques soon followed, and there have been several exhibitions since. He also continues to compete in the photography club arena and is a member of Harrow, amongst other camera clubs.

Now living in Wendover, he also does his own thing with some small groups of photographers on self inspired assignments, as well as judging and lecturing on the subject. Needless to say he is never without at least a pocket digital which captured some of the images in this exhibition. As they say, the best camera is the one you have with you at the time.

This exhibition was curated by Wayne Warren who, along with B P Collins and Stan, hope you enjoy it's span of some of the breadths of subject matter, style and techniques over a period of time, from film days to the present digital.Check back here soon for exhibition images.

September 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Shepard Fairey

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American contemporary artist, graphic designer, illustrator and social activist, as well as a DJ, Shepard Fairey, is another previous exhibitor currently on display in our Suite.

Fairey has become one of the most prolific artists in the world, with over 40 new prints in 2010 alone. He has influenced many of the current vogue of artists and even Banksy says he makes other artists feel 'lazy and scared' by his output.

His work is included in the collections at The Smithsonian, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Shepard Fairey, 'This is a Poster'

October News: TAG Fine Arts new website!

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TAG Fine Arts, the contemporary art dealers and publishers who so generously helped us out with previous exhibitions, have some exciting news and updates on their re-vamped website – new artists to showcase, exhibitions, online purchasing and much, much more.

Check it out here: http://www.tagfinearts.com/

They are promoting lots of exhibitions for fantastic artists such as Adam Bridgland and Rob Ryan and don’t forget to pop along to the Affordable Art Fair this weekend if you are out and about in London. The TAG gang will be on stand H12 with lots of unique pieces ready for you to take home to play with.

Read more about it here: http://www.affordableartfair.co.uk/

September 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Jayne Dyer

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Australian Jayne Dyer has been making art for a long time. In the early 90's this remarkable installation artist began travelling back and forth between her home country, Hong Kong and Beijing. Her installations are directed at compelling people to review fundamental assumptions.

The public responds to this artist; her work is popular and institutionally funded. She often creates work under the auspices of funding bodies that include the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Australia-China Council.

Dyer's installation A Reading has been touring China in Process-Journey, an exhibition celebrating the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Australia and China and the Beijing Olympics. The inaugural exhibition opened at Red Gate Gallery and at the Australian Embassy in Beijing in 2007, and toured to Eastlink Gallery in Shanghai and the Sino Group Art Project Space, Hong Kong in 2008.

Read more about Jayne and her art here: http://www.china.org.cn/culture/2008-06/26/content_15892897.htm

Jayne Dyer, A Reading 5

Sept 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Ian Hamilton Finlay

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A previous exhibitor in our Suite, Ian Hamilton Finlay was a Scottish poet, writer, artist and gardener. He was nominated for the Turner Prize in 1985 and his work is notable for a number of recurring themes: a penchant for classical writers (especially Virgil); a concern with fishing and the sea; an interest in the French Revolution; and a continual revisiting of World War II.

His work can be austere, but it is also at times witty, or even darkly whimsical. We are exhibiting two pieces seen below.

Ian Hamilton Finlay, 'Evening / Sail' and 'Acrobats 1966'

Sept 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Wayne Warren

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"I play with words and phrases – using them as points of departure. I enjoy experimenting with different materials and am driven by the desire to look for things inside other things. The work oscillates between figuration and abstraction effortlessly, whilst continuing to maintain a fresh quality and sense of humour. My art is about questioning values and individual expression." Wayne Warren

Curator and previous exhibitor, Wayne is also a director of the China Art Projects. Wayne's work is many-faceted. There is an immediate wit and playfulness leading to deeper philosophical questions often associated with societal values. Wayne has exhibited across the world. Recently he exhibited a unique piece at Vivienne Westwood, Taipei, entitled 'Executive Excess' – a dress adorned with golden everyday objects.

Wayne Warren, 'Blood Wedding', Adding One Inch', 'Overlapping Gestures' (pictured), 'Unspoken Words' (pictured), 'A Sense of Togetherness' and 'Silver Words'.

Sept 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Simon Lewty

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Simon Lewty is best known for his large-scale and intensely detailed works where handwritten texts combine with imagery to create a dreamlike reality. Through his vivid poetic narratives we are led to immerse ourselves in a rich evocation of the enigmatic in mind, body and place.

A recently published book, to coincide with a major exhibition at Art First, The Self as a Stranger, is the first comprehensive collection of this highly original artist's work from over the past 40 years, and examines the enduring importance of Simon Lewty's contribution to contemporary fine art.

Ian Hunt’s foreword gives a lucid account of the context in which Lewty’s art can be seen in terms of 20th Century developments and the present. He describes a recent text based work from which image as such has been banished, and where words and letters are formed ‘in what appears to be a careful performance of a habitual handwriting’:

‘I think it is crucial, and would argue that the surface acts as an extremely subtle formal basis for thinking about how this work both is, and is not, to be understood as writing. The surface is changed by the process of inscription, but is never reducible to the meaning of the words written on it: it seems to come before and after the words, and makes a complex and mostly unconscious or unverbalised impression on the viewer’s reception of what the work gives.’

Simon Lewty, 'Sun-Ash'

Sept 2010: Exhibiting Artists: I-LIB

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I-Lib (I Lurk In Bushes) is an illustrator and a graffiti/street artist, also working with film, animation, sculpture and any other medium he feels will communicate his messages.

Famed for his imaginative and wonderfully detailed sketches of mythical creatures, he uses fine and delicate lines in his drawings beautifully. This typographic illustration, self-titled, is created freehand using a biro.

His work is eloquently described by peers as "monochromatic organic imagery sprouting from the grout on which it is painted evokes a strong desire to segregate the common virtues of graffiti and to establish a current yet retrospective view on the genre.

See more of I-Lib's work at his site http://www.ilurkinbushes.co.uk/

I-Lib 'Self-titled'

Sept 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Alexander Heim

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Alexander Heim was born in Hamburg and now resides in London. Having studied at the Chelsea College of Art & Design and Goldsmith College, Alexander has exhibited all over the world.

Alexander's practice encompasses video, installation and sculpture, and often addresses those intrusions into urban life where animals, processes and chance routines create self-sustaining pockets of otherness. The work examines things that happen - despite the planned nature of the urban environment - on their own.

Alexander Heim, 'Untitled (pavement) 2008'

Sept 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Adam Bridgland

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'Our favourite leisure time artist', Adam's work was exhibited at our previous show. His art embraces the everyday object finding inspiration from the colouring book image, travel guidebooks, and scout camping paraphernalia. Kitsch and humorous, yet equally poignant, Adam's work rejoices in the mundane and is an investigation of the notion that holiday-making is just another ordinary everyday activity and that the holiday is essentially a fantasy that rarely lives up to our expectations.

Since graduating from his Masters in Fine Art at the Royal College of Art in 2006, Adam has lived and worked as an artist in London. He has exhibited widely in the UK, Europe, Asia and America. The British Museum, the V&A, UBS, Boeing Asia and Debbie Harry are just some of the collectors of Adam's work.

Adam Bridgland, 'Nothingness Never Really Goes Anywhere'

Sept 2010: Exhibiting Artist: Ewan Clayton

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Ewan Clayton lives in Brighton where he runs his own lettering workshop. He is a visiting Professor in Art, Design, Media and Culture at the University of Sunderland.

Understandably, he is also a lecturer in calligraphy at the University of Roehampton in London and this piece is a beautifully simplistic example of his talent.

