Wishing you all a Happy New Year!  So 2013 has started off with a flurry of artistic activity on both sides of the Atlantic. This month sees a number of artist friends participate in the LA Art Fair. I have been invited to show but on this occasion will pass. For the start of this year at least, I will be focusing on producing new and varied work but wishing my contemporaries the very best at the event.

I’ve gained motivation this week by attending the opening of the ‘Emerging Artist Award’ exhibition at the Beers Lambert Contemporary in London, the first of several shows in the diary.

Beers Lambert Contemporary believes in nurturing emerging artists and celebrating excellence in contemporary art. Devised to create a platform for the recognition of underexposed artists, the award for emerging art was an international call for submissions. The shortlist of artists is a selection from over 1500 worldwide submissions, judged on criteria such as progression, innovation and excellence in four artistic fields.  The show’s painting and two dimensional work features Stockholm based Jwan Yosef with Spanish artists Alejandro Valles and Gema Perales. Norway’s Oystein Dahlstrom and Brazilian Romen Gouveia provide thought provoking photography whilst the installations are provided by the UK’s Jack West and Norway’s Maren Juell Kristensen. For me, the focal point of this show is American Sculptor Scott Carter’s sculpture made of plasterboard, taken from gallery walls. The show has a limited run from January 9^th to 19^th before the gallery attends the London Art Fair at the Business Design Centre in Islington, from January 16^th to 20^th

Please visit the Beers Lambert website  http://www.beerslambert.com/ for further details

The second exhibition opening this week is ‘Out of the Blue: The Art of The Stroke.’  This exhibition has been put together in collaboration with The Stroke Association and the London Stroke Action Council. Out of the Blue / Art of the Stroke highlights the contribution survivors of stroke make to society and marks the 20th anniversary of the Stroke Association itself.

The concept is the brainchild of Lil Sullivan, a professional artist and a stroke survivor. She states it refers to the way people emerge out of the blue horizon of doubt. A stroke nearly killed her and heightened her  sense of vulnerability and the vulnerability of life. The Art of the Stroke has resonance in art as well. A stroke of the brush or hand is the first and last action of the artist in response to a stroke of genius.

The show runs from  Friday January 11 to Saturday January 26^th at  the Morley Gallery & The Landing Gallery in the Morley College  61 Westminster Bridge Rd, London SE1 7HT
tel: 020 7450 1826 (nearest station: Lambeth North & Waterloo) for further details please visit

http://theartofthestroke.weebly.com/index.html