News
Latest
Pauline Mercier Award 2024
The assessor for the 2024 Pauline Mercier Award was Curatorial Researcher and Cultural Strategist, Dr Loucia Manopoulou.
Winner
2024
Ceramic construction
Ceramic
Martin Andrews
Assessor: Dr Loucia Manopoulou
Congratulations to Martin Andrews winner of the 2024 Pauline Mercier Award for 2024.
Highly Commended
Works by Jan Bastow, Sadie Brockbank, Lou Jessop and Shirley Smith were highly commended.
Marie Dyson Award 2024
The assessor for the Marie Dyson Award 2024 was Curatorial Researcher and Cultural Strategist, Dr Loucia Manopoulou.
Winner
2024
Oscar’s Separate Hell
Mixed Media
Linda Saul
Assessor: Dr Loucia Manopoulou
Congratulations to Linda Saul winner of the 2024 Marie Dyson Award for Oscar’s Separate Hell.
Highly Commended
Works by Martin Andrews, Cath Baldwin, Tom Cartmill and Sri Nambiar were highly commended.
Small Works 23
Once again we had a small works exhibition at the Turbine House at the Riverside Museum with 54 artists participating. The exhibition was beautifully hung by exhibitions secretary Trish Roberts assisted by Heather McAteer.
Thanks to Martina Hildebrandt for the photographs.
92nd Annual Exhibition – Continuum
After many months of work by the RGA Exhibitions Team, RGA Council, and RGA members, the 92nd Annual Exhibition – Continuum at the Old Fire Station Gallery in Henley opened on 21st July 2023. Over 140 artworks by RGA exhibiting members are on display. A private view held on Friday evening was attended by many RGA members, families, and friends at which the winners of the Marie Dyson and Pauline Mercier Awards were announced by this year’s assessor Dr Hannah Lyons. Congratulations to the winners Jenny Halstead and Shirley Smith. The exhibition is open daily 10 am – 4 pm until 1st August.
As well as the work displayed inside the gallery, there is a virtual gallery outside the Old Fire Station using augmented reality that can be viewed using your phone using the URL henleyfirestation.walls.ar. Thank you to whizwall.com for setting this up.
Pauline Mercier Award 2023
The assessor for the Pauline Mercier Award for 2023 was Dr. Hannah Lyons, Curator of University Art Collections, University of Reading. Hannah, who has recently moved to Reading to take on her post at the University, thoroughly enjoyed spending the afternoon in the gallery looking at over 140 artworks in a huge variety of styles and subjects.
Winner
2023
Scoria Oranje and Scoria Turkoois
Ceramic
Shirley Smith
Assessor: Dr Hannah Lyons
Congratulations to Shirley Smith winner of the 2023 Pauline Mercier Award for her two vases Scoria Orange & Scoria Turkoois.
Hannah said about the winning 3D artworks “Though I love the line-up of Pecking Order it was Smith’s almost volcanic, ceramic vases that really did it for me. Despite their fragility, I felt these ceramics had a strong presence in the exhibition space, and I was immediately drawn towards them. All of Smith’s work is original and exciting – as evidenced by the three pieces in the exhibition – but I wanted to touch these vases, feel the clay beneath my fingers and pop them in my bag and walk out of the door!”
Highly Commended
Hannah also gave a special mention to Roger Smalley, Carole Stephens, and Paul Whitehouse, whose works were highly commended saying “I felt it was an exceptionally strong category and it was really difficult to choose!”
Marie Dyson Award 2023
The assessor for the Marie Dyson Award for 2023 was Dr. Hannah Lyons, Curator of University Art Collections, University of Reading. Hannah, who has recently moved to Reading to take on her post at the University, thoroughly enjoyed spending the afternoon in the gallery looking at over 140 artworks in a huge variety of styles and subjects.
Winner
2023
Savaged Olive Grove: Sicily
Pastel
Jenny Halstead
Assessor: Dr Hannah Lyons
Congratulations to Jenny Halstead winner of the 2023 Marie Dyson Award for her pastel Savaged Olive Grove: Sicily.
Hannah said about the winning work “A perfect marriage of colour and line – I loved this work. I was immediately drawn to the luminosity, the texture, and the subject matter. I felt like I could stand in front of it for hours, close my eyes, and feel the heat of the sun on my face!”
Highly Commended
Hannah also gave a special mention to Ros Ingham and Trish Roberts whose works were highly commended. Of Ros’s Ghost Tree she said “It would be easy to walk past this very small artwork, and sometimes small things do receive less critical attention, but I was captivated by the intimacy of this exquisite etching”. With reference to Trish’s works she said “I have a soft spot for printmaking, and Trish Roberts linocuts are technically sophisticated and beautiful!”
Past
