Uno22: Ten

A Seasonal Selection of Art, Craft and Design for Allhallows

Thursday 29th September – Tuesday 25th October. Gallery Uno, 14A High Street, Seaford BN25 1PG. Opening Times: Mon – Sat 10am – 4pm, Sunday midday – 3pm.

Artwave done and dusted for another year, and having passed the autumn equinox at Gallery Uno we now head towards Allhallows with our latest exhibition UNO22 TEN – our twelfth, which marks the end of their first eventful year at our High Street venue. Although UNO22 TEN will most certainly not give you a fright, you may need to be prepared for some surprises and you will definitely need to be ready to be bewitched and enchanted by the depth and range of art, craft and design to suit many tastes and pocket sizes.

Amongst the number returning favourites to the gallery like Mark Preston and Alejandro Martinez, this exhibition features a number of newly joined members – amongst them is our featured exhibitor of the month, Guy Funnell.

Guy Funnell – Painter

Guy was Sussex born and bred in 1961 into an artistic family, spending his early years in Haywards Heath with close family members living in Seaford and Newhaven. His father was an accomplished landscape water-colourist; his mother continues to this day to tackle various creative exploits, recently working in embroidery, and his uncle, aunt and nephews are all involved in the arts.

Not surprisingly, from an early age Guy and his brother Christian both developed a passion for art, getting up at six in the morning to draw and paint. Like Christian, who studied a BA in Fine Art at Leeds, Guy went on to formally study Fine Art at Worthing and then Winchester Schools of Art, graduating in 1982. Originally his paintings bordered on photo- realistic, inspired by Richard Estes, Chuck Close and Malcolm Morley, especially his large paintings of ocean liners. However, whilst at Winchester he developed a love of landscape painting, where he began to paint in and around the lush water meadows, travelling to painting spots at first by bicycle, then motorcycle, then in his faithful Robin Reliant. His painting at this time became much freer, using a thick impasto style now influenced by the likes of van Gogh and Monet, as well as the Pre-Raphaelites.

Guy begins by working in the landscape, painting directly onto canvasses without sketching or drawing. Occasionally, he will revisit a canvas, having thought for a while about what would improve the colours and composition and using photographs as a reference. Putting the painting away for a while frequently helps him to re-appraise and look at it freshly.

He has always loved Cuckmere and the surrounding countryside, ever since he and his family holidayed in their yellow caravan at Cuckmere Haven, before it became a National Park. In the winter the farmer, Mr Pattenden, would pull the caravan with his tractor up the hill and store it in a barn.

For a year, Guy made a living by painting portraits while travelling around Europe, starting in Israel and arriving in southern Spain. He has painted various commissions, including a large painting for Harland’s School, Hayward Heath, and has exhibited extensively.

To support his artwork, Guy works part-time as a Support Time and Recovery worker, helping people with mental health issues such as Bipolar Disorder and schizophrenia, in Brighton and Hove.