Spandex, synths and stadium rock: Back to the ‘80s with Art & Sol

Saturday, 3 June (Museum Open Day free entry) – Monday 28 August 2023

The Musical Museum, 399 High St, Brentford, TW8 0DU

Open: Friday, Saturday and Sunday 10am-4pm.

Exhibition entry included with MM ticket 5-16 £5, Adults £12, Reduced £10

50% discount on entry to residents of the London Borough of Hounslow – more details click here.

The Musical Museum and ‘Art & Sol’ are teaming up this summer to stage an exhibition of iconic ‘80s rock and pop musicians – photographed live in concert and reinterpreted through digital portraiture.

West London was home to many major rock and pop artists who significantly influenced the music, fashion and experiences of the ‘80s. This exhibition provides photographs of live performances at the height of these artists careers, while providing background information on their West London connections and why they had such an effect on the ‘80s.

Art & Sol unites Getty rock photographer Sol N’Jie, who photographed iconic rock and pop performers in concert throughout the ‘80s and Stella Tooth, resident artist of the Half Moon Putney, which has been playing live music since 1963.

Sol says, “The ‘80s saw a diversity of music genres driven in part by the significant advancements in music technology, such as synthesizers and digital recording techniques, which allowed for new sounds and production methods. The visual aspect of music became just as important, with many musicians creating stunning videos that became cultural phenomena significantly impacting fashion and popular culture. The decade was also a time of political and social change with many musicians commenting on social justice, poverty, and environmental concerns. I was lucky enough to capture some photos that reflected this time.”

During the ‘80s Solomon (Sol) N’Jie was responsible for the crowd safety management of spectators at large London venues where the world’s leading artists and bands performed. During some of the concerts he used a 35mm camera to capture rare and unseen images from unique vantage points of pop stars that had become global phenomena.

Stella, a trained portrait artist who, for the past six years, has been exploring her practice in the legendary music venue the Half Moon Putney, and Getty Rock photographer Sol decided to produce this side-by-side exhibition to allow the viewer to understand and appreciate what happens when an iconic photo is seen through the lens of an artist’s eye.

Stella says, “At the Half Moon Putney I’ve portrayed, in traditional media, The Animals, The Kinks and The Pretty Things among others – musicians who once participated in, or were influenced by, the ‘60s British R&B scene generated by The Ealing Club. Being too young to see other sixties bands live at start of their careers, I jumped at the chance to interpret Sol’s ‘80s photos of image-conscious music icons like Adam Ant, David Bowie and Freddie Mercury, to name but a few, at the height of their fame and in a new medium taken up in lockdown – digital painting.”

Noeleen O’Gorman, Audience Development Manager at The Musical Museum, said,

“We are delighted to welcome ‘Art & Sol’ to exhibit alongside items from our collection at the Museum. These stunning concert photos and inspired art capture the zeitgeist of the 1980s in West London. The connections to the local area are astounding and something we think will be of great interest to our local residents and music ‘aficionados’ alike.“

Stella and Sol met in a ‘pop up’ in Ealing where Sol was exhibiting some of the 600 photos, he had taken of ‘80s rockers. The collaboration unites ‘old’ and ‘new technology’ with Sol’s photographs originally taken on an analogue 35mm camera and Stella’s artworks created on an Apple iPad pro using the Procreate app.

Stella Tooth, an ex-print journalist and BBC/Sky News PR, retrained as a portrait artist at The Heatherley School of Fine Art in 2010 and has her home studio in Ealing. Storytelling in words and picture is part of her portrait and performer art. Now, inspired by Sol’s iconic rock photos, she uses colour symbolism and her traditional oil painting skills to create digital portraits with the pressure-sensitive ipencil.

Performers In Paint exhibition this June in Putney

The slackrope walker – a collaborative digital painting by Stella Tooth and Susie Nathanson

Thanks to the lovely Occhi Magazine team for previewing LRG’s Stella Tooth’s forthcoming joint ‘Performers In Paint’ exhibition this June at Putney Library as part of the Wandsworth Art Fringe.

The exhibition unites portrait and performer artists Stella Tooth and Susie Nathanson for an exhibition that will include performer-inspired workshops and a talk about their inspiration and practice.

To read the full article click here.

Sarah Jane Moon’s new paintings of books on sale

Sarah Jane Moon has an exciting new collection of paintings of books on sale.

It appears quite a few have already sold.

If you’re interested, click here to view the entire collection and email info@sarahjanemoon.com to buy.

International shipping available.

Blues in Britain Magazine interview: Art for art’s sake – out now!

December 2022

One of our members Stella Tooth has been interviewed by Nicholas John, the Editor of ‘Blues in Britain’ Magazine about her performer art.