Ewan Clayton 'Winds, Carry My Voice To Him'

Sept 2010: Art & Words Exhibition

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Our successful modern art exhibition came to a close at the beginning of September but we are delighted to exhibit a new show entitled 'art & words' which showcases some very interesting and diverse pieces from established artists such as Ralph Steadman, the British cartoonist and caricaturist whose work could be found in Punch, Private Eye and the Daily Telegraph, and some newcomers to the scene, notably street artist I-Lib, whose detailed work in biro is quickly snapped up.

All the artwork has been generously loaned to the firm by curator of our previous show, Wayne Warren and his business partner, John Quarendon, in conjunction with the China Art Projects. They were so impressed with our space and how professionally we displayed their pieces at the modern art exhibition in May that they suggested we continue the theme over the coming months, but demonstrate a 'calmer' and more 'relaxed' feeling for the Winter months.

Check out the rest of this blog soon for full details of each exhibiting artist.

June 2010: Mr Brainwash New Exhibitor

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Following the fantastic success of our preview night, some of the sold pieces have been replaced by new artwork for sale. We are exhibiting a fantastic print from a new featured artist, Mr Brainwash.

Mr. Brainwash (MBW), a.k.a. Thierry Guetta, started his career as a French documentary film maker, transitioned into a rogue street artist, and has now emerged as one of the most prominent pop artists on the scene today.

MBW looks to art and entertainment as the subjects of his work. His 2008 Life Is Beautiful exhibition was a massive show in the old CBS building on Sunset Boulevard and made him a star.

The following year Mr. Brainwash was commissioned to do the cover of Madonna’s CD Celebration, along with art for her DVDs and singles, fifteen pieces in all. And this year he was a central figure in Exit Through the Gift Shop, a film by Banksy that deals with street art, celebrity, marketing and especially Guetta and himself, and which was a hit at Sundance.

Exhibiting:

"King of Pop" 2009

One year on from the shock death of music legend, Michael Jackson, this new piece entitled "King of Pop" is a popular addition to the exhibition.

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

June 2010: Hush New Exhibit

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Following the fantastic success of our preview night, some of the sold pieces have been replaced by new artwork for sale. We are exhibiting a new print from Newcastle born urban artist, Hush, seen here.

Exhibiting:

"Skreech" 2008

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

June 2010: Biff New Exhibits

2010-06-28T02:05:00.000-07:00

Following the fantastic success of our preview night, some of the sold pieces have been replaced by new artwork for sale. Street artist, Biff, proved very popular on the night as guests were humoured by his modern take on the cult sci-fi film Star Wars. We subsequently sold 4 copies of his "R-Toot D-Toot" piece and are now exhibiting another humorous Star Wars inspired signed print entitled "Wotulooking-At". We also have more copies of "R-Toot D-Toot" in both pink and red for purchase.

Exhibiting:

"R-Toot D-Toot" 2007

"Wotulooking-At" 2006

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

June 2010: Faile New Exhibits

2010-06-28T02:01:00.000-07:00

Following the fantastic success of our preview night, some of the sold pieces have been replaced by new artwork for sale. We are exhibiting 2 new prints from collaborative outfit, Faile, seen here.

Exhibiting:

"Captivating" 2006

"Bunny Girl" 2003

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

June 2010: Shepard Fairey New Exhibits

2010-06-28T01:50:00.000-07:00

Following the fantastic success of our preview night, some of the sold pieces have been replaced by new artwork for sale. We are exhibiting 3 new prints from contemporary American artist, Shepard Fairey, seen here.

Exhibiting:

"Rose Girl" 2008

"Peace Tree" 2007

"Aung San Suu Kyi" 2009

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

June 2010: As featured in...

2010-06-28T01:35:00.000-07:00

Alongside the local paper running the story of our exhibition, the Law Society Gazette also picked up on the event and printed this tongue in cheek report.

June 2010: Art smart rugby star scores a winner for charity

2010-06-08T03:32:00.000-07:00

Our 'Enjoy a Fresh Perspective' modern art exhibition is maintaining its success following our exclusive preview night at the end of May, with now 33 pieces sold, raising over £5000 for the Dallaglio Foundation so far.

Lawrence Dallaglio, OBE, was able to join guests of B P Collins on the night and personally thanked Jane Northway, host for the event and partner in our private client practice, writing:

"Thank you for your amazingly generous support in agreeing to allow the Dallaglio Foundation to be the beneficiary of last night. I know I speak on behalf of all at the Foundation and that we are enormously grateful to you and everyone at B P Collins who made this happen."

And it wasn't just Lawrence who wrote to praise the exhibition – some very kind guests also commented:

"A well conceived and enjoyable event"
"We had a great time at the Art Evening and are awaiting delivery of a picture. Bit of an impulse buy but good fun. The organisation was impressive"
"The suite on that floor really comes into its own for a function such as this and we were all so well looked after, both in terms of drinks and canapés, as well as the personal attention and welcome of all at BPC. I saw quite a few red dots on the pictures before I left so, in addition to the auction result, I trust that it was a successful fund raising event"
"Thank you for organising and hosting a great evening."

The exhibition remains until the end of August 2010. To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email

enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Lawrence's artful recipe for success

2010-05-29T03:15:00.000-07:00

England rugby World Cup winning legend and Wasps star Lawrence Dallaglio ensured local legal firm B P Collins had the recipe for success when he was guest of honour at a charity art exhibition on Thursday 27 May 2010.

The event attracted around 100 guests who crowded into a champagne reception to see artworks by Pablo Picasso, David Hockney and Henry Moore lined up alongside pieces by some of the UK's most contemporary names, including Banksy and Tracey Emin. Curated by artist Wayne Warren and arranged in connection with TAG Fine Arts, sales made on the evening reached well over £25,000, with 15% of the proceeds being donated to the Dallaglio Foundation.

And there was a further £1,000 boost for the charity when one anonymous client and rugby fan splashed out on a framed Wasps rugby shirt signed by all the team.

Jane Northway, partner and private client practice group leader who organised the event, said:

"This evening is about change and modernisation, something that is happening not just in art, but in the business and legal world too."Modern art is fresh, exciting and really makes people think. These are the qualities we aim to embrace as part of our own personality and also to exhibit in the way we work with clients. We've been absolutely thrilled with the success of the evening and delighted to have raised such a terrific sum for a very good cause."

With a love of art running through his family's veins – his wife Alice is an artist working in ceramics and his mother-in-law was a muse for Pablo Picasso – Lawrence Dallaglio admitted he had his eye on some of the "magnificent" exhibits. He added: "It's a real pleasure and a privilege to be here, there is some fantastic modern art on display and I'm very grateful to B P Collins for such a wonderful gesture in allowing the Dallaglio Foundation to be the beneficiary of this evening's proceeds."

The charity was set up after the rugby star lost his mother to cancer and its main beneficiary is Cancer Research UK. Money from the art exhibition will go to help fund Clinical Research Training Fellowships at Cancer Research UK Centres, aiming to ensure new scientific breakthroughs can be quickly translated into new treatments for cancer patients.

Wasps executive chairman Mark Rigby, a client of the B P Collins team, worked closely with Jane Northway and it was thanks to his personal invitation that Lawrence Dallaglio was able to attend.The evening was also a chance to celebrate Dallaglio's burgeoning prowess in the foodie stakes, as the previous night Dallaglio by Sacla' sauces, developed by Lawrence and his father Vincenzo with Sacla', were voted favourite new product for 2010 by the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team.

