Its the end of the year, and time to celebrating the artist’s highlights from the past year. It’s incredibly impressive to see the diverse achievements showcased here, with prizes, residencies, acquisition by notable collectors and solo shows all in abundance. All of these are good reasons to invest in an artist, on the basis of increasing recognition, and perserverance in the craft. The artists have been thriving, dazzling us with their resourcefulness; read on to enjoy some of 2021’s highlights.
We’re delighted to announce that Samantha Wilson has been awarded a QUEST scholarship to fund her place at the Royal College of Art. Alongside this she has been offered a place on a professional development programme for scholarship winners at Cockpit Arts London. You can read news of her scholarship here.
Frederick Ingoldby is an outstanding 2021 Newcastle University graduate already gaining significant attention. He is a recipient of the prestigious Freelands Painting Prize 2021.
Iona Hall won not one but two prizes at the Goldsmiths’ Craft and Design Council Award Ceremony, for the delightfully designed pill box, ‘The Echo Box’. Iona describes it thus: “The stones are placed sporadically, as if washed up by the sea. The repeated triangular shape is reflected through the piece from many angles as you open it up.” The prizes were: Bronze award in the Smallworks section and Bronze in the Modellers 3D Design category. The Echo Box was also exhibited in a VAS (Visual Arts Scotland) show, SURGE.
In her final year (2020) at Wimbledon (UAL) Louisa Clark was awarded the Prunella Clough Legacy Commission Prize, which she completed in residence at Wimbledon College of Art Spring 2021 (included a £4,000 prize). The 4x4m piece was revealed in June, alongside the last cohort of paintings to ever be produced by this historical course, to be permanently installed at the college’s reception.
2018 Brighton graduate Morag Caister has had a stellar year. She was winner of The Curators (New York/Paris) EROS Project (commissioned by Richard Curtis) and selected for:
The Ruth Borchard Self Portrait Prize 2021
Figurative Art Now 2021
Blue Shop Cottage WOP3
Brighton Fringe ‘Altered’
London Paint Club Spring Edition.
Morag has showed in 10 exhibitions in total during 2021 – which shows incredible dedication (and demand for her work).
Lewis Deeney has had an exceptional year, following on from previous years populated with shows, prizes and shortlists. He graduated with distinction in MFA Art & Humanities from DJCAD, and the university bought his piece ‘The more beautiful world our hearts know is possible’ for their public collection – the second time they’ve bought one of his works. Lewis currently has a solo show running, ‘Becoming’, following his solo show last year, ‘Everyone & No One’, at Dock Street Studios in Dundee.
What’s more Lewis had his first exhibition abroad, as part of two group shows in Alesund, Norway. His paintings were shortlisted numerous times in 2021, for: Artist Lounge Artist of the Year (semi-finalist), Visual Artist Open Emerging Artist Award, and the D31 Gallery Prize.
For her exquisite charcoal drawings Zuzanna Salamon was awarded: the Hermione Hammond Drawing Award at the New English Art Club Annual Exhibition (June 2021, Mall Galleries London), the Velvet Easel Gallery Award (June 2021, Paisley Art Institute), and the de Laszlo Foundation Prize – Highly Commended (April 2021, Mall Galleries). A fantastic array for such a recent graduate. Her work was on show at these locations, as well as at the Royal Academy summer show in London and the Royal Scottish Academy annual exhibition in Edinburgh.
Laura Menzies was awarded a DYCP grant from the Arts Council to develop work of a larger scale and ambition. From January to February this year she will complete a 6 week residency at Morgans Gallery in Falmouth. She will be working with the light and history of this beautifully restored space to inspire a new collection – pictured here, some recent work in the space.
Lynsey MacKenzie was selected to exhibit in several exhibitions in 2021. This includes the Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition, during which she was awarded the RSA Latimer Award, and the WASPS Award of a solo show at the Briggait in Glasgow in 2022. She was also selected for the Society of Scottish Artists Annual Exhibition, during which she was awarded the Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Award.
At the end of 2021 Charlie Yates completed a seven week Artist in Residence at Edinburgh Academy, enabling Charlie to paint new work as well as teaching the academy’s pupils. In December Charlie was invited to exhibit at the Scottish National Gallery, showing in the 141st Royal Scottish Society of Painters, in the Watercolours exhibition. And coming up this year is a solo exhibition.
