New Art Annuale

2015
Group Exhibition

20 March to 15 April 2015

New Art WM initiative showcases contemporary art and artists from the West Midlands

Vanley Burke, Graham Chorlton, Chris Clinton, Corey Hayman, Yvonne Hindle, Lucy Hutchinson, Paul Newman, Bruno Grilo, Elizabeth Rowe, Barbara Walker, Matt Westbrook, Corey Whyte, Barbara Witkowska, Rafal Zar

Selected and curated by Rachel Bradley, Head of Art Market at New Art WM and Mona Casey Director of Article Gallery

New Art WM initiative showcases contemporary art and artists from the West Midlands
Annuale exhibition includes new paintings, sculpture and photography from 14 artists
Artists include Vanley Burke, Elizabeth Rowe and Rafal Zar

A new exhibition will showcase the West Midlands’ leading artists and make it easy for visitors to buy and perhaps become regular collectors of contemporary art.

The first New Art WM: Annuale exhibition will take place from 20 March to 15 April 2015 at Article gallery on Margaret Street, Birmingham. It includes paintings, sculpture, drawing, photography, video and digital artworks by 14 artists who live and work in the West Midlands. All the work on show will be on sale, with price-tags ranging from £100 to £3500.

The Annuale is curated by Rachel Bradley, Head of Art Market at New Art WM. She explained the idea behind the exhibition: “The Annuale will allow anyone who is interested in contemporary art to see exciting new work that is being created here in the West Midlands. As all the work is on sale, it’s a great chance for anyone interested in buying art to connect with artists and build a collection of their own.”

Co-Curator Mona Casey, Director of Article Gallery, added: “We visited artists’ studios across the West Midlands before settling on the 14 artists who will exhibit in the Annuale. The mix of artworks on show reflect distinctive trends in contemporary art right now – we are seeing new ways of portraying landscape, both real and imagined, urban and rural, but also we will show art that looks at global issues such as identity, religion and gender.”

The exhibiting artists include photographer Vanley Burke, who presents new prints from a classic series showing life in urban Birmingham. Elizabeth Rowe – currently artist in residence at The New Art Gallery Walsall – will present collages intricately rendered from newspaper, and the winner of New Art West Midlands 2014 Rafal Zar will show new paintings and sculpture. Other artists showing their work include Graham Chorlton, Lucy Hutchinson, Corey Hayman and Matt Westbrook.

The Annuale is part of the New Art WM initiative. Supported by Arts Council England and Birmingham City University, New Art WM promotes the contemporary art and artists of the West Midlands, signposting ways of commissioning artists and facilitating the buying and collecting of contemporary art.

New Art Annuale 2015 (Painting Rafal Zar)

Bruno Grilo, Amphitheater, projection

Graham Chorlton, Platform, 2014, oil on canvas

Installation view

Yvonne Hindle

Paul Newman