The B P Collins team represented Sacla' in its negotiations with the Dallaglio family for the launch of the joint venture and Sacla' UK managing director Clare Blampied was among the guests on the night. The Beaconsfield-based company also generously donated jars of the sauce for goodie bags as a mouthwatering treat for all those who attended.

Curator Wayne Warren praised the event as the perfect way to introduce people to a whole range of artists, from Picasso to "humble" street artists and said the fact the event was in a modern office setting as opposed to a gallery made the artworks more accessible."B P Collins has a wonderful modern building with high tech facilities, now the art on the walls is making a statement about the modern, go-ahead style of the business. It really says something about the firm and its culture and it's marvellous to have been able to bring such wonderful art to Gerrards Cross," he added.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Zhang Honkuan

2010-05-28T03:14:00.000-07:00

Zhang Honkuan is an upcoming artist and photographer. He is represented through the China Arts Projects, an organisation run by artists Wayne Warren and Tony Scott. Honkuan is an eastern trained doctor and a photographer who has exhibited in Paris, Beijing and Shanghai for the last 4 years.

Exhibiting:
"Water Series No. 2" 2009
"Water Series No. 3" 2009

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Wayne Warren

2010-05-28T03:10:00.000-07:00

Whether a painting is abstract or figurative does not concern established artist Wayne Warren. Rather Warren’s painting and print making focuses on the act of making marks on the canvas. Warren enjoys experimenting with different materials and is driven by the desire to look for things inside other things.

Finding stimulus in words and phrases, he uses them as a point of departure. He offers a lucid response to the evasive nature of language: if, as his project implies, words can no longer hold or contain their original meaning, his marks on the canvas lay them open to new, visual interpretations. Warren’s recent practice has extended into 3D. These assemblages and cast sculptures, often presented in perspex boxes, continue the exploration of his previous work’s themes.

Exhibiting:
"Golden Excess" 2010

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Tracey Emin

2010-05-28T03:05:00.000-07:00

Tracey Emin, RA, is a British artist and part of the group known as Britartists or YBAs (Young British Artists). In 1997, her work Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995, a tent appliquéd with names, was shown at Charles Saatchi's Sensation exhibition held at the Royal Academy in London. In 1999, she was a Turner Prize nominee and exhibited My Bed - an installation, consisting of her own unmade dirty bed. In March 2007, Emin was chosen to join the Royal Academy of Arts in London as a Royal Academician. She represented Britain at the 2007 Venice Biennale. Her first major retrospective ‘20 Years’ was held in Edinburgh in 2008 and toured Europe until 2009. Emin's art takes many different forms of expression including needlework and sculpture, drawing, video and installation, photography and painting.

Exhibiting: Preview Night Only
"Just Don't" 2005

Exhibiting:
"But Yey" 2008
"No Substitute For Your Love" 2003

Image: Guests viewing Just Don't, embroidery on fabric

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email

enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Tony Scott

2010-05-28T02:45:00.000-07:00

For over 14 years Australian artist Tony Scott has been travelling, working and exhibiting in China. His work is now informed and inspired by the architectural and cultural traces of his journey. His “New Health Plan Series and Fading Images Series” are an assemblage of concertina books and acupuncture charts found in Beijing – these works Scott explains as his diary of the journey between the “old home – Australia”, and the “new home – China”. He has been working on this series since finding the books in the Dirt Market of Beijing in 2001 and the “new” shopping districts of Wangfujing in 2008. The books are rapidly disappearing remnants of a passing China. He has had 9 solo exhibitions in China and curated exhibitions and projects in the Asia Pacific. Scott’s work is held in private and government collections throughout the region.

Exhibiting:
"Beijing Transitions No. 11" 2008
"Beijing Transitions No. 12" 2008

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Sir Terry Frost

2010-05-28T02:40:00.000-07:00

Sir Terry Frost, RA, was a giant of British abstract art. Born in Leamington Spa in 1915, Frost left school at the age of 14 and worked until the outbreak of war. He served in countries as diverse as Palestine and Greece, before being captured in 1941. Frost remained a prisoner until the end of the war, an experience that changed his outlook on life and introduced him to the possibilities of art. In prison camp in Bavaria, Frost began to paint and draw, encouraged by young artist and fellow prisoner Adrian Heath. Subsequently, he attended Camberwell School of Art and the St. Ives School of Art.

In 1951, he worked as an assistant to the sculptor Barbara Hepworth. His career included teaching at the Bath Academy of Art, serving as Gregory Fellow at the University of Leeds, and teaching at the Cyprus College of Art.

Later he became the artist in residence and Professor of Painting at the Department of Fine Art of the University of Reading. In 1992, he was elected a Royal Academician and he was knighted in 1998.

Exhibiting:
"It's A Good Space" 2001

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Takashi Murakami

2010-05-28T02:37:00.000-07:00

Takashi Murakami is a prolific contemporary Japanese artist who works in both fine arts media, such as painting, as well as digital and commercial media. He blurs the boundaries between high and low art. He appropriates popular themes from mass media and pop culture, then turns them into thirty-foot sculptures, "Superflat" paintings, or marketable commercial goods.

In 2008, Murakami made Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People" list, the only visual artist included. Murakami's style is characterised by flat planes of colour and graphic images involving a character style derived from anime and manga. Superflat is an artistic style that comments on otaku lifestyle and subculture, as well as consumerism and sexual fetishism. Like Andy Warhol, Murakami takes low culture, repackages it and sells it to the highest bidder in the "high-art" market. Also like Warhol, Murakami makes his ‘repacked low culture’ available to all other markets in the form of paintings, sculptures, videos, T-shirts, key chains, mouse pads, plush dolls, cell phone caddies, and $5,000 limited-edition Louis Vuitton handbags.

Exhibiting:
"Me and Kaikai and Kiki" 2009

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Stephen Walter

2010-05-28T02:34:00.000-07:00

Stephen Walter’s maps and landscapes set out to challenge our first impressions, exploring the ideas about beauty and desire within the politics of space and the micro and macro cossoms in which we live. Under the guise of traditional techniques, his work reveals a myriad of words and symbols.

The fantastical additions, references to history, trivia, personal experiences and local knowledge merge older notions of romanticism with a fascination in the intricacies and the contradictions of our world. He continues to use a range of media including drawing, photography, digital, screen-printing, collage and painting.

Exhibiting:
"Hub" 2007/10

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Shepard Fairey

2010-05-28T02:24:00.000-07:00

Shepard Fairey is an American contemporary artist, graphic designer, illustrator and social activist, as well as a DJ, who emerged from the skateboarding scene. He first became known for his 'Andre the Giant has a Posse' (Wrestler) sticker campaign during his student days, in which he appropriated images from the comedic super market tabloid, Weekly World News.

From this small beginning, Fairey has become one of the most prolific artists in the world, with over 40 new prints in 2010 alone. He has influenced many of the current vogue of artists and even Banksy says he makes other artists feel 'lazy and scared' by his output. This would be overkill for most artists but not Fairey, as he has to limit individual sales due to extensive demand for any new piece of work. His work became widely known in the 2008 U.S. presidential election, specifically his Barack Obama 'HOPE' AND VOTE' posters. The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, calls him ‘one of today's best known and most influential street artists’.

His work is included in the collections at The Smithsonian, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Fairey's first art museum exhibition, aptly named Supply & Demand alongside his 25th Anniversary book, was in Boston at the Institute of Contemporary Art in the summer of 2009. He has also exhibited at Stolen Space in London and Jonathan Levine's Gallery in New York and the final show at the Deitch Projects Gallery.

