Next meeting:
Tuesday 7 October at 7.30pm
Douglas Farthing – Artist talk
All welcome and our meetings are free to attend, please arrive in good time to find your seat!
At the Chapel, Park Lane, Norwich NR2 3EF
We are very pleased that Douglas is coming to discuss art and life, including a recent residency on a remote Scottish island.
Earlier this year Douglas’s exhibition, Neutrality was shown at Mandell’s, powerful work – showing precision in visual reportage, as well as painterly gesture and such depth to his subjects. With the following summary: For three years Douglas Farthing has been travelling through Ukraine, Gaza and South Sudan helping people in the most dangerous of circumstances. This exhibition was his response to living in these areas of conflict. ‘Probably the best art incorporates and digests misery and evil… Goya and Picasso’ – Paul Fenner, from a conversation with Douglas Farthing.
Here’s a link to a review and images from a recent drawing exhibition, where a sketchbook was shown among other works: Royal Drawing School 25th Anniversary Exhibition (review) — London Art Roundup
An exhibition to celebrate 80 years of Norwich 20 Group
Opening on Saturday, 6 September 12pm -3pm
Exhibition continues until Saturday 4 October
Tuesday 3 June – Next meeting
Our group is celebrating the 80th anniversary, first exhibiting together in 1945. With the first meeting as a discussion in November 1944, the subject – ‘Cotman, a contemporary artist?’.
For our June meeting we will have a discussion evening: of contemporary artworks of choice. Please share your biggest surprise, something you expected to hate but turned out to be great, or which you expected to love but was a great disappointment.
Annual exhibition
Norwich 20 Group 80 Years
The Undercroft Gallery
9 – 25 May 2025
Open daily 11am – 5pm
Poster artwork image:
Rachel Furze – Welcome to the Jungle
Norwich 20 Group
Newsletter April 2025
With many thanks to Rae Jones who gave an insightful look into the history of OUTPOST, and exciting exhibition plans for this year and onwards, with her talk, Programming Principles at our meeting earlier this month, on Tuesday 1 April. Good to hear of the open days on every first Saturday of the month from 3-6pm, with drawing events taking place – materials and refreshments provided, all welcome!
Rae described very complex set up logistics needed for the current show, FU3L 2BURN which is open from Thursday-Sunday from 12-6pm. There’s also a closing event on Saturday 19 April from 3-7pm.
https://www.norwichoutpost.org/
A year ago we heard from the Cromer Artspace team, and their immersive opening show of 2025 really does give you a chance to feel the Pulse of the Earth – another one which needs to be experienced! Open daily until 21 April:
https://cromer-artspace.uk/2025-exhibition-programme
From the coast back to our fine city, where it was a real thrill to experience The Creative Life of Colin Self at the Castle. The exhibition shows just how diverse and brilliant his output has been – from his 1960s dissemination of popular culture, perhaps the most well-known work, to the most elegiac responses to both the Norfolk landscape and places seen on his travels, with some watercolours from Scotland that describe the landscape seen and lived in there so eloquently and completely. His use of both traditional and not media has
to be seen – anything you ever thought of experimenting with, he has done it, and so well too, those lumps of charcoal, as well as the now achieving cult status corrugated cardboard ploughed fields… A real curatorial delight too, following straight on from the Turner and Changing Visions exhibition, we are being treated to some visual feasts, that show some positives, in our uncertain world, how being human and reflecting on our lives can be both an individual and universal experience. The exhibition has a lovely long run, until 21 September,
and is much recommended!
A recent dart across the city centre highlighted just how much art is available for our viewing, more transiently, with some shows just open for a couple of days, or weeks, and which can also sometimes reflect decades of creating. The Crypt Gallery has a show of paintings and drawings by Micheal Eatherley, for just three more days – with some chess players whose concentration is beautifully captured in charcoal. The exhibition is open 11-5 until Saturday 12 April. With work created again over many years, the colour palette often reflecting his time in
far flung places, and time something becoming a theme here, with Maurice’s ninety-year celebration coming up next month in Wymondham, more below. Do take a walk around the city, we punch well above our collective weight creatively, with art spaces now in former churches and pubs, as well as shoe factories, cavernous storage spaces and shops, long may this continue.
A reminder that our next meeting is for members and prospective members only, with details of those proposed for membership to be sent by email by Friday 25 April.
We will be back with something a little different in June, more details to come, and the first of our exhibitions coming up before then!
In our anniversary year, we are gearing up for a series of shows to celebrate 80 years of exhibiting as a group.
With over 200 artwork images collected already the committee is planning a publication to accompany the shows – busy times, the folder is bursting with art, we are looking forward to the months ahead.
Here are some dates for diaries:
Undercroft Gallery – Annual Exhibition Friday 9 – Sunday 25 May – Opening evening Friday 9 May from 6pm
St Margaret’s Gallery – 80th Anniversary Exhibition Tuesday 15 – Saturday 26 July – Opening evening Tuesday 15 July from 6pm
Later in the year, in September there will be two further exhibitions, at venues a short walk from each other – at Mandell’s Gallery and the Crypt Gallery.
Exhibitions
St Margaret’s Gallery: Frances Martin – Red Mysticism
Many thanks to everyone who has seen the exhibition, and there are three more days to visit still, open daily from 10am to 4pm, the last day is Saturday 12 April.
Really good to have some media coverage, with a Look East report on BBC 1 Breakfast this week, and in the EDP/Evening News:
New gallery at St Margaret de Westwick Church in Norwich | Eastern Daily Press
A view of the exhibition, with a drawing of my son made there last week and glimpses of some of the artworks leading up to the stained-glass east window:
https://www.stmargaretsgallery.co.uk/ Please follow on Instagram – @stmargaretsgallery
Mandell’s Gallery In A Certain Light
An exhibition of works by three artists, including photographs from Steve Baker, plus Mike Dodd and Keron Beattie, continues until Saturday 19 April: https://www.mandellsgallery.co.uk/in-certain-light/
Natasha Day has some ceramic pieces in the Undercroft Gallery with Anglian Potters until Sunday 13 April.
Tracey Ross is part of a group show at Salthouse that has a private view tomorrow evening, Friday 11 April from 5-7.30pm – all welcome, and is then open from 12 – 21 April:
Simon Marshall is The Bean Upstairs at Moosey from 30 April to 4 May, with an evening viewing on Thursday 1 May from 6.30-8.30pm https://mooseyart.co.uk/pages/norwich
Maurice Read has a retrospective exhibition, Four Score and Ten coming up next month at Wymondham Arts at Becket’s Chapel.
Maurice is a group member who has attended meetings for over 50 years, and the exhibition will reflect his long career in art – what an achievement, so much looking forward to seeing this!
There is an opening night for friends on Wednesday 7 May evening.
Warm and sunny wishes
Frances
Chair
Norwich 20 Group
www.norwich20group.co.uk
www.instagram.com/norwich20group/
Very many thanks to Rae Jones, for her informative talk about OUTPOST Programming Principles
Thanks to many who attended our meeting, with a seated format and start at 7.30pm
The Chapel, 64 Park Lane, Norwich NR2 3EF
Tuesday 4 February 2025 – Jayne Ivimey talk
With huge thanks to Jayne Ivimey who joined us to talk about her art.
Jayne spoke about the collaboration she had last year with climate scientist Andrew Watkinson,
looking at the erosion of the Norfolk coast through the lens of her 3 x great grandfather James Stark, a Norwich School artist.
The wonderful show featuring one of Jayne’s paintings at the Castle has ended, but she has a work in the exhibition at SCVA, which opens from 15 March:
