Brand New!! Review: Neac Annual Exhibition 2013

I've been trying to operate out how to discussion this review of the 2013 Annual Exhibition of the New English linguistic communication Art Club 2013.  It powerfulness to a greater extent than accurately live described equally a postal service mortem.

I've come upwards to the determination that it's best merely to highlight a salutary tale which is relevant to all fine art societies.  They all withdraw hold their ups as well as downs - as well as this is a tale of a large dip.

Cover of the catalogue for the New English linguistic communication Art Club's Annual Exhibition 2013
painting past times Michael Whittlesea

This twelvemonth I've been preoccupied amongst the mass I've been commissioned to write as well as so visited the Annual Exhibition of the New England Art Club on the lastly twenty-four hours rather than nearer the beginning.

Normally I'm walking into an exhibition which already has lots of cerise dots.

This twelvemonth equally I started to become round, I began to realise that something really strange had happened.

I started inwards the Threadneedle Space. It's a infinite inwards which to a greater extent than contemporary styles exercise especially good but is difficult on operate which is non strong. I wasn't especially enamoured amongst what I saw (although it included some really proficient paintings) - but that happens inwards many exhibitions. You come upwards across a room where the operate has been selected as well as hung past times somebody who has a really different oculus for what he or she likes compared to you. That's OK - it's merely a different way of looking at art. I don't hold back everybody to similar what I similar either!

Threadneedle Space - included some really nighttime paintings as well as 2 prizewinners
BUT no operate sold
I recollect really nighttime artwork has to live hung amongst a lot of infinite unopen to it
otherwise it has a style to 'kill' other work.
(compare this to the same persuasion inwards the 2012 Annual Exhibition
- see Review: New English linguistic communication Art Club Annual Exhibition 2012 )

I kept looking as well as so started upwards the stairs - as well as that's when it struck me. I went dorsum downwards the stairs as well as piece of cake went circular the room.

There wasn't a unmarried cerise dot.

Absolutely no sales - on the really lastly twenty-four hours of the exhibition.

So, that's when I pulled out my pen as well as started to tour the exhibition slowly, looking for all the sales to run across if I could run across a pattern.

View of the West Gallery

NEAC 2013 - West Gallery, South Wall

By the fourth dimension I got to the halt I had my answer.  Below are the factors I identified.

• This was an exhibition which, to me, didn't expression similar a NEAC exhibition. That's said from the perspective of this existence an exhibition that I actually expression forwards to seeing every year. It's likewise an exhibition past times an fine art company which is highly rated as well as that a lot of my creative individual friends aspire to acquire into.  It certainly included quite a lot of operate I liked notwithstanding it likewise seemed to include many to a greater extent than nighttime paintings compared to previous years.  It lacked large "punctuation" pieces which were colourful as well as packed a punch - what I telephone telephone the "come as well as expression at me" paintings - or at to the lowest degree the hang didn't demo them off if they were there. I looked dorsum at lastly twelvemonth as well as run across I noted something quite similar.  The experience of the exhibition was quite different to previous years (see for example my review of New English linguistic communication Art Club Annual exhibition 2010). This suggested to me something had changed inwards the option process.
• So - if something had changed on the option front end - what was it?

A bay which looked much to a greater extent than similar the NEAC exhibitions of old

• a LOT less sales than usual! This was actually really strange indeed.  This is an exhibition which sells consistently good twelvemonth on year. In fact so far equally I'm aware this is unremarkably i of the best selling exhibitions held inwards the gallery. Based on the quantity of cerise dots, if I'd walked inwards a distich of days later the PV I'd live thinking something had gone incorrect as well as sales were slow. However, I was walking circular inwards the terminal hours of a 10 twenty-four hours exhibition.  Something was definitely very, really wrong. 398 paintings, prints as well as drawings were hung. I counted 44 sales although it's possible I may withdraw hold missed some.  That represents 11% of the exhibition sold.  
• So - was it merely that the option looked different this year?  
• Could it live the economy? (That powerfulness live an piece of cake excuse but is non a constituent inwards my mass given I review all the other exhibitions inwards this gallery)
• Had the Affordable Art fair over at Battersea depleted fine art collectors' funds?
• Or was at that topographic point another factor? Did they withdraw hold bad weather condition on the PV twenty-four hours maybe?

Judith Gardner had a proficient exhibition - 4 out of 5 paintings sold.
She sold 4 small-scale plant all priced nether £1,000 as well as i unsold large painting
She's likewise a fellow member of The Small Paintings Group
- I've been a fan of Judith's operate for a long time.

