PRESS RELEASE
28| 08 | 18
"If Not Now"
An Exhibition Defining One Full Year in International News
10 Hanover Street London | 5 to 8 December 2018
Julia Hall | Painting 26 of 52 | oil on canvas
This December, central London gallery10 Hanoverhosts an independent exhibition by rising new painter Julia Hall, which captures the defining moments of a single year in international news. Comprising 52 individual paintings, the collection, entitledIf Not Now, represents the artist's commitment to beginning and completing one artwork per week throughout 2018 in response to leading news stories, without the foresight of knowing what next week's news may bring. The result is a candid collection of imagery which collates key moments in a year of extraordinary political and social events across the world, and which, in their reductive style, make implicit comment despite a deliberate strategy of making none.
Julia Hall | Painting 19 of 52 | oil on canvas
Artist Julia Hall says "It is a fact of modern life that we have access to unfolding news stories at all times, whether we seek them or not. An endless stream of sensationalist stories passes before our eyes like objects on a game show conveyor belt, and what can stir visceral emotions in us one week, is barely remembered the next. Yet when we glimpse these stories again from some point in the future, they can provoke powerful reactions in us. My aim in making this collection was simply to document: obviously, my choice of weekly story was entirely subjective, but I make no apology for that. Several people have asked me if I have found it depressing to paint this series, and it is true that as the year has progressed I have felt less inclined to paint an array of middle-aged politicians in suits. There is, however, an intimacy in painting someone's portrait - the study of their body posture, their hands, the way their hair grows finely at the forehead - which leads me to a real, if misguided, sense of familiarity. As a consequence, even someone as far removed from my own world as Kim Jong Un becomes superficially real to me, and I feel that I have a vested interest in his future.
Julia Hall | Painting 18 of 52 | oil on canvas with embroidery
The documenting of current affairs in paint is inspired by a curiosity to see how the personalities and events of this time will shape our future. The raw, unpainted areas of canvas and incomplete images will be filled in by time. As events unfold, the equal weight and treatment given to each canvas may surprise us all.
As for the reactions of others to these paintings, I have gauged through my social media feeds that stories involving non-political figures are popular, as are events in the world of sport, but that said, it does seem that the public love nothing better than a painting of a Royal Wedding."
See ‘If Not Now'from 5 to 8 December at10 Hanover, Hanover Street, London W1S 1YQ
For further information see www.juliahallart.co.uk
Julia Hall | Painting 23 of 52 | oil on canvas
Julia Hall | Painting 29 of 52 | oil on canvas
Julia Hall | Painting 20 of 52 | oil on canvas
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Print ready 300pdi images for press use:
JULIA HALL Painting 26 of 52
JULIA HALL Painting 19 of 52
JULIA HALL Painting 18 of 52
JULIA HALL Painting 23 of 52
JULIA HALL Painting 29 of 52
JULIA HALL Painting 20 of 52
Editors Notes
Julia Hall
Julia Hall studied figurative art and portraiture at New York Academy of Art and Grand Central Academy, New York, and prior to that studied drawing, sculpture and oil painting at City Lit, London.
She has exhibited most recently at Penwith Gallery, St Ives, Cornwall, as part of the St Ives School of Painting's Porthmeor Programme Final Show, and her work was selected for the 2018 Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition.
If Not Now| Private View
The Private View ofIf Not Nowwill be held on Wednesday 5 December at 10 Hanover. The press are welcome by arrangement. Please contact Mercedes Smith atdirector@fineartcommunications.co.ukfor details.
For further press information or additional images contact Mercedes at Fine Art Communications director@fineartcommunications.co.uk / Tel 07825 270235 /www.fineartcommunications.co.uk