Exhibiting:
"Muhammad Ali" 2006
Propaganda Bureau Of Public Works" 2004
"War Is Over" 2007
"Peace Elephant" 2009
"Global Warning" 2009

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Rob Ryan

2010-05-28T02:21:00.000-07:00

Robert Ryan is a British visual artist specialising in papercutting and screen-printing. His artwork has featured in Vogue, and he has collaborated with fashion designer Paul Smith.

He has illustrated book and album covers, including John Connolly's novel The Book of Lost Things, Erasure's album Nightbird, Chambers Lost Crafts by Una McGovern and Dara Horn's novel The World to Come. Ryan's first book, This Is for You, was published in 2007 by Hodder & Stoughton; it consists of a fairy tale told through paper cut-out art and explores themes of love and loneliness.

Ryan also creates the Global Gift greeting cards for the charity Trocaire.

Ryan studied at Trent Polytechnic and has a Master of Arts in printmaking from the Royal College of Art.

Exhibiting:
"I Can't Forget" 2008
"Kissing Gate" 2008
"You can still do a lot with a small brain" 2008

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Ray Richardson

2010-05-28T02:16:00.000-07:00

Ray Richardson graduated from St Martins School of Art in 1984 and Goldsmiths College of Art in 1987. His subjects are drawn from his own experience of being born and bred, and from living and working, in London. Having been a fellow student at Goldsmiths of Damien Hirst, Richardson is the first to admit that his kind of narrative figuration goes against current and past trends in British art. Yet, in spite of this, his swimming against the tide has created an audience and strong demand for his work.

His paintings present snapshots of contemporary life. It is like watching a panned and scanned version of a widescreen film. There is a mesmerising interface in his work between past and present, the contemporary scenes represented are executed in a very traditional manner, using techniques employed since the Renaissance.

“Ray Richardson is the Martin Scorcese of painting.” GQ Magazine.

Exhibiting:
"Trouble Man" 2005

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Peter Howson

2010-05-28T02:13:00.000-07:00

Peter Howson, OBE, is a Scottish painter. He spent a short time as an infantry soldier in the Royal Highland Fusiliers but left to study at the Glasgow School of Art in 1979, alongside contemporaries such as Adrian Wiszniewski, Steven Campbell and Ken Currie, who also worked in figurative art.

His work has encompassed a number of themes. His early works are typified by very masculine working class men, most famously in The Heroic Dosser (1987). Later he was the official war artist for the Bosnian Civil War in 1993. Here he produced some of his most shocking and controversial work, detailing the atrocities which were taking place at the time. Much of his work cast stereotypes on the lower social groups; he portrayed brawls including drunken, even physically deformed men and women.

His work is exhibited in many major collections and is in the private collection of celebrities such as David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Madonna who inspired a number of paintings in 2002. Howson was created an OBE in the 2009 Birthday Honours.

Exhibiting:
"Don Quixote" 2003

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Pablo Picasso

2010-05-28T02:09:00.000-07:00

Pablo Picasso was a Spanish painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. He is best known for co-founding the Cubist movement and for the wide variety of styles embodied in his work. Among his most famous works are the proto-Cubist Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907) and Guernica (1937), his portrayal of the German bombing of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War.

Picasso demonstrated uncanny artistic talent in his early years, painting in a realistic manner through his childhood and adolescence. During the first decade of the twentieth century his style changed as he experimented with different theories, techniques and ideas. His revolutionary artistic accomplishments brought him universal renown and immense fortunes throughout his life, making him one of the best-known figures in twentieth century art.

Exhibiting: Preview Night Only
"Femme Assise au Chapeau et Femme Debout Drapee" 1934

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Michael Craig-Martin

2010-05-28T02:03:00.000-07:00

Michael Craig-Martin, RA, is a contemporary conceptual artist and painter noted for his influence over the YBAs (Young British Artists), many of whom he taught. In 1974, he exhibited the seminal piece An Oak Tree. The work consists of a glass of water standing on a shelf attached to the gallery wall, next to which is a text using a semiotic argument to explain why it is in fact an oak tree. Nevertheless, on one occasion when it was barred by Australian customs officials from entering the country as vegetation, he was forced to explain it was really just a glass of water. The work was bought by the National Gallery of Australia in 1977; however, the Tate Gallery has an artist's copy.

His later works have used a stylised drawing technique often depicting everyday household objects and sometimes incorporating art references, such as objects known from their use in Dada artworks. Craig-Martin has been a trustee of the Tate Gallery and is a trustee of the National Art Collections Fund. His first retrospective took place at in the Whitechapel Gallery in London in 1989. In 2006, the Irish Museum of Modern Art presented “Michael Craig-Martin: Works 1964-2006” which included works from over 40 years of Craig-Martin’s career. The exhibition showed around 50 paintings, sculptures, wall drawings, neon works and text pieces by the artist, covering everything from his sculptures to digital works.

Exhibiting:
"Compenduim" 2005

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: John Houston

2010-05-28T02:01:00.000-07:00

John Houston, OBE, RSA, RSW, studied at Edinburgh College of Art from 1948-1954 and became a lecturer there in 1955. He was deputy head of the School of Drawing and Painting from 1982 until his retirement in 1989. He was created an OBE in 1990 and was a member of the Royal Scottish Academy, the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour and the Royal Glasgow Institute. He exhibited extensively in mixed and solo shows and was latterly represented in London by Browse & Darby. Works are to be found in a great many important public and private collections worldwide. In 2005 he was honoured with a major Retrospective at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh. He lived and worked, for over 50 years, in Edinburgh with his wife, the painter, Elizabeth Blackadder. He died in Edinburgh on 27 September 2008.

Exhibiting:
"Summer Sea" 2005

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Ian Hamilton Finlay

2010-05-28T01:58:00.000-07:00

Ian Hamilton Finlay, CBE, was a Scottish poet, writer, artist and gardener. Born in the Bahamas, Hamilton Finlay left school in Scotland aged 13. He published short stories and poetry before establishing himself as a conceptual artist.

Hamilton Finlay was nominated for the Turner Prize in 1985. His work is notable for a number of recurring themes: a penchant for classical writers (especially Virgil); a concern with fishing and the sea; an interest in the French Revolution; and a continual revisiting of World War II. His work can be austere, but it is also at times witty, or even darkly whimsical.

Exhibiting:
"Homage to Mozart (Collaboration with Ron Costley)" 1970

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Hush

2010-05-28T01:55:00.000-07:00

Hush is currently a very hot artist. He is not, however, an overnight sensation. He has been painting for the past 12 years and his detailed work reflects this. He hails from Newcastle and has worked a great deal in the Far East. As a result he has one of the most original styles, with clear evidence of different influences, especially the Japanese manga, along with Street Art, pop and classical. His recent shows have all been sell-outs and recently he has combined with fellow artist, Dan Baldwin, to create works which combine their two very different styles.

Exhibiting:
"Graf Geisha" 2008
"Graf Warrior" 2008
"Graf Geisha (Triptych)" 2008

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Henry Moore

2010-05-28T01:52:00.000-07:00

Henry Moore, OM, CH, FBA, was an English sculptor and artist. He was best known for his abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. His forms are usually abstractions of the human figure, typically depicting mother-and-child or reclining figures. Moore's works are usually suggestive of the female body, apart from a phase in the 1950s when he sculpted family groups. Moore was instrumental in introducing a particular form of modernism to the UK. His ability in later life to fulfil large-scale commissions made him exceptionally wealthy yet he lived frugally and most of the money he earned went towards endowing the Henry Moore Foundation, which continues to support education and promotion of the arts.

