Londoners Love Spring Fling – Chelsea Exhibition Extended by a Week
Gallery visitors show their appreciation of work by 22 Dumfries and Galloway visual artists and sculptors
Picture taken by Colin Hattersley
Spring Fling’s first ever London exhibition has been such a success that it has been extended for a further week.
James Harvey, owner of the James Harvey British Art gallery in Chelsea , has been overwhelmed by the positive reaction to the exhibition of work by 22 visual artists and sculptors from across Dumfries and Galloway.
He said: “It’s been quite phenomenal. Our visitors have been very impressed by the quality of the work, so we decided to extend the exhibition for a further week to let more people come and enjoy it.
“We have sold works from across the full range – sculpture, original prints, watercolours and oils. London buyers are tending to stick to artists they know at the moment, so to bring in a whole new range of unfamiliar artists and have such success is particularly great.”
Among those with work on show at the exhibition are Harry Potter book cover illustrator Clare Melinsky and high profile award winner Patricia Cain.
The exhibition, which now runs until Friday 2 May, was also used to promote local produce and also to highlight Dumfries and Galloway as a place to visit, particularly during the main Spring Fling visual art and craft open studios event from 24-26 May.
D&G|OUT: James Harvey British Art was organised by the Dumfries and Galloway Chamber of Arts, supported by Dumfries and Galloway Council and produced by Spring Fling.
Councillor Colin Smyth, the Council’s Events Champion, said: “The exhibition was very well put together and contains many beautiful works that promote the depth in numbers and breadth of creativity of artists living and working in Dumfries and Galloway.
“It was timely and well-targeted, to a well-heeled West London audience, and I’m delighted that it has been extended by a week, to help attract visitors to Spring Fling in May.”
Cathy Agnew, Chair of the Chamber of Arts, said: “This has been a tremendous team effort and has given us an excellent opportunity to get exposure for D&G arts at a national level.”
The preview evening alone attracted more than 200 guests and a series of talks and demonstrations by artists also proved a great success.
Leah Black, Director of Spring Fling, said: “Our aim was to showcase the superb visual art and sculpture from Dumfries and Galloway for an entirely new audience and this has been a huge success. Londoners seem to love Spring Fling’s artists.
“We are very grateful to the Council and the Chamber for making this possible and believe that this has been a very useful way to raise awareness of our region as a place to visit.”