• virtually all the sales were small-scale plant selling for less than a £1,000.  It was really clear that £1,000 was a pregnant threshold.  It was equally if somebody had diverted all the fine art collectors amongst funds somewhere else! That to me meant that those fine art collectors amongst coin had, for whatever reason, non turned upwards this twelvemonth - or didn't similar what they saw or didn't similar the prices listed for larger pieces. If I sat downwards as well as counted the value of the operate hung as well as so worked out the exhibition value, the per centum of sales to exhibition value would live a lot lower than the 11% calculated for the set out of plant sold.  Those artists who did good amongst honour to 2 or to a greater extent than sales of small-scale plant are:
• Diana Calvert
• Judith Gardner
• Charles Hardaker
• Anthony Morris
• Lorna Vahey
• Michael Whittlesea

Michael Whittlesea ever manages to create paintings which appeal to buyers
This twelvemonth he sold 3 of his 4 small-scale works

[Note: I worked for many years inwards a diversity of roles involving trouble concern as well as functioning analysis from management consultant for i of the "big" firms to senior director inside large organisations. My roles invariably had a focus on functioning analysis as well as I was something of a specialist at i phase inwards functioning indicators.  For me, the 3 primary trouble concern functioning indicators for whatever fine art company exhibition are (1) set out of plant sold expressed equally a percentage; (2) value of plant sold expressed equally a per centum of the value of plant on persuasion as well as (3) the average toll of plant sold.  Any creative individual fellow member of an fine art company should hold back that a written report to members on the functioning of an exhibition should include these 3 functioning indicators.  A pop exhibition amongst lots of sales agency to a greater extent than artists acquire to part the benefits of fine art collectors who are buying!  I'd likewise desire to know who were the elevation selling artists.]

• I likewise noticed that a lot of plant past times fellow member artists were priced rather high.  In fact I'd become so far to state that inwards an era of really depression inflation, the increases inwards the prices of paintings over the lastly 5 years or so has been absolutely huge.  
• There land had to live a argue why large paintings were non selling - could this live it? Price inflation on paintings was out of kilter amongst existent inflation
• Are artists selling less as well as so trying to maintain income past times pricing higher?
• Are artists pricing higher to attract the type of fine art collector who tin afford this form of price?  It's certainly a strategy which has worked for some inwards the recent past times - but certainly non all. It's likewise a strategy which requires targeted marketing to those fine art collectors amongst the funds to pay the prices.  They don't merely plough upwards on the off chance!

Six artworks past times Diana Armfield RA RWS NEAC PS
No sales

• I spotted 3 NEAC members of the Royal Academy of Arts amongst no sales at all. Two of them - Ken Howard OBE PPNEAC RA RBA ROI and Diana Armfield RA RWS NEAC RWA Hon PS - withdraw hold consistently sold good inwards the past. My jaw literally dropped when I saw Diana Armfield had no sales. I withdraw hold been next her operate for many years inwards exhibitions past times different societies as well as withdraw hold NEVER been to an exhibition which included operate past times Diana Armfield and seen a grouping of her plant on the lastly twenty-four hours amongst no cerise dots. Her normal rails tape is 30-100% of plant sold
• The set out of plant past times non-members selected from the opened upwards entry was really low.  I withdraw hold asked earlier as well as I volition enquire in i lawsuit to a greater extent than - tin an exhibition actually live considered an opened upwards exhibition when a tiny per centum of plant are selected from the opened upwards entry? Also, inwards other exhibitions I've seen at the Mall Galleries some of the most interesting as well as appealing operate came from non members! (see Review: Royal Society of Portrait Painters - Annual Exhibition 2013)
• I wasn't wowed past times the hang. I couldn't acquire my caput circular the hang until I realised that those hanging the exhibition had been faced amongst the challenge of having to operate out where to house several really large sombre, really nighttime or really depression primal paintings. What was strange was they seemed to set these centre phase as well as give them prominence. By way of contrast, those paintings which were lighter, high primal icon - especially those which withdraw hold demonstrated inwards the past times the powerfulness to elevator as well as lighten a wall (eg paintings past times Ruth Stage) - were squeezed into a corner where their acquit on was compressed rather than expanded!
• So - was it the option or was it the hang - or perhaps a flake of both?

Wonderful artwork (yet again) inwards egg tempera by Ruth Stage NEAC
The operate bottom left should withdraw hold been occupying the centre of a large wall - it won The David Messum Prize

I met upwards amongst some of the members earlier I left as well as confirmed it wasn't my imagination that at that topographic point were many fewer sales this year.

I likewise learned that:

• newly elected members were responsible for the pre-screening phase of the opened upwards entry. While I fully empathize the demand to induct novel members into the screening as well as option process, sure enough this likewise needs to live likewise informed past times the involvement of to a greater extent than senior members? This could live a to a greater extent than pregnant constituent BUT for the fact that this exhibition at in i lawsuit includes so few plant from artists submitting via the opened upwards entry. 
• members hang the exhibition - but are they experienced members who are proficient at hanging exhibitions?  It takes a lot of science to hang an exhibition effectively.  Some parts worked amend than other parts.
• this twelvemonth NEAC cancelled their Annual Dinner for friends as well as collectors - usually held earlier the exhibition opened, inwards the Galleries.  In the past times I was told that it has really ofttimes generated a lot of sales - especially of larger works. It likewise meant that the exhibition got off to a proficient start because it opened to Earth amongst cerise dots already inwards place.  It creates the correct psychological context for creating a disposition to buy.  This twelvemonth that was missing.

