Bianco Nero Gallery

New exhibition - Emerson Mayes

2012-02-16T07:23:00.000-08:00

The new exhibition of work by Harrogate based artist Emerson Mayes is now in the gallery and it looks wonderful. I first came across Emerson's work about 10 years ago when I bought my cousin one of his wonderful landscapes (from another gallery!) for her wedding present. The minute I gave it away I regretted it! So finally I have managed to get a whole exhibition of his work here. The only problem I have now is that I will have to let other people buy them ...

The paintings and prints on show are from Emerson's wildlife work which is a relatively new departure for him. A couple of years ago he suddenly realised that he could paint the landscapes he was then concentrating on in his sleep and decided to set himself a challenge. He took a year off from painting and took up printmaking, a discipline he had enjoyed as a student. As he wanted a complete break from his landscape work he decided to work on a subject which, as an amateur twitcher, was a personal passion of his and started to depict the flora and fauna around him.

The results are a series of wonderfully detailed, yet still fresh and lively studies of birds and mammals. He frequently works in the medium of drypoint which has allowed him to keep up with the ever-increasing demand for his work. There are also a number of paintings and drawings, adding subtle touches of texture and his intuitive use of colour to create a really great show.

The preview is tomorrow evening - Friday 17th February - and the exhibition runs on until 24th March.

Spring is here (well almost!)

2012-01-10T03:21:00.000-08:00

The first exhibition of 2012 is now underway at Bianco Nero. In celebration of the fact that Spring is now just round the corner we are currently showing a selection of Carol Nunan's beautiful monotypes and collagraphs of Spring flowers. It's really nice to see some snowdrops and erythrium to brighten the days in January.

Carol is showing a range of her new lights and coasters, with the same designs as on her monotypes.

Alongside Carol's work, we are showing some of Richard Spare's hand-coloured drypoints of flowers which add a wonderful vibrancy and exuberance to the gallery. http://www.richardspare-kayspare.com/

The 2012 exhibition schedule is also now on the gallery web site so you can have a look at all the exciting things that are coming up during the year ahead.

Spoilt for choice ...

2011-11-17T08:52:00.000-08:00

The Christmas exhibition is now starting to come together and everything should be looking great in time for tomorrow night's preview.

The show features paintings by fifteen different artists, some regular exhibitors at Bianco Nero and some brand new ones. Among the regulars are some works by Emma Holliday (http://www.emmaholliday.co.uk/), full of life and vigour and all completed "on the spot". Included in the show is one that Emma describes as her coldest painting ever, entitled "Sandsend, High Tide" and completed on Sandsend beach with a nor'easterly blowing straight from Siberia. Emma certainly suffers for her art! I came across her sitting on a bench in Stokesley Market Place one cold but bright day last winter while she was working on one of the paintings in the exhibition - "College Square, Stokesley". It really captures the individuality of the lovely Georgian town houses but also the energy of a bustling market town.

Other works in the show include some wonderfully evocative landscapes by Robert Newton (http://www.robnewton.co.uk/), some jewel-like still lives by local artist Susan Dugdale and some fun and vibrant paintings by Jane Kitching from Crathorne. Among new artists to Bianco Nero are Lancashire-based artist Patricia Haskey Knowles (http://www.phk-art.co.uk/) and Emerson Mayes (http://www.emersonmayes.co.uk/), both of whom will be having exhibitions in the gallery during 2012. Emerson has sent along some of his beautiful hand-coloured drypoints of birds including "A very fortuitous fielfare" pictured below.

There really is a very diverse range of visual treats in the gallery at the moment!

New Jewellery for Christmas

2011-11-15T02:11:00.000-08:00

It's feeling like Christmas already in the gallery!

The deliveries for the Christmas show continue to come in thick and fast and I get the pleasure of opening up the parcels to see the treasures inside. On Friday Sara Lusvardi delivered her latest jewellery selection and she has made some really beautiful pieces. Sara, from just up the road in Great Broughton, originally trained in textiles but was inspired by some coral beads she saw while on holiday with her husband in his native Sardinia, and couldn't resist buying some. She started making jewellery on her return and she has passed on her obsession to her young daughters who have their own jars of beads to make things with. In years to come I could be showing work by a whole family of Lusvardi jewellery makers!

Other jewellery in the Christmas show includes stunning pieces by Kate Wood (http://www.glintjewellery.co.uk/) and also a great selection of new work by Thalia Tomlinson from Stokesley. Thalia's work is always popular and this time we have some of her latest hand-felted pieces.

With prices starting at under £10 there are lots of great ideas for Christmas presents (or even just a treat for yourself if the man in your life doesn't take the hint!).

Christmas preparations

2011-11-08T02:34:00.000-08:00

The current exhibition of paintings by Winfred Hodge is on show for one more week and is definitely worth a look if you haven't already seen it. In the meantime new work for the Christmas exhibition is arriving daily. Today the new ceramics by Helen Beard will arrive (http://www.helenbeard.com/) and some beautiful baskets from the Norfolk Basket Company (http://www.norfolkbaskets.co.uk/). The baskets have a slightly checkered history as the original baskets intended for the Christmas exhibition were stolen from the van they were being transported back from an exhibition in Belgium in and had to be remade. Hopefully no misfortunes will befall them on their journey to North Yorkshire today! More work by glass artist Charlotte Sale (http://www.charlottesaleglass.com/) and ceramics by Rowena Brown (http://rowboatlondon.co.uk/index.php?id=8&image=23) are also due this week and will all be included in the Christmas exhibition which starts on 18th November. More information on exciting new jewellery and paintings to follow soon ...