The interview appears in the latest December issue and runs over two pages and includes artworks created at the Half Moon Putney, where she is the iconic music venue’s resident artist.

Hope you enjoy the read!

The Story of a Commission via the Royal Society of Portrait Painters

One of our artists Stella Tooth has recently completed a commission via the Royal Society of Portrait Painters.

If you’d like to find out how it came about, how the commission progressed from start to finish, and what the sitters thought of it click here.

Chandra and Kasmira with their double portrait commissioned for their 50th wedding anniversary

Framed portrait of Chandra and Kasmira oil on canvas

LRG’s Sarah Jane Moon to show with CBPP in Brixton in June

Lots Road Group portrait painter Sarah Jane Moon is also a member of The Contemporary British Portrait Painters and will be exhibiting with them at The Department Store Brixton 11-18 June. Do save the date!

Sarah is currently half way through a sabbatical year in her native New Zealand where she has studios in the Bay of Plenty.

Poster for Contemporary British Portrait Painters exhibition in Brixton in June

LRG’s Hero Johnson’s portrait of Dame Harriet Walker now on show at RP

Her Johnson's portrait of Dame Harriet Walker

LRG’s Hero Johnson has both a self-portrait and a portrait of Dame Harriet Walker now on show at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters Exhibition at the Mall Galleries, running until 14 May.

The exhibition, which celebrates contemporary portraitures is open from 10am-5pm (late night 7pm 11 May), Booking is not required. £5 entry or free for Friends of Mall Galleries and under 25s. Concessions available.

The exhibition features over 200 portraits by members of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters alongside works carefully selected by them from thousands of portraits submitted from all over the world.

See the exhibition online

New digital performer paintings by LRG’s Stella Tooth in London exhibitions May-September

A number of London exhibitions from May to September feature exciting new album cover sized digital performer paintings by the Lots Road Group’s Stella Tooth.

During lockdown Stella began experimenting with digital painting, using the Procreate App on her ipad pro with the game-changing pressure sensitive ipencil.

Using her skills as a traditional oil painter, she paints freehand inspired by a variety of photographs. Some she takes herself as resident artist at legendary music venue, the Half Moon Putney, some from visits to her local west London music venues like the famous Eel Pie Club (to read article about Eel Pie Island museum by the artist click here). Some are inspired by photos of rock stars by Getty photographer Solomon N’Jie, taken at the height of their fame in the 80s.

Now, to help celebrate The Ealing Club‘s Rock’s Diamond Year (where electronic blues all began in 1962 with @MarshallAmps setting up in nearby Hanwell the same year) and the continuing tradition of live music at the Half Moon Putney, Stella is exhibiting her digital paintings in different London venues this Spring and Summer.

Two of her musician artworks feature in the British Blues Exhibition at the Barbican Music Library from 26 May for four months. Others form part of Skylark Galleries art collective’s joint June exhibition at Spaghetti House Gallery in Holborn running until 19 June. And ‘Art & Sol’ – featuring both Sol’s rock photos and Stella’s interpretation of them – is the launch exhibition at the Ealing Project, Ealing Broadways’ new cinema, gig and exhibition space. To find out more click here.

Beneath The Moon & Under The Sun: a solo exhibition of work by LRG’s Maureen Nathan

Thursday 9 – Sunday 19 June 2022
Private view – Wednesday 8 June 2022

A solo exhibition of work by award-winning artist Maureen Nathan is opening this June at The Fitzrovia Gallery, London. ‘Beneath The Moon & Under The Sun’ brings together works on paper produced over the last two and a half years.

Exploring and responding to the world around her, Nathan’s series of artworks bear witness to the outbreak of Covid and the months following. Opening with solitary silhouettes in moonlit gardens, tangled branches cloaked in darkness and obscurity, and unfurling into a colourful confetti of blooming flora, ‘Beneath The Moon & Under The Sun’ puts into visual form a timeline that maps not just night and day or the changing seasons, but Nathan’s own illuminations.

Through a variety of mediums – painting, collage and printmaking – Nathan uses the physical environment as a vehicle for discovery and enlightenment, taking what’s in front of her and turning it into a beautiful, dream-like narrative.

Reflecting on her surroundings, she says, “the natural world steadfastly follows its own rhythms, season after season, on land and on sea, and is an endless source of inspiration and solace.”

Born and raised on the West Coast of Canada, Maureen settled in the UK as a young adult. She divides her time between her home and studio in North London and her workspace in rural Dorset. Her work has been shown with the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, The Royal Academy, Wells Art Contemporary and the Royal West of England Academy.

To see more of her work, click here.