鈥淭he pandemic has taught us what the real value of art is, especially with regard to our mental health,鈥 says Adelaide Damoah, artist and academician of the Royal West of England Academy. 鈥淲e need it to sustain and connect us. We have all missed being able to physically be with great art and each other to discuss it and absorb its magic.鈥 Damoah is speaking within the context of The ING Discerning Eye Exhibition 2021, for which she is a selector.
The prize has established itself as an annual destination for visual culture, giving viewers a sense of where contemporary British art is heading. This year, over 500 artworks will be accessible through a new hybrid format, both at the Mall Galleries, London, and online. The show is renowned for its unique selection process, which combines an open call with a lineup of invited artists. The 2021 selectors 鈥 Russell Tovey, Adelaide Damoah, Anna Brady, Peter Brown NEAC, Roland Cowan and Tony Humphrey 鈥撀爃ave each handpicked a shortlist from the call for entries. In addition, they have chosen emerging and established artists they admire to showcase their work.
Shown at the top of the page is a striking portrait by 脌s矛k貌, a visual artist whose work straddles the line between fantasy and reality. Created as a response to his own experiences of identity, culture and heritage, the image 鈥 titled Constellations of Beauty 鈥撀爀xplores 鈥渢he limits of femininity and masculinity, spirituality and beauty.鈥 Another selected photographer is Rebecca Fontaine-Wolf, who explores the 鈥渃onflicted nature of our societal attitudes towards female sexuality.鈥 Folds of Desire depicts fragmented figures holding broken mirrors up to the camera. As white fabric cascades across the frame, viewers might be reminded of classical painting, or, equally, work by Francesca Woodman, Dora Maar and Ana Mendieta.
This year鈥檚 show celebrates innovation across a range of media, including drawing and painting. Pictured below, Jemma Appleby鈥檚 minimal charcoal compositions capture architectural structures 鈥 punctuated by tree trunks and geometric shafts of light. In sculpture, viewers can discover the work of Paul Bonomini: a British sculptor who casts, forges and constructs pieces in a range of materials, including bronze, iron, concrete, glass, steel and, more recently, 3D printed plastics. Both Fontaine-Wolf and Bonomini have been previously longlisted for the Aesthetica Art Prize.
All the works are for sale online, with options for a range of buyers 鈥 from those just starting out to established collectors. Anna Brady, Art Market Editor at Art Newspaper and 2021 selector, offers top tips: “First, I was amazed by how incredibly affordable many of聽the works entered are鈥攎any just a few hundred pounds鈥攕o don鈥檛 be intimidated.聽Second, absolutely聽go with聽your gut聽and worry not about what others will聽think of your selection,聽nor follow trends.聽Buying art for others is聽always a bad idea and these works will soon irritate you. Third, the聽old聽classic鈥攊f you keep thinking about something, that鈥檚 probably a sign.聽And finally鈥攍earn something about the artist too, I find a work of art聽means so much more if you聽like and/or are intrigued by them as a person. You鈥檙e聽not just buying a bit of paint on聽canvas, you鈥檙e investing in them and watching聽an artist鈥檚 career progress is such聽a joy.鈥
The ING Discerning Eye Exhibition runs at Mall Galleries, London, until 21 November. Online until 31 December. Find out more
Image Credits:
1. Asiko, Constellations of Beauty
2. Jemma Appleby, #1150918
3. Jemma Appleby, #3150918
4. Paul Bonomini, Ristretto
5. Rebecca Fontaine Wolf, Folds of Desire 1
6.Rebecca Fontaine Wolf, Folds of Desire 2
