ARTifex is 20 years old!

COME & JOIN US FOR OUR 

20TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION ON

Saturday 16th November, 10am - 5pm

Artifex Gallery, the Midlands’ leading gallery for contemporary British Arts & Crafts, will be celebrating its 20th anniversary on Saturday 16th November.

Karen Van Hoff

There will be the opportunity to win numerous prizes, including an original painting by Robert Perry titled ‘Last Glimmers of Daylight’, worth £680. Robert is one of the Midlands best known artists, and he will be in the gallery to chat about his work. Jeweller, Karen Van Hoff, will be demonstrating her jewellery techniques and customers can win one of her flamboyant necklaces.

Robert Perry

Meet other artists and makers and watch demonstrations, including pot throwing.

Get inspiration for your Christmas gifts & wish list

On the day, Artifex will be supporting ‘Speight of the Art’, a charity set up by artist and BBC ‘SMart’ presenter Mark Speight’s family, following his tragic death in 2007. ‘Speight of the Art’ organises projects and events throughout the UK to bring the benefits of ‘The Arts’, in their many varied forms, to children of all ages, abilities and backgrounds.

Keep in touch!

All our invites, offers and competitions are now sent via email.

If you would like to be included please email us with your name, postcode and the words “please add to emailing list”.

Mitchell Centre for Art and Craft

Weedford Road, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands. B75 6NA.

Tel: 0121 323 3776 | Fax: 0121 323 2380 | Email: sales@artifex.co.uk

Bernie Wisniewski, Presents ‘Bright and Bold’

An Exhibition of Original Paintings throughout July in our Birmingham Art Gallery!

The work of Bernie Wisniewski will be filling the gallery with bursts of vibrant colour for the month of July. His inspiration comes from the North East and Scotland, and the exhibition will feature his distinctive paintings of landscapes and still life.

‘Being self taught, I let my paintings come from the soul, working rapidly to convey the emotion generated by a subject in an expressionistic style. My studio is bright and always full of music, excitement and activity.’

Consequently Bernie’s work is loose and dramatic, with bold shapes and textural brushstrokes. Strong, bright colour also characterises his work, reminiscent of the Scottish Colourists and Fauve painters.

‘I’m not influenced by fashion or the current trend – these things are transient. I’ve been working for the last 12 months to create some of my brightest, most colourful work, which I hope will provide impact and interest wherever they may hang.’

New Paintings by Al Saralis

The paintings of Al Saralis reflect the classical beauty of the human figure. The dramatic use of light, coupled with the directness of the pose, results in images that are powerful and sometimes confrontational, while also echoing the fragility and vulnerability of contemporary man.

Al is a professional painter and a teacher of Fine Art. He was born and brought up in South Wales and now lives and works in Hampshire and has exhibited extensively over recent years and has been involved in a number of group and one-man exhibitions. Since his early life drawing sessions at Art College, the human figure has always been Al's main source of inspiration. This fascination of the form, structure and movement of the figure continues to be central to Al’s work.

The paintings usually consist of a single figure which is stripped of any narrative reference. Recent works have included a series of paintings where the figure has been fragmented or left incomplete. These were in part inspired by a trip to Florence where Al saw the unfinished ‘Prigioni’ sculptures of Michelangelo.

British Designer Jewellery - The Perfect Christmas Gift!

This Christmas at Artifex, we’re hoping to dazzle you with some of the best pieces from our British Jewellery Designers and inspire your Christmas gifts & wish list!

Make your gifts truly shine this Christmas with our unique jewellery designs, all lovingly hand crafted in Britain 'by the individual, for the individual'.

Silver Animal Pendant Collection by Helen Lea, from £54

Helen Lea is one of the talented jewellery designers here at Artifex. Inspired by animals and nature, Helen’s pieces consist of miniature hand-modelled solid Silver animals, which she makes into charms or pendants or places into a little scene representing their natural habitat in a stylised way. Helen’s latest Silver Animal Pendant Collection, with it’s typically British quirkiness, is the perfect gift idea for the animal lovers amongst your loved ones.

You won't find these beautiful, high quality designs on the High Street so your loved ones are sure to feel extra special when they find these gems sparkling under the tree on Christmas morning!