Exhibiting:
"Reclining Figure 5" 1978

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Gonkar Gyatso

2010-05-28T01:49:00.000-07:00

Gonkar Gyatso was born in 1961 in Lhasa, Tibet. He studied Fine Art in Beijing and finished his Master studies in London at the Chelsea College of Art and Design. Based in London and New York, he is the founder of the Contemporary Tibetan Art Gallery, The Sweet Tea House, dedicated to promoting contemporary Tibetan art and bringing together artists from inside Tibet and from abroad, regardless of their political stand, situation, background and education.

He was selected to take a part in the 53rd Venice Biennial 2009. His work has been internationally published and exhibited in galleries and museums including: The Chinese National Art Gallery (Beijing), The Kangra Museum (India), The Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art (Scotland), the Courtauld Institute of Art (London), the Wereld Museum Rotterdam (Netherlands) and Colorado University Art Museum and Collections (USA). Gyatso’s art proposes insightful statements on cultural hybridity of globalisation as well as the sea change of the world set to come.

Exhibiting:
"Buddha Sakyamuni" 2008
"Buddha in Modern Times" 2008

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Faile

2010-05-28T01:45:00.000-07:00

Faile was formed in 1999, in Brooklyn (New York), as a trio of Patrick McNeill (Canada), Patrick Miller (USA) who were later joined by AIKO (from Japan). More recently, the two Patrick's have become the recognised face of Faile. Their collaboration has taken inspiration from the detritus of city walls. The decay of advertising and fly posting provides a platform to present their own take on the world of found imagery. These recognisable pop culture images are visible in their large-scale canvas works, representing a rich collage of the urban experience. In the spirit of collage, they've diversified into other areas including sculpture and bookmaking yet their work remains heavily indebted to printmaking and stencilling traditions.

Their first projects on the street had the title 'A Life', of which their name Faile was an anagram. The name was also an acknowledgement of the inevitable process of deterioration that an artwork suffered when exposed to the elements. More recently they have taken a detour from the streets into legal work and sell-out shows in galleries.

Exhibiting:
"My Confessions" 2008

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Dolk

2010-05-28T01:43:00.000-07:00

Dolk Lundgren, or simply Dolk (Norwegian for dagger/knife), is the premier stencil artist in Norway whose work has rapidly gained popularity since first being introduced to the masses via the Nuart Festival, the Wooster Collective and Pictures On Walls. His works now sell out shortly after being released. Early in his career, it was speculated that Dolk was a pseudonym for famous Bristol-based stencil artist Banksy. It was assumed, due to some stylistic similarities, that Dolk was an outlet for Banksy's less challenging, more fun works. This has been refuted several times but not by either Dolk or Banksy. Along the same lines, Dolk's earlier work had been criticised in some quarters for being derivative and overly influenced by Banksy.

Exhibiting:
"Girl with a Teddy" 2007

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: D*Face

2010-05-28T01:39:00.000-07:00

"D*Face" (aka. Dean Stockton) grew up in London and had a childhood interest in graffiti. He attended an illustration and design course and worked as a freelance illustrator/designer whilst honing his street work. D*Face was the owner and curator for the Outside Institute, a contemporary art gallery in London that focused on street art.

In 2005 the Outside Institute moved and re branded to become the Stolen Space Gallery. He held his first major London solo exhibition, Death & Glory, at the Stolen Space Gallery, which sold out in October 2006. He has built up a large loyal following and his brand of Pop Art / punk / street art has seriously caught art collector's imagination. His art has incorporated consumerism, the monarchy and the USA and each hits the point. His popularity is going from strength to strength with sell-out shows throughout the world. In 2010, he collaborated with Christina Aguilera on her album cover of Bionic.

Exhibiting:
"D*Face £10"
"United States of America 'Dollar'" 2007
"CliChé" 2007
"Pop Tart – Yellow" 2007

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: David Spiller

2010-05-27T08:29:00.000-07:00

David Spiller's art is filled with life and energy. In his bright and airy images, Spiller compresses a world of influences, ideas and impressions. His art is a blend of styles - mixing the hard-hitting immediacy of Pop Art - the bright colours, punchy texts and clean lines - with a deceptively simple expressionism. To these striking images, he has added another layer of intuitive free hand texts that include lines from his favourite songs (from the Beatles, Bob Dylan and other recognisable pop numbers that have seeped into his consciousness). These screenprints are a wonderful mixture of cartoon characters that we all know and love with elements of autobiography, songs, stories and memories.

Exhibiting:
"I Don't Know"

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

Caption: Lawrence Dallaglio admiring Spiller's work at the preview event

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: David Hockney

2010-05-27T08:23:00.000-07:00

David Hockney, CH, RA, is an important contributor to the Pop Art movement of the 1960s and is considered one of the most influential British artists of the twentieth century. While still a student at the Royal College of Art, Hockney was featured in the exhibition Young Contemporaries - alongside Peter Blake - that announced the arrival of British Pop Art. He became associated with the movement, but his early works also display expressionist elements. In 1963 Hockney visited New York, making contact with Andy Warhol. A later visit to California, where he lived for many years, inspired Hockney to make a series of paintings of swimming pools in Los Angeles, using the comparatively new acrylic medium and rendered in a highly realistic style using vibrant colours. In 1967, his painting, Peter Getting Out Of Nick's Pool, won the John Moores Painting Prize at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.

Exhibiting:
"Paper Pools" 1980
"Mother with Parrot" 1973

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Damien Hirst

2010-05-27T08:12:00.000-07:00

Damien Hirst is an English artist and the most prominent member of the YBAs (Young British Artists) who dominated the art scene in Britain during the 1990s. He is one of the most controversial modern artists of the 21st century and has been claimed to be the richest living artist to date.

During the 1990s his career was closely linked with the collector Charles Saatchi and in 1995, Hirst won the Turner Prize. Death is a central theme in Hirst's works. He became famous for a series of artworks in which dead animals (including a shark, a sheep and a cow) are preserved - sometimes having been dissected - in formaldehyde. The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, a 14-foot tiger shark immersed in formaldehyde in a vitrine, became the iconic work of British art in the 1990s and the symbol of Britart worldwide. He has also made "spin paintings," created on a spinning circular surface, and "spot paintings", which are rows of randomly-coloured circles.

In September 2008, he took an unprecedented move for a living artist by selling a complete show, Beautiful Inside My Head Forever, at Sotheby's by auction and by-passing his long-standing galleries. The auction exceeded all predictions, raising £111 million, breaking the record for a one-artist auction as well as Hirst's own record with £10.3 million for The Golden Calf, an animal with 18-carat gold horns and hooves, preserved in formaldehyde.

Exhibiting:
"Butterfly (Green, Blue, Yellow, Red, Pink)"
"Opium" 2000

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Craigie Aitchison

2010-05-27T08:10:00.000-07:00

Craigie Aitchison, RA, CBE, was a Scottish painter known for his many paintings of the Crucifixion, one of which hangs behind the altar in the chapter house of Liverpool Cathedral. He was born in Kincardine-on-Forth, Scotland, the son of the lawyer, politician and judge Craigie Mason Aitchison. He studied law at Edinburgh University from 1944-46 and at the Middle Temple in London in 1948, before changing career and studying at the Slade School of Fine Art in London. In 1955 he was awarded a British Council scholarship to study in Italy, where he was particularly influenced by early Italian painting.

