Member Article

Painting an export picture for London artists

The Department for International Trade (DIT) today announces its first-time support for 16 contemporary London artists at the Affordable Art Fair in Milan.

The UK will be represented at the show, which runs from 9-12 February, by a ‘London Calling’ stand that will host works from these artists, giving them the chance to gain international attention and sales.

The featured artists range from up-and-coming to well-established but most have gallery representation in the UK and have been featured in solo shows. Drawing on a range of subjects and inspirations, their works include sculptures, oil paintings and physical installations.

London has a strong international reputation as a hub of artistic talent, and creative industries are a vital component of the UK economy with Centre for Economic and Business Research estimating that the arts and culture sector contributes £7.7bn to the UK national purse.

Working in partnership with the Go Figurative agency, this is the first time DIT has offered support for an international art fair. DIT works to promote UK exports of goods and services, and can help artists explore options for exporting their works through its online platform – great.gov.uk.

16-year-old Zoom Rockman, a British artist and cartoonist whose style humours and heroes the everyday grime and energy of London, has also been selected for the fair. The Evening Standard named him as one of the most influential Londoners under 25. He is the youngest artist in The Beano Comic History. He said: ‘It’s so cool that the DIT selected some of my work for AAF Milan. It’s an opportunity to be seen by an international market that I wouldn’t have previously had any access to.’

Gill Smith, an artist based in west London exhibiting at the fair, said: “Artists need to be given recognition just as much as other businesses and DIT have given us a fantastic opportunity for international exposure at this event at the Affordable Art Fair in Milan.”

Parveen Thornhill, London Regional Director, Department for International Trade (DIT), said: “We are delighted to be supporting 16 London-based artists at the Affordable Art fair in Milan through the ‘London Calling’ stand. London is very much a hub for the arts and, like in any industry, artists can require introductions and connections to spread their work further afield. Initiatives like this show how the Government is finding innovative ways to promote London’s world-leading artistic talent abroad.

“UK creative industries rightly have a strong reputation overseas, and businesses looking to tap into the Italian market can learn more about the wealth of exporting opportunities out there by visiting the great.gov.uk site.”

The contemporary artists featured as part of the ‘London Calling’ stand are:

• Clare Halifax: Her most recognisable work is her detail orientated architectural and landscape pieces.

• David Downes: He was commissioned to paint the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant, which now hangs in the Front Hall of the Savoy.

• Dee Stanford: She is the Winner of the Cork Street Open Exhibition Prize 2013, Winner of the Best Sculpture Prize at the ING Discerning Eye Exhibition at the Mall Galleries and Winner of the Best Sculpture Prize at SWA exhibition.

• Gill Smith: She combines traditional printmaking techniques such as intaglio and screenprinting with digital and laser technology to create 2D & 3D works that explore light, texture & movement.

• Keren Luchtenstein: Her work has been exhibited widely and most recently at The Royal Institute of Oil Painters at the Mall Gallery in 2016. Sir Paul Smith has a large collection of Luchtensteins.

• Louise Laurent: Her signature collection Digital DNA explores colour and complex organic structures in a series of digital prints and silk textiles.

• Melissa Scott-Miller: She won the Rodney Byrne scholarship, The Lord Leighton prize and the Elizabeth Greenshield foundation scholarship. Scott-Miller won first prize in the Lynn Painter Stainers prize.

• Michael Alan-Kidd: He has worked successful as a society portrait artist, but latterly, his art has evolved to reflect the human predicament in a surrealistic style.

• Michael Wallner: His latest work celebrates the beauty of the city of London through the shapes and outlines that define its unique character. This collection is created by digitally manipulating his own photographs to produce unusual pieces using aluminium, reclaimed wood, brass resin, neon, and LED installations.

• Neil Dawson: He exhibits successfully through Castle Fine Art throughout the UK. His experience in the City informed his art and he specialised in the urban environment, especially at night. Through his work he strives to capture the energy, life and colour of cities.

• Olha Pryymak: She has been widely exhibited and won several prizes and scholarships, including The Royal Academy Summer Show, the Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize and the National Portrait Gallery BP Portrait Award.

• Robin-Lee Hall: She is President of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and has exhibited in the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery. In 2010 she won the Ondaatje Prize for Portraiture at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters annual exhibition. She has exhibited widely including the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.

• Sarah Lee Roberts: She creates both figurative and abstract responses to portraits and places, stopping at the moment that a presence emerges, regardless of the degree of finish. When she starts a painting, she doesn’t know how it will work, but watches intently to see when it does.

• Serpil Mavi Üstün: A figurative painter, her work has been widely exhibited in Turkey.

• Thomas Marsh: He is a city, landscape and interior artist painting exclusively with oil paint and in the en plein air tradition.

• Zoom Rockman: He has been described as a rising star with “edgy wit and genuine cultural awareness well beyond his years.” The Evening Standard named him as one of the most influential Londoners under 25. He is the youngest artist in The Beano Comic History.

Exporting is GREAT is a government initiative to inspire businesses to take the next step and begin their export journey. Businesses with ambitions to grow are encouraged to visit DIT’s great.gov.uk, a single digital destination for trade and investment opportunities, advice and support, bringing together and connecting UK businesses, international buyers and international investors.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

The Department for International Trade has overall responsibility for promoting UK trade across the world and attracting foreign investment to our shores.

great.gov.uk is the new single digital destination for trade and investment, bringing together and connecting UK businesses, international buyers and international investors. Whether businesses are new, occasional or frequent exporters, they will be able to take advantage of the new suite of tools and exclusive deals on fees or commissions with some of world’s leading online marketplaces.

By registering with the find a buyer service, businesses will become part of a brand new searchable directory of UK exporters which government will use to match their products and services with worldwide demand. A new tool on great.gov.uk will help businesses access the best e-commerce opportunities via preferential deals with the world’s largest online marketplaces. DIT is a specialised body with significant new trade negotiating capacity, taking on the responsibilities of UK Trade & Investment, along with the relevant trade functions of the former Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. We have oversight of the Defence and Security Organisation and UK Export Finance is an integral part of DIT’s operations and strategy. DIT works to promote UK exports of goods and services, to support a growing economy that creates wealth for all, supports jobs and meets our wider national interests; deliver the best international trading framework for the UK outside the EU, including through building our capacity to negotiate and administer a national trade policy; and maximise opportunities for wealth creation through supporting inward Foreign Direct Investment, with a renewed focus on ODI Outward Direct Investment.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by UKTI London .