50 works of art, by artists aged 50 and over, and selected by
open submission, feature in an exhibition at the University of Brighton
Gallery, Grand Parade, part of the Celebrating Age Festival.
I finally got to see the 50 over 50 exhibition and was very
impressed by the standard (why am I surprised?) and enjoyed almost all
of the exhibits. I didn't dislike any of them. Chris Stevens' oil
'Versace', depicting a young black man against a wall decorated by NF
grafitti, is a worthy winner of the 5 grand prize and I loved another
big canvas 'Turkish market' by Judith Jarvis.
 Most of all, I was drawn
to the pencil works: David Crew's 'Hidden Past', of a graveyard
(worryingly, quite a few of the exhibits dwelt on illness and death - a
dead father, Adrian Henri in hospital) and the thin reversed out
abstract graphite lines by Geoff Catlow, who must get out a bit more!
Liz Skulina's graphic prints on draughtsman's paper (pictured) are wonderfully
subtle, but two layers would have sufficed (lose the aerial).
There are
also a few pieces of sculpture: notably Michael Allen's giant fabric
flea, and Joan Ainley's multiple of a camouflaged British Legion poppy
'Search: recall reflect remember' stood out. The only local I
recognised was photographer Roger Bamber - and there was lots of
outstanding photography besides his photo of a drawing installation at Fabrica.
So why wasn't judge Cyril Mount
represented? And why only 50? Maybe next year, it'll be 60 over 60! The
exhibition continues until the end of August. Don't miss it!
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50 over 50
