Encouraged by the prime minister's statement that non-essential shops could reopen on June 15th we were a little bit naughty and decided to stick to our pre-lockdown schedule and open a little bit earlier.
It turns out that there are advantages to being a small gallery and controlling the flow of people in and out of the display space is one of them. So we set about creating a route made of masking tape arrows to guide visitors past the paintings and manned the door. We even put markers in the street behind our billboard to space out those waiting.
Then last Thursday as planned we held a small but joyous private view for our third exhibition of the year, Memories of the sea - by Jon White.
All paintings in Jon's exhibition were created during the lockdown period of March-May 2020. Unable to access his studio at Krowji, Jon embraced the limitation of his garden shed instead, converting it into a temporary studio space.
After struggling with being away from his main studio, John found he lacked the desire to paint in the first few weeks of isolation. However, during one of his daily walks, he found himself surrounded by gorse bushes and the vivid yellow flower reignited his desire to create. Memories of good times with friends and family at local beaches, seeing his children splash in the waves came flooding back and he felt the need to reconnect with a landscape that was out of reach during the lockdown.
His exhibition was the subject of much acclaim during the private view. And over the first weekend of installation, two of his paintings were snapped up by visitors who formed a deep and profound connection to his work.
Jon's exhibition continues until July 5th and can be seen in the Terrace Gallery from Thurs-Sun 12-6 or by appointment at any other time. It can also be seen and purchased online and be viewed by an interactive catalogue.
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