Oxinabox
Katherine Macalister // 23 April 2020
Painter Jenny Saville is one of around 130 artists taking part in new charity exhibition Art From The Heart, donating their work to raise money for the NHS.
“I am honoured and excited to be part of a fundraiser to support this charity event with fellow artists working in Oxfordshire,” she says. “We hope to raise much needed funds to support our local hospitals who are doing incredible work for us all. Good luck to everyone involved.”
OVER 130 OXFORDSHIRE PAINTERS, SCULPTORS, CERAMICISTS AND PRINTMAKERS HAVE COME FORWARD TO TRY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE AT THIS TIME OF NATIONAL AND GLOBAL CRISIS
Zuleika Gallery’s Director Lizzie Collins, from Woodstock, and curator of the Said Business School, is launching the online charity exhibition Art from the Heart on April 25, which features work by Oxfordshire artists and aims to raise money for the NHS, and at the same time support artists working in the county. 25% of all sales will be donated to the Oxford Hospitals Charity to support NHS staff working across the John Radcliffe, Churchill, Horton General Hospital, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre and Oxford Children’s Hospital, with 75% of sales going directly to the artist.
Oxfordshire’s Zuleika Gallery, due to open in Woodstock soon, has been overwhelmed by the heartfelt outpouring from the county’s artistic community in response to an appeal for entries to its online charity exhibition for the NHS. Over 130 Oxfordshire painters, sculptors, ceramicists and printmakers have come forward to try to make a difference at this time of national and global crisis, while BBC Arts Editor and Oxford resident Will Gompertz is lending his support.
Around 200 works of art by these artists can be viewed in the online exhibition from Saturday, which Lizzie hopes will be a showcase for the wonderful art being made by our artists in Oxfordshire.
“THERE IS A KIND OF PARADOX AT THE HEART OF IT; TO MAKE ART SEEMS LIKE A TRIVIAL THING TO DO IN THIS TRAGIC MOMENT, AND YET WE ARE MORE RELIANT ON ARTS AND CULTURE THAN EVER BEFORE” ARTHUR LAIDLAW
“We hope the exhibition will be a place where you can admire the beauty of these artists work and enjoy the experience of the exhibition, even you are not able to acquire a piece,” she says. Smaller donations can also be made on the JustGiving page set up especially, if people simply want to view the exhibition and donate. https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/zuleika-gallery
“While we very much hope to raise a lot of money for the hospitals in Oxford through we also want the exhibition to reflect the wonderful community of artists in Oxfordshire and their amazing talents,” Lizzie adds.
Young Oxford artist Arthur Laidlaw agrees: “I tested positive for the virus in March, and it led to being bed-bound for about a month,” he says. “I was comparatively lucky really, and am finally back in the studio. I think the whole situation has had a profound impact on all of our values, our frames of reference, and brought new questions into artists’ practices regarding the meaning and purpose of our work – at least that has certainly been the case for me. There is a kind of paradox at the heart of it; to make art seems like a trivial thing to do in this tragic moment, and yet we are more reliant on arts and culture than ever before, depending heavily on books, music, film, etc to get us through this. Hopefully there will be some great artwork produced in the months and years to come that helps us come to terms with everything that is happening in our present. So it’s really uplifting to see and work towards projects like this in what is quite a difficult moment for everyone, and in my recovery it meant a lot to have things like this to look forward to, and hopefully make a difference with,” he concludes.
Entries will also include work by Kieran Stiles, Harriet Eagle, Dylan and Jane Bowen, Tom Stogdon and Carrie Stanley. The Community of Hope after PJH, 2020, for example, by Carrie Stanley exemplifies the embodiment of hope in the return of focus to nature, in her vivid study of a hellebore. Other artists rejoice in the power of colour and form. Human emotion is shared in Lin Kerr’s poignant Lilies for Alison as she thinks of relatives, some of whom are seriously ill in South Africa. Like many participating artists she reflects on this time of enforced solitude and the challenges of separation and self isolation.
‘At risk’ painter Harriet Eagle, who has a compromised immune system, is grateful to have the opportunity to exhibit with local artists to help raise funds for the NHS during these difficult times and delighted to take part. Eleanor Johnson’s mother has been battling the virus in the John Radcliffe Hospital for a month and immediately volunteered for the new exhibition’s concept.
Oxford Hospitals Charity helps to transform care – funding the best medical equipment, research, training and facilities for patients and staff. Donations helped create the Cancer and Heart Centres in Oxford and the Brodey Cancer Centre at the Horton General, as well as the Oxford Children’s Hospital. Ruth Charity, Arts Coordinator, Oxford Hospitals Charity adds “I wanted to thank Zuleika Gallery – and the exhibiting artists – so much for thinking of staff and patients at this time. I hope you have great success with the exhibition.”
So what was Lizzie’s motive behind the exhibition?
“I wanted to do something positive for Oxfordshire in lockdown and realised that the gallery website is a great asset that could be put to good use for the community. We were due to open our gallery in Woodstock this month, but as we can’t do that, we thought we would do what we can virtually to support artists and the NHS in Oxfordshire.”
The exhibition will be guest curated by Amanda Jewell, Curator of the Sewell Centre Gallery, Radley College, alongside Gallery Director and Curator for the Saïd Business School, Lizzie Collins, and Hannah Payne, Programme and Marketing Director, TM Lighting Gallery, London.
Art from the Heart will launch as an online exhibition on April 25 and can be viewed until May 9. To view and shop the exhibition, please visit https://zuleikagallery.com/nhs2/
Donations can be made at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/zuleika-gallery
The full list of artists featured in the exhibition are:
Sophie Basilevitch, Alison Berman, Alan Berman, Cally Bond, Sarah Bond, Jane Bowen, Dylan Bowen, Marie Boyle, Catriona Brodribb, Antonia Bruce, Nancy Cadogan, Rose-Maria Caldecott, Jodie Campbell-Craig, Elli Carr, Martin Cash, Harriet Coleridge, Jeffrey Courtney, Rod Craig Four Crowns, Robin Danely, Emma Davis, Anna Dillon, Mark Draisey, Claire Drinkwater Joni Hirata Duarte, Janet Dunkley, Harriet Eagle, Anthony Eccles, Tabitha Ellis, Julia Engelhardt, Rosannagh Scarlet Esson, Annabel Eyres, Dianne Frank, Alan Franklin, Tam Frishberg, Piotr Gargas, Maureen Gillespie, Antonia Glynne Jones, Kina Gorska, Rachel Gracey, Robyn Hardyman, Ellen Hausner, Antony Hinchliffe, Marcus Hodge, Jane Hope, Kathleen Hyndman, Eleanor Johnson, Karen Joy, Elaine Kazimierczuk, Jane Kelly, Lin Kerr, Joanna Kidner, Arthur Laidlaw, Briony Lawson, Henrietta Lawson Johnson, Sally Levell, Jing Li, Andy Marlow, Cipriano Martinez, Lucy McMillan Scott, Caroline Meynell, Zelga Miller, Jeremy Morgan, Susan Moxley, Jyoti Parimi, Kashmira Patel, Margaret Peach, Jane Peart, Roger Perkins, Jemma Powell, Lucy Pratt, Morna Rhys, Richard Rodrigues, Jon Rowland, Manja Scott, Francesca Shakespeare, Martin Smith, Alison Soskice, Carrie Stanley, Sophia Stewart-Liberty, Kieran Stiles, Tom Stogdon, MarcThompson, Philip Vainker, Jane Vaux, Johannes Von Summ, Sarah Wenden, Susan Wheeler, Laura Wylder, RONA……
