‘Beyond the Door – portraits and other recent work’ the latest exhibition by the Lots Road Group of portrait artists is scheduled for the end of July.
Bermondsey Project Space, 185 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3UW
Tuesday 27-Saturday 31 July 2021, 11am-6pm
The Lots Road Group’s latest exhibition, ‘Beyond the Door’ will take place in Bermondsey Project Space – a gallery in the heart of Bermondsey’s vibrant artistic area from Tuesday 27 to Saturday 31 July.
‘Beyond the Door’ will reflect on the unprecedented times we have been living through.
It will feature portraits by 15 artists in the group generated during the pandemic when our own front doors have defined the way we live. The doors to our homes have been both bulwarks against a dangerous world and a means of escape from confinement. The word ‘beyond’ in the title of the exhibition is deliberately ambiguous, allowing exploration of both interior and exterior worlds through the medium of portraiture. Artists have chosen subjects whose experiences are representative of the unfamiliar limbo through which we have all been passing. These include people who have had Covid, those we have been locked down with, those we have only seen on Zoom or Facetime, fellow out of work creatives – and ourselves – never has there been a more appropriate time for self portraits!
This year the group has invited a guest artist to join them, Melissa Scott-Miller RP, NEAC, RBA. Scott-Miller is an acclaimed artist specialising in portraits and urban landscapes – which often include elements of portraiture. Her work is therefore the embodiment of the dual interior and exterior theme of this exhibition. She has continued her usual practice of painting landscapes en plein air during the pandemic so far as humanly possible and has also worked at home including creating a portrait for this exhibition.
In another innovation this year the group will be showing a selection of other recent work reflecting the diversity of members’ practices and their preoccupations during the past year.
The exhibition catalogue will continue the Lots Road Group’s usual practice of including a narrative with each portrait, giving both artist and sitter a voice – something that makes the group unique. The catalogue will be introduced by one of our portrait subjects, Robin Hanbury-Tenison, world famous explorer, President of Survival International, re-wilder of the Cornish countryside – and COVID-19 survivor. Hanbury-Tenison’s was the embodiment of an outdoor life until he had to spend 7 weeks in hospital with minimal chance of survival. He credits a visit to the hospital garden as the turning point in his recovery and is now raising funds for more such healing gardens, a cause to which the Lots Road Group will be contributing at this exhibition.
Exhibiting artists:
Rebecca Asghar
Alla Broeksmit
Martin Burrough
Matt Collis
Hero Johnson
Christine Klein
Sharon Low
Fiona Mitchell
Maureen Nathan
Hilary Puxley
Colleen Quill
Lucinda Rendall
Sarah Reynolds
Mark Stevenson
Stella Tooth
The Lots Road Group 