Emiko Aida continued to show widely and globally in 2021, including as part of the: London Art Biennale, Chelsea Physic Garden Exhibition at Bankside Gallery, London Original Print Fair (online only for 2021, normally at Royal Academy of Arts), VAA International Online Art Exhibition – in addition to several regular group shows.
Stephen Todd has exhibited across the country this year including two solo shows: ‘Fact from Fiction – Reprise’ at Cupola Gallery in Sheffield and ‘Allotments’ at Kentmere House Gallery in York. He was additionally invited to participate in the New English Art Club Annual Exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London, and the Ferens Open at the Ferens Gallery in Hull.
Flavia Pinto, alongside a printmaker-illustrator colleague, has been awarded a 1:1 Jerwood Grant for a collaboration. You can read more here. We would also like to extend a special congratulations to Flavia on the new addition to her family: welcome to the world, baby Milo!
Sarah Shaw became a New Blood Art Master this year: her career has been taking off, with a solo show awarded next year at the Huddersfield Gallery (in her hometown), and the solo show ‘Secret Histories’ just on at the Whistleblower gallery in Brighton – displaying an exciting new cycle of work. She was awarded a huge commission of 16 paintings for an art hotel in Pembrokeshire, Wales. In 2022 a book of her paintings will be published. Sarah’s paintings are a meeting – or as one title has it, a ‘happening’ – between elemental materials and the more complex beings that arise from them: the painter’s process – striving, joyful – of perseverance in light of fleeting beauty. In total Sarah’s work have featured in 8 solo shows and 30 group shows since she graduated.
David Rae was on the final shortlist of 42 in the Jackson’s Painting Prize, out of 8674 entries. He has been selling globally this year, including to collectors in The Netherlands and Bermuda.
Nina Stallwood has been showing in London this year, with a solo exhibition ‘Lucid Waters’, and her painting ‘Bare Naked Beginnings’ selected for the ING Discerning Eye exhibition at the Mall Galleries.
This work by Hannah Absalom toured the world as part of the 2021 Wunderkammer exhibition, which started in Sweden, moved to Glasgow, London, Phuket and Seoul, then returned to finish in Glasgow. Furthermore, she showed at the historical Transmission Gallery in Glasgow.
Congratulations to Tyler Watson on receiving his MA in Fine Art from the University of Hertfordshire – with a Distinction grade! Building on this success he has secured partnerships with both Liberty London (painting in store at the moment) and Paul Smith (works currently exhibited in Marylebone). Tyler’s group show, at Broadway Gallery, Letchworth Garden City, just finished.
Iain Andrews has enjoyed a bustle of activity recently, with more upcoming, showing in ‘Thing Worlds’ in Kyoto, Japan, selected for the Barbican artworks open show in London this December and the Manchester Open (January 2022), also shortlisted for the the Sunny Art Prize in London (February 2022). Upcoming in January is a two person show with James Freeman Gallery, London. Furthermore he has written and illustrated a book! For young adults, called What We Lost in the Storm, reviewed as managing to “deliver some kind of hope” without “falling into the realm of cliché”.
Two more of our artists have been acquired for display by Sir Paul Smith. Keren Luchtenstein‘s paintings are in the exhibition ‘Hello, My Name is Paul Smith’ currently showing at Nottingham Castle until 20th February 2022. The exhibition details the key things, people, and places that have sparked Paul Smith’s creativity throughout his career. Sir Paul acquired several works by Colette LaVette, to display in his Albemarle gallery store. Colette also had a very popular online show with Purslane gallery, with a physical show upcoming in 2022.
The ever popular Rosemary Burn has had a year of diverse projects. At her solo show, ‘Amalgam’ at Space Theatre London three contemporary playwrights wrote new works based on her exhibited works. Three of Rosemary’s works were selected for ‘Figurative Art Now’ at the Mall Galleries London, she featured in the London International Art Fair, and participated in a three person show at the Arte Borgo Gallery in Rome. What’s more, she was invited to represent the Van Gogh Gallery, Madrid, at the Paris International Art Fair 2022. A fantastic year, congratulations Rosemary.