His first solo exhibition was held in London in 1959, and he held further solo exhibitions throughout the UK. His paintings were included in many group shows around the world from 1964, and in three retrospective exhibitions. Aitchison became an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1978, and in 1988 he was elected as one of the 80 Members of the Royal Academy (or Royal Academicians). He resigned from the Academy in 1997 in protest over the display of Marcus Harvey's work Myra, but rejoined in 1998. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1999. Several of his works are held in the collection of the Tate Gallery. Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery and the National Galleries of Scotland also own works.

Exhibiting:
"Crucification and Dog" 2002

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Chris Ofili

2010-05-27T08:07:00.001-07:00

Chris Ofili is a British painter best known for artworks referencing aspects of his Nigerian heritage, particularly his incorporation of elephant dung. He was one of the YBAs (Young British Artists), and is now based in Trinidad. He studied at the Chelsea School of Art and at the Royal College of Art. Ofili was established through exhibitions by Charles Saatchi at his gallery in north London and the travelling exhibition Sensation (1997), becoming recognised as one of the few British artists of African/Caribbean descent to break through as a member of the YBAs. Ofili has also had numerous solo shows since the early 1990s including the Serpentine Gallery. In 1998, Ofili won the Turner Prize, and in 2003 he was selected to represent Britain at the Venice Biennale, where his work for the British Pavilion was done in collaboration with the architect David Adjaye.

Exhibiting:
"Afro Lunar Lovers II" 2005

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Ceal Warnants

2010-05-27T08:03:00.000-07:00

Ceal Warnants’s prints, and the books from which they come, are a response to childhood, as it seems to exist today. One reminisces about childhood as a Blyton-esque story: romanticised and idyllic. Quickly one glosses over the angst and growing pains. Today’s children are not allowed such innocence. Juxtaposing old and new, sweet and unsavory, these prints are sugarcoated in a classic style to make this, only slightly exaggerated reality, easier to swallow. Warnants has won several prizes including the Tim Mara Prize, the Printmaking Council Award and the South Square Trust Scholarship. She was also shortlisted for the Stanley Picker Tutorship, the Adobe Design Achievement Award and the Conran Foundation Prize.

Exhibiting:
"Living Doll" 2009
"One Sick Puppy" 2009

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email

enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Cai Yuan

2010-05-27T07:58:00.000-07:00

Born in China in 1956, Cai Yuan has been living and working in the UK since the 1980s. He trained in oil painting at Nanjing College of Art, gained a first class degree from Chelsea College of Art and the Royal College of Art. He started working as a performance duo with Jianjun Xi in the late 1990s with their much publicised action Two Artists Jump on Tracey Emin’s Bed (1999) at Tate Britain’s Turner Prize Exhibition. He currently works between Oxford and Beijing. Although trained as a painter Yuan has worked in a variety of media over the past ten years, becoming renowned for some of his iconic radical performances with Xi. Working with painting, photography, video and performance, his work has examined the way in which identity is bound up with interwoven relationships between ideologies, histories and cultural contexts.

Exhibiting:
"World Map" 2010

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Bridget Riley

2010-05-27T07:55:00.000-07:00

Bridget Riley studied art first at Goldsmiths College and later at the Royal College of Art, where her fellow students included artists Peter Blake and Frank Auerbach. Around 1960 she began to develop her signature Op Art style consisting of black and white geometric patterns that explore the dynamism of sight and produce a disorienting effect on the eye. These works were said to induce sensations in viewers as varied as seasickness and sky diving. Works in this style comprised her first solo show in London in 1962 at Gallery One run by Victor Musgrave, as well as numerous subsequent shows.

Riley lived and worked with fellow Op Artist Peter Sedgley during the latter half of the 1960s. Together they created the artists' organisation SPACE, with the goal of providing artists large and affordable studio space. In 1968 Riley represented Great Britain in the Venice Biennale. She was the first British contemporary painter, and the first woman, to be awarded the prestigious International Prize for painting.

Exhibiting: Preview Night Only
"One Small Step" 2009

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Biff

2010-05-27T07:22:00.000-07:00

Biff is less well known than some of the other street artists but no less respected. His work follows a similar pattern in that he focuses on art with a message or about current topics from the media. Biff’s art is accessible and modern and should be snapped up early in his career.

Exhibiting:
"R-Toot D-Toot (Star Wars)" 2007

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Banksy

2010-05-27T07:06:00.000-07:00

Banksy is the undisputed leader of the Street Art Movement. His work began in Bristol where many of his works now have protection orders imposed by the local council. His amazing and poignant works have changed many peoples' pre-conceptions of street art and this has taken it to the next level. His show in the Bristol Museum in 2009 was the longest art show on record and saw people queuing for over 5 hours all day every day to see his works. He now combines his street art with gallery art (which are sell-outs), the creation of a pet shop and this summer he released a film 'Exit through the Gift Shop'.

Exhibiting:
"CND" 2005
"Golf Sale" 2003
"Happy Chopper" 2003
"Grim Reaper" 2005
"Jack & Jill (Police Kids)" 2005
"Get Out While You Can" 2004
"£10 Notes"
"Love Rat" 2004
"Gangster Rat" 2004

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Antony Micallef

2010-05-27T07:01:00.000-07:00

Antony Micallef's career began in 2000 after he came second in the BP portrait awards at the National Portrait Gallery and then toured the world collecting experience to develop his style. He is a fine artist with a Banksy-esq sense of humour and a host of celebrities that are collectors of his work, with his LA show selling out in 2 hours. His work has developed into something unique after the introduction of some Pop Art influences but has a darker tone throughout.

Exhibiting:
"Giant Freak" 2005
"Dirty Deluxe" 2005
"Save My Soul" 2005

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Anita Klein

2010-05-27T06:57:00.000-07:00

Anita Klein studied at Chelsea School of Art and gained a Post Graduate Diploma in Printmaking from the Slade School of Art in 1985. She now lives and works in London. Her hand-made paintings, like her prints, depict the various activities and relationships of her family members. These depictions are often gently humourous. Through her beautiful and confident use of line and space with vibrant colour, she creates images and memories which are universally understood.

She has received numerous awards and commissions including the Joseph Webb Award, Royal Society of Painter Printmakers (1984), the John Purcell Award, Bankside Open (1991) and the John Purcell Award, National Print Exhibition, National Gallery (1995). She is President of the Royal Society of Painter Print-makers (R.E.) and her work is featured in numerous private and public collections worldwide.

Exhibiting: "Drinking Red Wine" 2005

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Andy Warhol

2010-05-27T06:49:00.000-07:00

Andrew Warhola, known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker and filmmaker and was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as Pop Art. After a successful career as a commercial illustrator, Warhol became famous worldwide for his work as a painter, avant-garde filmmaker, record producer, author, and public figure known for his membership in wildly diverse social circles that included bohemian street people, distinguished intellectuals, Hollywood celebrities and wealthy patrons. Warhol has been the subject of numerous retrospective exhibitions, books, and feature and documentary films.

