Premiums 2

Quirky exhibition at the Royal Academy showcasing new work developed in the studios of the RA Schools.

I had been to the previous show in this series, which was called Premiums Interim 1, and found it fun. I’m not sure why they dropped the interim tag for this version. It’s a great chance to see work as artists develop and it will be interesting to see which ones emerge in the selling galleries over the next few years.

This iteration covered five artists Anna Higgins, Clark Keatley, Enej Gala, Mary Stephenson and Nancy Allen. I have to admit I didn’t make notes as I went round as it was a fleeting visit and I can’t remember a lot about the work now. I did take a few photos to remind me though. The information on the Royal Academy website it very sparce on these shows and it would be nice to have a bit more for the forgetful, like me.

I loved this rather fine work by Mary Stephenson which was untitled but spoke to me of an empty ballroom, with before an event or possibly during Covid lockdowns. I loved the striking use of orange, dark blue and white.

I also liked Clark Keatley’s still life which felt fairly conventional for the RA Schools. Anna Higgins had done “hand dyed sublimation print on cotton canvas2 a new technique to me, of an erupting volcano and a storm which felt like a modern take on Constable cloud studies.

Closed 17 March 2022

 

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