After five years away, it has been wonderful to return to the RWA building for the 2024 Friends’ Exhibition – and to see the lower ground floor and Youngwood Room full of art made by our community.
As with the two previous shows held at Create Centre, the standard of entries was exceptionally high, leaving our selectors with an unenviable task as they whittled some 423 submissions down to the 198 pieces on show.
Many thanks to all the artists who entered their work, including those unfortunate to miss out on selection this time around. Even before sales, over £5000 was raised by submissions for the RWA. With public subsidies now effectively zero, and the RWA’s running costs now at some £1 million per annum, your help as Friends is vital to keeping this beautiful building open – and to support the many outreach art projects the RWA provides to some of Bristol’s most under-served communities.
The prize-winners
Congratulations to our 2024 winners, chosen by the selection panel of Angela Lizon RWA, Karl Singporewala RWA and Andy Phipps, owner of That Art Gallery in Bristol.
The Selectors Choices were Liz Lumley- Smith for the haunting Welsh Graveyard Cottage; Deborah Harrison (Instagram: @debsjharrison) for her remarkable alabaster sculpture Ice Cream; and continuing the sweet theme, the strikingly original paper cast Ice-cream on the keyboard by Ivana Svabic-Cannon (@svabiccannon).
Thanks to sponsors Niche Frames, Bristol Fine Art, Coldharbour Framery & Gallery, Hang Bristol and Sky Blue Framing and Gallery.
The Best in Show prize, sponsored by Laver Wealth, was awarded to Ruth Baker (@ruthbakerart) for her incredibly skilful – and beautiful – pyrography wood burning Bjorn.
Ruth said: “I met and connected with Bjorn through social media, we are both Pyrography artists and adore this organic, tactile medium. He is an artist residing in Norway. I was inspired by his magnificent beard, which is notoriously the most difficult feature for portrait pyrography as the light hairs have to be approached in a negative space as on either side of each white hair.
“Pyrography is a process in which a hot wire is used to burn marks onto the surface of the wood . Through the heat being held longer and hotter in a particular spot it then can be deepened in tone creating the shades, It’s also a very unforgiving medium in the respect that each mark is permanent with no space for error.
“Bringing this rarely seen medium in front of art judges and the RWA was a great honour for me, acknowledging it in the fine art field . This encourages me to develop my techniques and experiment to push the boundaries of what this medium can create.”
The Friends’ Exhibition runs until 28 April (Tue – Sun 10am-5pm). Free entry. Works can be bought online.
Thanks to our sponsors: Bristol Fine Art, Coldharbour Gallery & Framing, Sky Blue Framing & Gallery, Niche Frames, Hang Bristol bespoke framers and Cass Art.
The Floating Circle 