A double bill of contemporary portraiture at The Harley Gallery

The Harley Gallery at Welbeck is delighted to announce a double bill of portraiture exhibitions by award-winning regional artists, showing 21 August to 3 November 2013.
Work by award-winning artists George Hardy and Yelena Popova, described as ‘one of the best young painters working in Britain right now’ by Time Out, will be on show.

These exhibitions will explore expectations of portraiture. Despite their common theme at first glance, the two bodies of work are totally disparate. In Face to Face, Hardy’s large scale, densely worked portraits boldly gaze out at the viewer, defiant and confident. As described in Country Life, ‘The scale and precision of the result is slightly intimidating, but the skill involved is quite extraordinary.’

On closer inspection, these hyper realistic images are revealed as tightly packed scribbles; marks made unceremoniously in Biro on paper.

‘Biro pens are cheap, everywhere and often seen as a throw away object. I love the magical simplicity of a large, detailed and almost photo realistic artwork being made using a Biro on paper.’

In contrast, Popova’s exhibition, The Portrait Gallery, fills the gallery walls with an installation of paintings. Translucent washes of paint on linen create abstract forms which are inspired by historical portraiture, sometimes containing a glimpse of their subject with a trace of detail or hint of drapery.

‘Popova’s paintings combine graphic pattern and unpredictable shapes with a delicacy of touch and thin gradients of pale colour ‘

These ghostly paintings are inspired by historical portraits, including some of those in Welbeck’s own Portland Collections.

Hardy’s exhibition is also inspired by the gallery’s locality, featuring images of members of the local community which present a carefully crafted celebration of the region.

Discover two very different faces of portraiture at The Harley Gallery, Welbeck from 21 August to 3 November 2013. The Harley Gallery is on the A60 between Mansfield and Worksop, 10 minutes from the A1 and M1. Free entry and free parking. Visit www.harleygallery.co.uk for further information.