Virtually stunning

Alchemy of Sorrow – Jane Clatworthy Passionate about art and determined to promote the gallery despite the challenges of Covid, Graham Hunter has had great success with online exhibitions – raising his gallery’s profile and winning support from artists and customers along the way.

Summer Edge - Henrietta Stuart

Graham and Sharon Hunter in front of a piece by Boy George which featured in last year’s exhibition for charity Art In A Box. See Issue 35 of 4walls for more information. Graham traditionally ran a full programme of exhibitions showing original paintings and drawings by new and established artists, alongside limited prints, artists’ posters and lithographs. Over the years, printed works have enabled the gallery to feature artists’ such as Henri Matisse, Fernand Leger, Francis Bacon, Jim Dine, Picasso, Marc Chagall and many others.

In order to attract a new online audience, however, Graham wanted to focus on emerging artists who would create interest and debate and the gallery’s website currently showcases a stunning array of talent across a wide spectrum of genres.

Graham’s blueprint for online exhibitions is something that he will continue to use through 2021, even as restrictions relax, as events in the virtual world can be attended by so many more people! Graham holds previews on Zoom for his virtual exhibitions with the artists taking part in a question and answer session. These forums, not surprisingly, can be quite lively!

Contemporary artists featured virtually to date include Jane Clatworthy. She believes the male nude is underrepresented in recent art history and says:

She has therefore positioned herself right at the forefront of artists confronting patriarchal stereotypes.

Henrietta Stuart was a great success with her Extravagant Light – Location and Imagination show, featuring gorgeous landscapes. This was both in terms of sales as well as interest levels and engagement.

Drawn to Carbon was another exhibition that attracted considerable interest. Curated by Elina Cerla and Graham Hunter, it focused on drawing as a fundamental act and the selection is purposefully monochrome.

Resurfacing was an exhibition of paintings by three well established female artists. All work was executed during the first Covid-19 lockdown, and each represents a personal response by the artist when forced to reassess or embrace their established practice.

Graham believes that the key to successful online exhibitions is to feature impactful art, and create a very simple yet stylish online experience that allows the art to shine with simple flags for the title, the medium, the size and the price – with plenty of links for those wanting more detail.

“I aim to disrupt ‘the gaze’ that falls so strongly on the female form, and I’m pushing back against the idea that ‘beauty’ of the human form is found predominantly in the feminine”.

“People are unlikely to buy online unless they know what they are buying,” he says, “but having a serious digital presence has given us a massive boost in terms of profile and engagement. I am also using Facebook and Instagram in particular to spread the word.”

https://www.grahamhuntergallery.co.uk/ Instagram: grahamhuntergallery