Exhibiting: "Cats from 25 Cats Named Sam and One Blue Pussy" C. 1954

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Exhibiting Artists: Adam Bridgland

2010-05-27T06:42:00.000-07:00

Described as ‘your favourite leisure time artist’, Adam Bridgland embraces the everyday object finding inspiration from the colouring book image, travel guidebooks, and scout camping paraphernalia. Kitsch and humorous, yet equally poignant, Bridgland’s work rejoices in the mundane and is an investigation of the notion that holiday-making is just another ordinary everyday activity and that the holiday is essentially a fantasy that rarely lives up to our expectations. Since graduating from his Masters in Fine Art at the Royal College of Art in 2006, Bridgland has exhibited widely in the UK, Europe, Asia and America. The British Museum, the V&A, UBS and Debbie Harry are just some of the collectors of his work.

Exhibiting:
"Shall We Go Home With The Tide" 2008
"Nine for a Kiss" 2009

To purchase any of the works displayed at our exhibition and to raise funds for the Dallaglio Foundation please email enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk for further information.

May 2010: Tag Fine Arts

2010-05-27T06:35:00.000-07:00

TAG Fine Arts is based on Upper Street, in Islington. TAG provides an outlet for working artists to exhibit and sell their work. Acting as a support network for its stable, TAG offers advice regarding commissions within the trade: a hub, it proposes alternative exhibiting opportunities and a forum for broader critical discussion about contemporary art.

Since launching at the London Art Fair in 2007, TAG has successfully represented emerging to established artists trained at the leading UK arts colleges including Central St Martins, Royal Academy and Royal College of Art. The organisation focuses on a series of pop up exhibitions in ‘alternative’ spaces, collaborating with charities, commercial enterprises and art institutions, including the Courtauld Institute of Art, the Hospital Club, Japan House and UCLH Arts.

TAG funds art commissions and publishes work through participation in a series of International and London based art fairs. TAG has a proven track record of raising the profile of emerging artists and their stable have works in major International collections including the British Library, British Museum, Clifford Chance, Fidelity Investments, Government Art Collection and V&A.

The company is run by Diana Ewer and Hobby Limon who specialise in advising private and corporate clients, whether buying for the first time or seeking to build on existing collections.

For further information visit http://www.tagfinearts.com/

(LtR) Hobby Limon, TAG Fine Arts and John Quarendon

May 2010: Curators Wayne Warren & John Quarendon

2010-05-26T06:23:00.000-07:00

B P Collins proudly presents contemporary modern art by emerging and established artists. Following the exclusive champagne preview on 27 May 2010, the exhibition will continue through until 27 August for guests of B P Collins to enjoy.

Curated by artist Wayne Warren and arranged in conjunction with TAG Fine Arts, this exhibition allows clients to explore the diverse and expressive world of leading modern artists, as well as new and burgeoning creative talent.
Warren currently lives and works in Hertfordshire.

He is the owner and Principal of Radlett Preparatory School in Hertfordshire. As an artist, he has had great success with many solo shows as well as group exhibitions all over the world. Warren admits to being influenced by the British painter Roger Hilton. Perhaps this accounts for the artist’s use of rich colour and textures. However, it is Warren’s affinity with Hilton’s belief that ‘abstraction in itself is nothing. It is only a step towards a new sort of figuration, that is, one which is more true,” (Hilton, 1961) which explains why his work oscillates between figuration and abstraction so effortlessly, whilst continuing to maintain a fresh quality and sense of humour. His ‘Golden Excess’ print is available to view at this exhibition and you can read more about his artistic philosophy in the artists section of this blog.

For this particular exhibition, Warren was assisted by his colleague, John Quarendon, who is an urban art specialist. Recently retired as Principal Lecturer in Business Studies, Quarendon is actively pursuing his passion for art, in particular his specialist area of urban art. He has curated several exhibitions and is a keen advocate and supporter of many young contemporary artists whose work can excite, provoke and often challenge our perceptions and can move us out of our comfort zones.

For further information visit http://www.waynewarren.co.uk/

(LtR) Wayne Warren and John Quarendon with Takashi Murakami print

May 2010: Modern Art Exhibition Announced

2010-05-25T06:14:00.000-07:00

Modern art embraces changing attitudes and challenges convention, offering people a fresh perspective on the world they live in. This new exhibition is the perfect backdrop for expressing our contemporary approach to legal services at which clients and distinguished guests are invited to join us for an exclusive preview of contemporary works by established and up and coming modern artists.

Hosted by our private client team, whom legal directories continue to regard as one of the best in the Thames Valley, and partner, Jane Northway, this champagne reception will provide guests with the opportunity to meet members of the team and enjoy pieces of unique, original artwork in a relaxed environment.

In addition to showcasing up and coming artists, as part of this private view, we are exclusively exhibiting limited edition artwork by world renowned modern artists such as Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin and Banksy.

We are delighted that a percentage of the proceeds from the sale of selected works will be donated to the Dallaglio Foundation. Set up by World Cup winning England and Wasps legend Lawrence Dallaglio OBE, money raised through the Foundation will go towards very specific, tangible projects which make a real and personal difference to people’s lives.

“We are thrilled to be hosting this event for our clients and honoured to welcome Mr Dallaglio whose Foundation we hope will benefit greatly from the evening. As a new partner, I welcome this opportunity to reassure clients of our uncompromising high levels of service and the breadth of legal services the private client team can provide.” Jane Northway, partner

November 2009: Tales From The Thames Valley Runner Up

2009-11-05T03:53:00.001-08:00

Chalfont St Giles Church by Margaret Rallings

November 2009: Tales from the Thames Valley Winner

2009-11-05T03:50:00.000-08:00

Black Park by Petrova Caldecourt

November 2009: Tales From the Thames Valley

2009-11-05T03:45:00.000-08:00

From the beginning of November, the Suite will host a selection of photographs taken by staff of B P Collins, showcasing scenes in and around the local area.

Entitled 'Tales from the Thames Valley' each meeting room will play host to the many wildlife, landscape and architectural delights of Gerrards Cross and neighbouring villages.

We hope clients and visitors to the Suite will appreciate the variety of subjects, none of which could have been possible without the staffs' involvement in the competition.

We are delighted to announce that Petrova Caldecourt, associate in our family practice is the first prize winner, with a mystical shot of Black Park at dusk. Margaret Rallings, IT Manager, receives the runner up prize for her photo of the local church, framed beautifully by autumn trees.

May 2009: Creating Possibilities Exhibition Close

2009-11-05T03:42:00.000-08:00

The 'Creating Possibilities' exhibition of paintings, by artists based at The National Society for Epilepsy, drew to a close this week having raised nearly £3500 for the residents of the Chalfont St Peter based charity.

Heralded as our most successful exhibition to date, the vibrant and eclectic style of paintings certainly caught the imagination of visiting clients, with two of the paintings having been sold in recent months following meetings with our lawyers.

The exhibition has been a great way to support the charity who, spurred on by the success of their first public exhibition, is now taking their paintings to a gallery in Henley to further demonstrate their skills.

May 2009: Creating Possibilities exhibition update

2009-06-08T09:07:00.000-07:00

The ‘Creating Possibilities’ exhibition has already been heralded as a real success story. More than 70 guests attended the preview night at the end of May at the offices of local law firm B P Collins, raising a substantial £3,000 for the charity and artists from donations and sales of the paintings.

The NSE is a long-standing client of the firm and Graham Faulkner, chief executive, NSE, paid tribute to its support, saying: “We should thank B P Collins for a fantastic event. You can’t begin to know what joy you brought to our service users, not just those that sold some of their art work but for all having the work so beautifully presented and displayed in such a formal setting. It did wonders for their morale and self respect.”

