Own Art News
The Drawing Gallery
15 Apr 2011
The Drawing Gallery in Walford joined the Own Art scheme in 2010.
Opened in 2004, it was the first private gallery in the UK to focus entirely upon exhibiting and selling contemporary drawing. Given her expertise on the subject, Own Art asked Yvonne a few questions about collecting the medium and why she is so passionate about it!
What do you love so much about contemporary drawing?
This is a really difficult question, but it's true - I really do have a passion for contemporary drawing. I run a gallery which focuses on it and my walls at home are covered in it! So why drawing? It’s hard to pin down why I’m so attracted to this medium, but the words below start to describe what it's about for me:
COMPLEX and not defined by media or surface. Close to the start of making and thinking. Accessing the artists intentions/ideas. Propositions. Incomplete. Complete. Thinking Aloud. Analyses. Dialogue. Notation. Experimental. Planning and Plotting. Communicating. Trial and Error. Charting. Changes. Skilful. Dialogue. Fluent. Hesitant. Personal. Narrative. Control. Experiment.
And often they're often easier to move and cheaper to buy!
(not an exhaustive list by any means )
What is the most exciting piece of work you have personally invested in and why?
Everything I buy has an element of excitement about it - the buzz of actually owning a piece of work that you love and get to see every day is a real high. I have over a 100 pieces (mainly drawings) on the walls at home and it’s a joy to move from one area of the house to another, seeing the variety of works in each space.
The first piece I bought from one of the solo exhibitions at my gallery was a large drawing/collage by Alison Wilding from her Avian Series in 2005 - a cool, elegant, sensitive piece with flashes of wit – really special. It was probably also a pretty good investment - but that's not why I bought it.
Something I bought very recently, by a hero of mine, is ‘Memorial to a Pilot No.III’ by Michael Sandle. Someone got in touch with me from Belgium via the gallery web site and offered me this beautiful, dramatic, large drawing done in 1982 – I couldn't resist it.
A very large drawing that hangs in my bedroom by Nina Ogden is also very special to me – it’s quirky, challenging and fresh and I love opening the door to the bedroom to be faced with it everyday.
I could go on as I've left out some real star pieces - but then I suspect that's what it's like for a lot of people who buy art because they love it - everything we buy is special.
Do you have any tips for starting a collection of contemporary drawing or for those already collecting the medium?
Buy only what you really like and get it well mounted & framed. This ensures that works on one wall will hang well together in terms of how they relate to each other. Keep an inventory of what you have otherwise the details are easily forgotten and keep the invoice and a CV of the artist for your records.
A good place to look for new works is at the student final shows which take place each summer. The Jerwood Drawing Prize is also an excellent resource. It’s an exhibition which starts off in London in September and then tours the UK with about 70 drawings from around 60 contemporary artists selected from a competitive entry of over 2500 works each year.
Your local gallery is also likely to have some interesting drawings tucked away which only come out when asked for. Keep an eye on local auction houses too, not the big, big houses, but smaller local sales which often include some contemporary art on their lists - there are often special finds to be had at very attractive prices.
Is contemporary drawing a good investment?
A good investment in my terms is; does it give you pleasure? Are you glad to see it every time it comes into view? Is it complex enough to hold your attention and does your reading of it change as time goes by? If the answer is yes to each of these questions then that's a real investment as far as I'm concerned!
The Drawing Gallery
The Old Chapel
Walford
Nr. Leintwardine (Nr. Leintwardine (8 miles west of Ludlow)
Shropshire SY7 0JT
T: 01547 540454
E: ycrossley@thedrawinggallery.com
