Ecstatic Gaucho

At first glance you wouldn’t think the place was a den of artistic talent. I suppose that since the Nineties, in the UK at least, we’ve come to associate art with oblong-spectacle pioneering, former-factory inhabiting, media-cosying YBAs who generally seem to live in Hackney. Brockley on the other hand has barely a stuffed shark in sight. Nonetheless, it turns out that the borough of Lewisham can also boast of a bunch of BAs, although whether they are Y or not is another matter.

This weekend was the Brockley Open Studios, when the artists of Brockley open their studios to the public. There are more than 30 artists exhibiting their work in their homes and studios. It’s a great opportunity to see, and possibly buy some art, and to be honest, to nose a bit in the fabulous houses. Many of the artists have been here thirty or so years, and moved in those halcyon days when these large Victorian houses were still affordable for those with artistic inclinations. The banisters alone in these places are a thing to behold.

I went with the girlfriend, and our first stop had to be ‘the jungle house’. That’s what we call it anyway, because behind the railway sleeper fence it has a front garden stuffed with palms, exotic grasses, and tropical looking plants. Inside Biddy Bunzl shows her plant influenced paintings that are both bold and colourful, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a pterodactyl flew out of the foliage in her back garden. We then went on to see some small seaside paintings, extraordinary constructivist tea sets, old master inspired seascapes and Brockley-scapes, animal carvings, cat-mad cartoons and more.

The problem with the display of all this artistic goodness, is that one might carelessly find oneself harbouring ambitions to become an art collector. When I visited some of the studios last year I spotted a print of a dickie bird, but was too skint to buy it. This year I came prepared, dosh in pocket. Now I just have to find a picture framer and a pipe… or whatever it is art collectors carry.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 at 8:33 pm and is filed under Art. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.