Review: Majestic Lodge Of Portrait Painters - Annual Exhibition 2019

Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition Review: Royal Society of Portrait Painters - Annual Exhibition 2019

One of the overarching characteristics of the 2019 Annual Exhibition of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters is that ALL industrial plant selected for exhibition from the Open Entry are chosen past times members of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. There are no administrators, sponsors, gallerists, fine art critics or other such éminence grise who larn a nation on what gets hung.

Unlike other portrait exhibitions, this exhibition is rigorously selected past times professional person portrait painters who themselves take away keep been elected past times their peers to their Society.

I was genuinely looking frontward to this exhibition afterward final twelvemonth when I raved nearly the changes - see Review: Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition - Unstuffed!

However I came away feeling somewhat deflated this year - thence the gap earlier writing this review. I gauge it was because I had high hopes it would travel on inwards the same vein equally final twelvemonth - too all the same I felt that the "stuffed shirts" had returned too were a piffling equally good prominent. It felt a fleck similar it had backtracked to previous exhibitions nearly which I've been a tad critical inwards the past.

Below I hash out some of the themes of the exhibition for me

Stuffed Shirts versus Skin
The Hang - juxtapositions too themes
Exhibit to Market - why this exhibition is emphatically a marketing exercise re. commissions
Paintings I liked - a real minor alternative of the paintings I liked inwards the exhibition.

Stuffed shirts versus Skin

I don't deny that an awful lot of the commissions undertaken past times members of the Society are inevitably corporate commissions - on behalf of the form of organisations which similar to take away keep a ikon of "their leader" hanging inwards the Board Room or at the halt of the line of piece of work of previous portraits of previous CEOs or Chairs of the Board (or whoever) somewhere at Corporate HQ.

But this tin sack Pb to displaying an awful lot of portraits of "grey men inwards suits" - because frankly corporate clients similar portraits which volition "fit in" with their environment. The work with the corporate portraits is that they too then take away keep the potential to set a fleck of a damper on everything else!

I can't demonstrate this inwards this weblog post service equally I merely don't photograph the "stuffed shirts" portraits. However if yous take away keep a expression through the alternative of portraits on the Mall Galleries website you'll encounter what I mean.

There in 1 lawsuit again - too past times means of contrast - the exhibition also hangs portraits which I recall I'd debate are perchance less portraits too to a greater extent than figurative paintings on a topic which hand to include a figure. Are they portraits? Or are they paintings of models - too could genuinely hang inwards whatever exhibition which has figurative art?

Finally, at that spot is the RP topic - which for 2019 was "Skin" which meant the stuffed shirts were hanging rather closed to some pretty full-on total frontal nudes. Not quite sure how that helped the marketing of commissions.....

Different approaches to a portrait - legs akimbo

"Stuffed shirts" too Skin

I recall the "Skin" portrait paintings worked ameliorate when grouped together
- they had to a greater extent than touching on inwards their ain right

I've absolutely no complaints nearly the criterion of the paintings of dissimilar types on display - it's an exhibition with a real high criterion of painting. However "stuffed shirts" side past times side to "Skin" does seem incongruous too makes for a real curious juxtaposition - which tin sack create a feeling of visual confusion.

It did inwards me. I developed a depression degree niggling feeling spell viewing the exhibition that things didn't ever hang together well.

That's non to nation that the exhibition was non good hung. Some parts of the exhibition were extremely good hung - inwards purpose because the paintings created a clear visual topic too at that spot was some unity to what was hung on the wall.

I'm thinking inwards detail of:

....the "female end" of the Main Gallery - featuring portrait paintings too drawings predominantly OF women or BY women such equally Daphne Todd, Melissa Scott-Miller too Sarah Jane Moon.

A practiced mix of unstuffy portraits

....the drawings on the mezzanine wall

A largely monochrome wall - of drawings inwards diverse media too etchings.

....and the minor heads inwards the North Gallery.

Small Head Portraits inwards the North Gallery

I also loved much of what I saw inwards the Threadneedle Room where at that spot were some real strong visual images - both inwards price of private portraits too the overall expression of the room - encounter the paradigm at the overstep of this post service too below.

A peachy means to hang a corporate committee too "small head" portraits with trend - Threadneedle Space

Exhibit to market

The RP Annual exhibition is also real curious for having an awful lot of paintings marked "not for sale". This is because they are commissions too are existence hung inwards the exhibition equally examples of what yous tin sack await from an creative someone if yous desire to committee a portrait - whether yous are from corporate HQ or exactly a household unit of measurement wanting to take away keep a tape of a household unit of measurement member(s).