Overall, I concluded that it was really unlikely to live i unmarried factor. It was much to a greater extent than probable that all the factors identified past times me addition those identified past times members belike conspired to create a wretched final result inwards terms of sales.

What's missing for me

The New English linguistic communication Art Club started life equally the English linguistic communication equivalent of the Impressionists.  This was the grouping that broke away from the Royal Academy.  It has for the most business office maintained its tradition equally existence a grouping which is non aiming to live inwards the same house equally the RA or its summertime show.

However the RA used to withdraw hold a tradition of filling the Small Wesson Room at the Summer Exhibition amongst small-scale paintings past times really proficient painters. It was a room which was non similar the residue of the exhibition as well as ever used to live jam packed amongst visitors as well as total of cerise dots.  Latterly, the RA withdraw hold abandoned this tradition. This twelvemonth selectors chose to include plant which may withdraw hold produced a conceptual contestation but left some of us wondering whether it was a joke to mix upwards paintings past times accomplished painters amongst those of rank amateurs.  For me it emphasised that the tradition of the Small Wesson Room is no more.

Today the focus of the New English linguistic communication Art Club is supposed to live on contemporary figurative icon - except it I don't recollect it is. It's missing something.

For me the exhibition of the New English linguistic communication Art Club must leave of absence along to live the exhibition that people aspire to live in.  It should be:

• the exhibition that takes over as well as continues the tradition of the Small Wesson Room past times focusing on the small-scale paintings much loved past times those who withdraw hold a passion for collecting figurative fine art past times accomplished artists as well as desire to purchase small-scale paintings at affordable prices.   The far rooms of the North Gallery should live packed amongst paintings amongst cerise dots past times those accomplished at packing a lot of character into a small-scale painting.
• an exhibition that finds as well as highlights the emerging artists amongst something novel to state inwards the land of figurative art.  This shouldn't live left to the novel competitions such equally the Threadneedle.
• an exhibition that has a wonderful mix of the onetime as well as the novel - inwards terms of painters as well as printmakers as well as draughtsman who withdraw hold as well as are making their score on the fine art basis - as well as those who volition exercise inwards future
• an exhibition amongst a pregnant proportion of operate coming from the juried opened upwards entry. This should live the exhibition where the experienced should live applying themselves to finding the future.

I was impressed past times the drawings of Adele Henderson inwards the North Gallery who lastly twelvemonth was awarded the New English linguistic communication Art Club drawing schoolhouse scholarship. Here to me was an example of an creative individual who nosotros should run across a lot to a greater extent than of inwards the future.

Drawings inwards pencil as well as charcoal past times Adele Henderson
- business office of the exhibition of operate past times the New English linguistic communication Drawing School founded past times Jason Bowyer.

Prizewinners

There were a set out of prizewinners - this i caught my oculus earlier I realised it was a prizewinner. It shouted 'prizewinner' from its wall inwards the Threadneedle Space.

Winner of the Doreen Macintosh Prize
Drawing Class by Michael Kirkpride NEAC

However, I discovery it really disappointing that despite the 2013 exhibition having closed that the NEAC website silent lists as well as displays the prizewinners from the 2012 exhibition!  One of my perennial comments inwards recent years has been that Art Societies must acquire amend at marketing online equally good equally off!

Bottom line - this has non been a successful exhibition for many of the participating artists or the company or the Mall Galleries.

Some may state that a review should focus on the art.  For me the focus on the fine art should withdraw house when I focus on the artist.  This is my review of 'the trouble concern end' of an exhibition - as well as what went wrong.

Let us never forget that practising artists demand exhibitions to live successful. Art Societies must maintain on elevation of making sure they deliver the benefits of association to their members. One of the fantabulous ways of doing this is through the exhibition equally another fine art societies (eg SWLA) demonstrate consistently twelvemonth on year.

I wouldn't withdraw hold the fourth dimension amongst this review that I withdraw hold if I didn't recollect a lot of the New English linguistic communication Art Club whose operate has delighted me inwards the past.

I advise that the NEAC Executive Committee recollect really carefully almost how it organises (in terms of who does what) as well as markets its exhibition - as well as fellow member artists - for the 2014 exhibition.

In the past times I've really much regarded them equally a leading fine art company inside the UK.  It feels to me equally if they stumbled as well as lost their way this year. I'm at in i lawsuit thinking that they withdraw hold a lot of basis to brand upwards inwards the side past times side year.

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