See Spray is a new gallery and art shop opening to the public at 153-154 Queens Road, Hastings on June 4. The first Private View will be from 5:30pm on Friday June 1.
Its mission is to bring original contemporary art to Hastings and to engage the local community with creative and fun workshops and events for all ages and abilities. The proprietors aim to be affordable, inclusive, innovative and community minded. They will include work in varied styles and media including, but not limited to, urban, street, pop, psychedelic, hyper-realistic, graphic and modern art, in paintings, collage, print, photography and sculpture.
The gallery can offer space for the community to engage in artistic pursuits through the use of the large open-plan public space and shop downstairs, and shop floor/community space upstairs. There will be six or seven solo shows a year on one side of the gallery, a collection of varied artists including local talent in the ongoing group show on the opposite side of the gallery, as well as gift ideas such as prints, art books and greeting cards, and good-quality art supplies for local artists.
“Hastings has always been full of artistic talent but there is a lack of space for local art enthusiasts and artists to come together, create, talk about and display their work. We are excited to be able to provide room to do so. This project is the first of its kind and we hope to get the local community involved as well as attract attention from the wider art scene.” says curator Ella Matthews.
The first solo show (opening June 1) will be by local artist Tom Bartlett. His satirical and thought-provoking collages have been snapped up by collectors for the past 20 years. The other artists on board include John Hurford, who is the last remaining UK psychedelic artist and has been painting prolifically since the 1960s; award-winning artist Alexandra Gallagher, whose work has been shown internationally including at the Saatchi Gallery, and Sue Tilley, a local artist who was immortalised in a painting by Lucien Freud that made history by becoming the most expensive
work of art ever sold by a living artist.
The art on display is eclectic and the messages behind the work vary, but they all have elements in common-originality, talent and the ability to provoke thought and invite discussion. The gallery says its prices are as varied as the work available – from £2.50 for a colourful greetings card to £8,000 for an original painting – and all lovers of contemporary art will find something that fits their budget, looks great on their walls and will start many a conversation.
Source: See Spray
Photo: Sea Spray