Football Nostalgia - Sid Kirkham - Watercolour depictions

Artifex Gallery are holding their first exhibition of Sid Kirkham’s football themed paintings, many inspired by Midland teams, throughout October 2012.

Sales of his nostalgic watercolour depictions of industrial landscapes have “gone through the roof” since his works were described as “Lowryesque” by Nick Owen on BBC Midlands Today.  Inspired by his childhood spent in The Potteries, Sid’s paintings are social commentaries on life as it once was in industrial towns and on the working man’s love of football:

 

“I think it’s the nostalgic, story-telling aspect to my work that people enjoy.  Many people find my work very affectionate and warm, a painting becomes almost like a friend”.

Sid took up painting professionally at the age of 60.  Despite never receiving any formal artistic training, his talent was noticed at school when he was offered an art scholarship.  However, he was unable to take it up due to the need to earn a wage. Now, decades later, Sid paints furiously to keep up with demand and intends to keep painting as long as he can.  Often, he’ll wake up in the night with a flash of inspiration, rush downstairs, reach for the pencil and sketch out his ideas.

“It’s what I enjoy doing and if other people enjoy my work then I’m happy.”

We definitely enjoy Sid’s nostalgic depictions and we know you will too so don't forget to pop in and take a look!

Handmade Designer Jewellery - All Things British!

Artifex Gallery loves all things quaint, personal, handmade and British! With Christmas just around the corner, we thought it would be perfectly apt to inspire your gift choices and or/Christmas wish lists with a little intro to a selection of our talented British Designers, and their stunning jewellery pieces.

Susan Kerr

Susan Kerr creates jewellery which is unashamedly decorative, taking its influences from floral imagery and patterns and expressing a personal interest in the styles and motifs of Art Nouveau and Art Deco. Many pieces in the range recapture the femininity of the time, whilst updating it with a contemporary twist to create a new interpretation. (Prices in the Gallery start from £30)

Caroline Lukehurst

Caroline’s inspiration comes from the modern world in which we live. We all find ourselves bound by commitments and restrictions. In our hearts there is a yearning for independence and liberty. Her work is inspired by this conflict. She uses her stylised bird design in gold, silver and oxidised silver as a symbol of freedom in her rings and charms. (Prices in the Gallery range from £60-£115)

Kate Smith

Kate’s designs are striking and subtle, contemporary yet classical, but above all, unique in its design and execution.

Taking inspiration from the natural surroundings of her countryside home, jewellery is created from abstracted drawings and observations, resulting in many diverse collections of jewellery, all linked together by the signature styles of Kate Smith’s design and craftsmanship. (Prices in the Gallery start from £82)

Charlotte Lowe

Using photo etching techniques Charlotte captures abstract imagery and scenic photographs within the surface of the metal. Many of these images are encapsulated with a selection of silver frames using colour and a mixture of matt and highly polished finishes to add contrast and highlight detail within the image. (Prices in the Gallery start from £108)

Andrew Geoghegan

Andrew’s pieces are Perfectly  designed , displaying aspects of gemstones that are usually hidden, combining elements with contemporary or moving or removable parts to name but a few, coupled with the highest quality metals and diamonds ensuring  timeless pieces of unique jewellery that are both desirable modern day classics and treasures to be passed down through the generations.(Prices in the Gallery start from £1045)

Jo Naden 'Doves'
Bronze edition of nine

Inspired by natural landscape and the memory of its collective past, Jo would describe her bronze cast, carved clay sculpture as being:

“distilled from journeys of exploration and gathering.”

These journeys may begin at any point, be it poem, plant or place, with research being central to her practice.

This way of working is well suited to commissions that respond to a sense of place, as Shining Stone, her sculpture situated in the Black Brook at Shenstone, Lichfield, shows, or to an aspect of the natural world such as the Cocoa plant, responded to in the more recent commission Theobroma, for Cadburys.

Larger scaled sculpture is explored through commissions such as Wish, for Crest Nicholson, standing at just under three metres high and situated in Park Central, Birmingham.  Her moderately sized sculptures work well in interior spaces, whilst the smaller objects – designed to be held in the hand – change our involvement from viewer to participant.