Wayne Sleeth has had a phenomenal year, with 5 solo shows in France, including a showing at Metz Cathedral which had over 8,000 visitors, and a solo show as part of the 2021 European Patrimony Days (second year running of Wayne’s participation.) Wayne is another of our artists who has had a book published this year, with the body of 30 paintings and other work on the cathedral he produced featuring in an English/ French edition published in June, The Cathedrals of Metz (the 500 copies have almost sold out within 6 months).
2021 graduate Lily Tutty’s diptych, ‘Inadine’ and ‘Iodine’, secured her a nomination for the 2021 Platform Graduate Award for exceptional emerging artists. As part of this, the duo were on show at the Aspex Gallery, Portsmouth, until December. The stand-out achievement of these two paintings was recognised by her tutors: Bournemouth University has purchased one half of the diptych for their permanent collection. The other half is available here.
Keith Robinson was shortlisted for the 2021 Scottish Portrait awards, Scotland’s biggest for portraiture, for that of his brother pictured here.
Molly Kent hasn’t slacked since graduating in 2020 from Edinburgh College of Art. From 963 artists Molly was one of 10 shortlisted for the Robert Walters UK New Artist of the Year Award 2021, and as a result showed at the Saatchi Gallery this autumn. Molly was awarded a place at the annual Society of Scottish Artists Annual Exhibition at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh, and in the same location selected for the RSA New Contemporaries (spring 2022). She also was given a FromNow 2021 Award, and has a solo show at the Edinburgh Central Library coming up in 2022. Molly’s work is taking off, now is a good time to invest.
Gareth Griffiths’ sculptures have been in high demand over the last 18 months – from clients all over the world (private and corporate). Including: a large commission for Canary Wharf Group in London, and a large outdoor sculpture for a writer in LA for their R.M. Schindler designed house. He was also commissioned to produce two large sculptures for a client in Harpenden’s Jorn Utzon’s AHM House (designer of the Sydney Opera House). This year Gareth was nominated by the Welsh Visual Arts Group, and a large sculpture was successfully acquired for the (permanent) government’s art collection (GAC), which holds work by Hepworth, Constable, Damien Hirst and others.
Four of our artists had their work selected for show at this year’s Royal Academy Summer Exhibition: Margaret Ashman, Orlanda Broom, John Butterworth and Emma-Louise Grady. Orlanda held a sell-out solo show – we currently have just one piece available by the artist.
Thomas Cameron was selected for Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2021. Since 1949, New Contemporaries have supported the next generation of artists, to ensure the long-term sustainability of emerging practices. Thomas also had a solo show at New Glasgow Society. We were delighted to welcome Thomas into our Masters section: a section of the website which profiles more experienced artists, whose position as professional (full-time) artists is a good indication of the commitment to their practice and long-term prospects. Their unique style, with a consistently compelling body of work, has attracted a strong collector base.
Chris Grisley was shortlisted for The Signature Art Prize.
Lynsey MacKenzie received an RSA Latimer Award for meritorious work by a Scottish artist under 35. Both Naomi Mclure and Lynsey MacKenzie showed work at The Royal Scottish Academy in the SSA’s 123rd annual exhibition.
The brilliant Alice Miller reached the finals of The Signature Art Prize. Alice graduated in 2020 from Loughborough University. Her photorealist paintings mimic the heightening of our senses; viewers are invited to experience the youth, fun, and rich intimacy of her contemporary subjects – always tinged with an element of risk.
Annie Graham‘s piece Ministrations (above) was shortlisted for the RBA Rome Scholarship – Rising Stars exhibition.
Both Natalie Chapman and Emerson Pullman were identified as making an outstanding contribution to the self-portrait genre on 2021 and were long listed for The Self-Portrait Prize 2021. Emerson Pullman left North Wales and moved to London to start his MA at City&Guilds of London Art School and has been selected for a physical exhibition at the London Paint Club in Hoxton alongside 2 fellow NewBloodArt artists – Jan Valik and Thomas Cameron – Thomas Cameron has also recently started his MA at City&Guilds.
Jan Valik was one of 15 shortlisted artists for this year’s Contemporary British Painting Prize 2021 Exhibition – which opened on 6th November at Huddersfield Art Gallery in Huddersfield, Yorkshire. The exhibition runs until 8th January 2022. This year’s Contemporary British Painting Prize recorded the largest number of entries ever with 5435 submitted artworks. Jan also had a solo exhibition this year in Vienna at Galerie Amart.