This exhibition is real much a marketing exercise to generate commissions and much less an exercise inwards selling paintings - although naturally those artists hoping to sell paintings won't quite encounter it that way. As such it was non surprising to encounter so few sold paintings inwards the Gallery when I visited 2 days afterward the PV. It doesn't appear to take away keep improved much since my visit.

In my view, the exhibition powerfulness do goodness from a review of how they hang it. Given that this is real much a marketing exercise for artists who alive too buy the farm past times their commissions (well perchance non buy the farm - but sure enough pay the bills!). Might it non hold out fourth dimension to take away keep a recall what nearly marketing has to offering the exhibition.

For example, why non innovate some stronger themes

put all the stuffed shirts corporate portraits inwards the same gallery or expanse of a gallery - too then those wanting a corporate portrait tin sack catch who, inwards their eyes, does the best corporate portrait which volition accommodate their organisation
put all the portraits commissioned past times ordinary members of earth of their families too household unit of measurement members together - to encounter clearly which artists similar working with families too what styles are on offering - too and then compare!

Paintings I liked

Here are a few of the paintings I liked

I'm non unremarkably 1 for 'romantic realism' paintings (I brand icky noises) but I do appreciate a peachy ikon of a truthful cat - too that's what My Dear Angus is about. Girl is pretty practiced too. Interestingly lots of people who are the dependent acre of commissions also take away keep a truthful cat - it's a pretty shrewd movement for an opened upward entry past times Sandra Kuck!

My Dear Angus past times Sandra Kuck
crude on canvas, 61c, x 61cm (24" x 24") £23,500

I genuinely liked Andrew Tift's drawing. The contrast betwixt the hyperrealistic rendering of human too Canis familiaris too the almost cartoonlike drawings of the diverse cameras genuinely drew my oculus too made it a much to a greater extent than effective portrait inwards my opinion.

I've seen his travel earlier - too he ever impresses. He was a regular exhibitor at the BP Portrait - until he won inwards 2006 (after the BP Travel Award inwards 1994 too tertiary Prize inwards 1999). Since which he has produced 3 impressive portraits for the NPG of Neil too Glenys Kinnock, Eric Sykes too Ken Livingstone. He also has a long too impressive tape of exhibitions around the basis - too travel inwards other museum collections. He was lately invited to create drawings for an exhibition to run amongst too back upward the exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci drawings at Sunderland Art Gallery - which has exactly finished.

I'm non quite sure why he's non a fellow member of the RP. I gauge some artists are good past times applying via the normal road to membership. (He was invited to exhibit past times a fellow member too did non apply via the normal route). Maybe the members powerfulness similar to ponder on that one...

Lee too Louis past times Andrew Tift
Charcoal, graphite, carbon too ink, 59.5cm x 84cm (23 x 33 inches) £9,000

Elena Vladimir Baranoff is a Russian creative someone who industrial plant inwards egg tempera - a medium I'm real fond of. If yous larn upward close, with a magnifier, yous tin sack encounter all the private tiny hatching strokes which contributed to the ikon of this painting. I real much liked the composition too the color palette which industrial plant genuinely well.

Awakening past times Elena Vladimir Baranoff
egg tempera, 26 c 21cm (10 x 8inches) NFS

There's something absolutely riveting nearly Leslie Watts's self portrait with a tarnished jug inwards egg tempera also. Her Elizabethan neckband too steady gaze - inwards line of piece of work with the overstep of the white stuff behind her - coupled with that Mona Lisa 'smile' are absolutely riveting - so much so that I genuinely didn't disclose the mastectomy for a brusk while! The ikon of peel inwards price of texture too tones is impeccable - too I dear the paintbrush held almost equally if it were scalpel for peeling dorsum the layers of her reality.

In my catch it deserved to hold out hung higher on the wall such that her eyes met the viewers.

Leslie Watts is a 'class act' too a contemporary realist ikon who lives too industrial plant inwards Stratford Ontario. I start met her at BP Portrait inwards 2015 when I took a photograph of her with her real odd diptych ikon of her 2 daughters. She was invited to exhibit this twelvemonth past times Mark Roscoe RP.

Respect!

Self Portrait with Tarnished Jug past times Leslie Watts
egg tempera 66 x 46 cm (26 c eighteen inches) NFS

Exhibition

The Annual Exhibition of the Royal Society of Portrait Artists:

Venue: Mall Galleries - inwards all galleries
Dates: Until 24 May 2019
Hours: 10am - 5pm - except opened upward until 7pm on 21 May
Website page: https://therp.co.uk/annual-portrait-exhibition/
Wevsite Page (Mall Galleries) https://www.mallgalleries.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/royal-society-portrait-painters-annual-exhibition-2019

More nearly Past Annual Exhibitions

2019

2009-2018