#mall galleries

Operation I –

Operation I I made this image during the first lockdown. It was part of a series I called ‘Hospital’, inspired by news reports and documentaries shown through the early stages of the pandemic, when the crisis was acute. I was struck by the depth of concentration that was still visible through the smallest glimpse of their faces and the lighting reminiscent of paintings from centuries before. It…

2000AD artist Simon Davis features in This year’s Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition

Image: Mall Galleries

If you’re in London this week then you might want to try and catch the last days of Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition 2020, running at the Mall Galleries until 26th September and also online, which includes portraits by 2000AD artist Simon Davis.

Simon’s work has been included in the Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibitions for a number…

Model, Muse, Maker: Picasso’s Sylvette

WIA met Lydia Corbett on the eve of her London retrospective to talk creativity, inspiration and fighting off Picasso’s advances.

Lydia Corbett, formerly Sylvette David, is Picasso’s Girl With The Ponytail.She appears in over over 60 of Picasso’s works including the famous Chicago sculpture. After seeing Sylvette’s iconic high ponytail in the south of France in the summer of 1953, a young…

Born in China in 1967, Dahan remembers how his appetite for painting was so strong as a child when he collected minerals from the nearby Wuyi Mountains to draw and paint on the walls and floors of his home.

But it wasn’t until after he studied and taught as an artist that Dahan felt shaken by the spirit of Buddha, becoming ‘enlightened’ through a visit to an eminent monk Master Yuan Yin. He became a monk in 2002 and his art transformed.  

The 23 paintings in the exhibition at the Mall Galleries demonstrate the artist’s transition from the preoccupations of a ‘layman of earthly ties’ – which included ‘anxieties, powerlessness and confusion of urban dwellers’ to the Zen paintings of a pastoral hermit.

His Zen painting style of natural environments integrates Chinese and Western landscape aesthetics, but the colours and hues he chooses aim to express emptiness. He draws with Zen, to explain the mountains, rivers, earth, universe and stars, with the hope that it fills viewers’ hearts with Dharma joy.

His most recent work aims to depict the awe he has for Buddhism and guide viewers through their own spiritual search.

Dahan said: “I wanted to come to the UK to learn and communicate and to see how the British public will react to my work. The UK was one of the first countries to complete the industrial revolution, it is highly-developed, has a world-class education system and a reputation for excellent manners. Britain also has a host of extremely talented artists, such as the Pre-Raphaelites, Gainsborough, Constable, Turner, Henry Moore, Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud and David Hockney. My experience here may also bring inspiration and revelation to my future artistic creations.”

In celebration of National Parks Week, Tagsmart partner Mall Galleries has come together with The Royal Parks, the Office of Public Works and The Hearsum Collection to display the most outstanding British landscapes through art. 

For the first time ever, London will be hosting an exhibition exploring Britain’s rich heritage history, with rarely seen artefacts including oil paintings, photographs, and historical documents spanning three centuries. A fascinating insight is offered into the parks’ connections with prominent historical figures including the Royal Family and Prime Ministers.

In addition to the show, The Royal Parks – in partnership with the education team at Mall Galleries – will host a number of community art activities from 28 July to 11 August (find out more here).