Many of the artists whose work was on display have personal experiences of epilepsy and at the event they were able to share the stories behind their paintings with guests.

David Stanning, senior partner at B P Collins, said the evening had been a great way to support the charity and underlined the firm’s commitment to the local community. “We are delighted the launch evening was such a success, the paintings really demonstrate the skills of a talented group of individuals and it was tremendous for us to be able to showcase them in such a way and raise funds for the NSE at the same time.” he said.

The exhibition will run for several months at B P Collins’ offices, with paintings available for sale and monies going directly to the NSE and artists.

May 2009: The Art Therapy Centre, NSE

2009-05-27T04:20:00.000-07:00

The NSE offers a range of expert services for people with epilepsy. These services include cutting edge research, diagnosis, support, assessment, residential care and rehabilitation programmes, including art therapy.

“Art is an excellent forum for people to express themselves and can be helpful for everyone, especially for people who find it harder to communicate their innermost thoughts and feelings.” Quentin Bruckland, art therapist, NSE

Art therapy is based upon the belief that the creative process involved in artistic self-expression helps people to resolve conflicts and problems, develop interpersonal skills, manage behaviour, reduce stress, increase self-esteem and self-awareness, and achieve insight. It is not intended to reduce seizures; however, by reducing stress, art therapy can indirectly lower seizure frequency.

"The art therapy team, working alongside our NSE artists, have aimed to break down barriers and to give all concerned a vehicle for creative expression. By painting together and having this exhibition it has allowed a collective expressive experience. Having exhibitions and presenting artwork produced in this type of project has the powerful objective in that it will hopefully make the community outside the NSE be aware of the creative talent present in our client group. This will reduce the stigma and prejudice associated with epilepsy."

Sam Lomas, art therapist, NSE

All artists involved in this exhibition will accept commissions. For more information, please call the team on 01494 601472 or email enquiries@epilepsysociety.org.uk

All monies raised from this exhibition are divided between the artist and the charity.

If you would like to donate an Art Therapy Session, the Caring2Give range of care packages is ideal and will make a real difference to the lives of people with epilepsy. The Art Therapy Session package is just one gift that directly benefits those living in the NSE care homes in Buckinghamshire. A supervised art therapy session for a service user to enable them to express themselves and develop their skills through the medium of art costs just £25. The session helps with motor skills and encourages expression and creativity. Art therapy also enables people with communication difficulties to feel empowered.

To find out more contact the Art Therapy team on 01494 601472 or visit http://www.epilepsysociety.org.uk/Donate

May 2009: Exhibiting artist John Stroud

2009-05-27T04:12:00.000-07:00

"I like drawing and sketching and always carry pencils and a drawing book to all the places that I travel to. I enjoy painting a lot. I have lots of ideas for new paintings. It is a very important thing in my life."

For further information on the art exhibited please contact the Art Therapy team on 01494 601472.

May 2009: Exhibiting artist David Stoddart

2009-05-27T04:05:00.000-07:00

"My name is David and I have had epilepsy for over 50 years. I love to paint and draw as it helps me go from week to week and lets me express myself. I put my heart and soul into art and music as well."

"This picture shows a day in winter, just after a day of snow and the thaw has now begun. The tree is bare except for some snow left and the sun is in the sky, the birds are nowhere in sight and the clouds are passing."

For more information on the artwork exhibited please call the Art Therapy Centre on 01494 601472 or email enquiries@epilepsysociety.org.uk

May 2009: Exhibiting artist Valerie Burnett

2009-05-27T04:00:00.000-07:00

"After 6 years at art college specialising in painting and print making, I acquired my degree enabling me to study at the Institute of Arts in Therapy. This has given me a greater insight into understanding how art can be used to tap into emotions. Now working at the NSE, I feel honoured to be working with some incredibly gifted people who share their vulnerability and strength with the use of the arts."

For more information on the Art Therapy Centre at the NSE please call 01494 601472.

May 2009: Exhibiting artist

2009-05-27T03:56:00.001-07:00

This painting was submitted anonymously by a patient at the Sir William Gowers Assessment Centre in the National Society for Epilepsy. The assessment service at Chalfont offers in-depth in-patient medical, psycho-social and nursing assessment for adults aged 17 and over, with uncontrolled epilepsy and related needs. It provides accurate diagnosis through monitoring and observation and aims to improve seizure control, optimise drug therapy and assess skills associated with activities of daily living. The emphasis is on a short term, comprehensive assessment in a non-clinical environment.

For further information on the artwork exhibited please call 01494 601472. Please visit http://www.epilepsysociety.org.uk/ for information on the Assessment Centre.

May 2009: Exhibiting artist Swaraj Bhogal

2009-05-27T03:51:00.000-07:00

Swaraj moved from London recently and has been a member of the Art Studio sessions for a few months. He discovered he enjoys painting very much, he also finds using art a good vehicle for expression.

For more information on the art exhibited please contact the Therapy Centre on 01494 601472.

May 2009: Exhibiting artist

2009-05-27T03:45:00.000-07:00

This painting was submitted anonymously by a patient at the Sir William Gowers Assessment Centre in the National Society for Epilepsy.

The assessment service at Chalfont offers in-depth in-patient medical, psycho-social and nursing assessment for adults aged 17 and over, with uncontrolled epilepsy and related needs. It provides accurate diagnosis through monitoring and observation and aims to improve seizure control, optimise drug therapy and assess skills associated with activities of daily living. The emphasis is on a short term, comprehensive assessment in a non-clinical environment.

For further information on the artwork exhibited please call 01494 601472. Please visit http://www.epilepsysociety.org.uk/ for information on the Assessment Centre.

May 2009: Exhibiting artist Quentin Bruckland

2009-05-27T03:37:00.000-07:00

"After graduating from Brunel University, I worked for a number of studios in London, Italy and for Hunkydory Design House in Bucks and I freelance as a painter and designer. I work in a broad style that incorporates a high standard of drawing and bright colour and textures. I now work full time for the NSE as an art therapist. I live in Bedfordshire with my family and produce artwork in my spare time."

For more information on the Art Therapy Centre at the NSE and on the paintings exhibited please call 01494 601472 or email enquiries@epilepsysociety.org.uk

May 2009: Exhibiting artist Sam Lomas

2009-05-27T02:18:00.000-07:00

"I have been working as a therapy assistant with the Art Therapy team for 2 years. As a practising artist, I have encouraged our clients to express themselves using strong colours and imagery. By painting alongside clients and exhibiting paintings with them at this exhibition, I hope that it celebrates all of us as equals. We are all artists and this exhibition will go some way to reduce the stigma and prejudice associated with epilepsy, learning disabilities and associated mental health issues."

For more information on the Art Therapy Centre and their work please call 01494 601472 or email enquiries@epilepsysociety.org.uk

May 2009: Exhibiting artist Stephen Clarkson

2009-05-27T02:03:00.000-07:00

"My art has turned a corner and is now completely different to what I used to do. I paint because it is something different - I like to try new things and painting is one of them."

For further information on the artwork exhibited, please contact the Art Therapy Centre on 01494 601472.

May 2009: Exhibiting artist Sandra Pritchard

2009-05-27T01:57:00.000-07:00

"I have done lots of artwork at the Art Therapy Centre at the NSE, but this one was my first canvas. 'Emotions' is about how I felt one day. I have really enjoyed painting this image and now I have started, I would love to do some more."

For further information on the Art Therapy Centre and the exhibiting artists please call 01494 601472.