Review of Start Your Collection!

Start your collection 2008 is an annual exhibition at Contemporary Art Projects Gallery whose aim is to show collectible artworks of budding artists to a wide audience composed by collectors and amateurs of contemporary art.

It is a real commitment taken by the gallery in order to encourage people to invest small amounts of money in contemporary art by creating or extending their own private collection. With this purpose all artworks have a maximum price of £200 and represent a good deal for those who intend to collect pieces of contemporary art and enjoy them daily at home.

At the first sight, the artworks exposed include drawings, watercolours, small paintings, installations, prints and photographs seem a crowded collection located on two floors but actually the installation follows a specific order whose purpose is to impress and capture the attention of the public. For example, I saw drawings close to paintings even if their colours didn’t match together and when the feelings they evoked were completely opposite. In other cases, photographs were hung next to watercolours because they were different in technique. This kind of installation allows a quick viewing of the entire exhibition with a great viewing pleasure.

As far as I am concerned I like paintings most and I have a strong preference for artists with skilled drawing ability. Firstly, I had a good impression of Hogan Brown’s paintings. They are quite small-sized canvas and the marked use of the black colour calls to my mind the feeling of fear and chilliness around the mysterious figures painted there. He effectively represents an atmosphere coming from a thriller movie where the time and the space appear surreal and kept aloft.

I would like also to consider Alexander Heaton’s paintings which are really mindful to details. His way to describe forests and figures dressed with the traditional costumes of alpine countries expresses a very good knowledge of the topic handled. It is as if he himself was present in the scene in order to catch every single light beam and shadow which strike the objects in question. He seems to be in charge of illustrating a book about folk tales whose features are steeped in a rarefied and melancholy atmosphere.

I can’t conclude this review without talking about the innovative and avant-garde technique used by Jane Ward. She puts the images together on the canvas as small pieces of various colours that actually look like detailed fragments of a world made of houses and landscapes captured by a satellite. Her collaged, digital images of idealised environments combined with elements taken from the nature, invite you to stand really close to observe carefully what is represented. Even though she doesn’t utilise paint on canvas in a conventional way, her style impressed me greatly.

While I’ve described the work of three artists I like, with over 100 artists participating, there is sure to be something interesting for everyone. For this reason, I recommend this exhibition as a good place to view and buy contemporary art. A score of artworks were sold in the first two days, giving evidence of the success of this concept. Hopefully, the exhibition will continue to be staged in coming years as the idea of showing affordable artworks with the aim to invite people to enjoy contemporary art is priceless.