In glorious sunshine, the Rye Art Gallery ushered in spring with the opening of the annual Rye Society of Artists (RSA) Spring Exhibition on Saturday 21 March.
With a selection of new work by over 40 local artists, it includes painting, sculpture, prints, photography and ceramics celebrating the town’s artistic community. As well as work by current members, the studio is exhibiting invited artists seeking membership including A Lincoln Taber, Tessa Holmes, Dominic Zwemmer, Joanna Terry, Helen O’Leary and Gillian Eldridge.
The RSA is in its 75th year having started out in 1951 as the RX8 group and has continued to support and exhibit local artists through its annual spring and summer shows. Displayed are some examples of the society’s exhibition catalogues from 1950s onward, with covers capturing the design and typography of the times. In its early shows, work by the gallery’s founder Mary Stormont (1871-1962) was displayed alongside that of Wally Cole, Geoffrey Bagley, Margaret Barnard and Ken Townsend – spanning both the Victorian and Edwardian eras, early 20th century modernism and the post-war aesthetic of the Festival of Britain.
The RSA Spring show is at the Rye Art Gallery at 107 High Street, Rye until 3 May.
Open Monday to Saturday, 11am to 5pm except Tuesdays (closed).
Open Sundays and bank holidays 11am to 4pm.
Image Credits: Elle Nelson , Juliet Duff .