Art and Antiques in Kent

Art and Antiques in Kent

Art and Antiques in Kent

Antique of the month

With Tony Pratt of The Canterbury Auction Galleries

Stuart Devlin was born in Australia in 1931, in the depths of the Great Depression. One of four boys, father was a self-employed painter and decorator and mother struggled to make ends meet. At school, he concentrated on art metalwork and won a scholarship to train to be an art teacher, studying for three years, followed by a further two in an ecclesiastical silversmiths workshop.

He obtained a Diploma of Arts in gold and silversmithing at a Melbourne college, completing the three-year course in one, part-time, and achieving the highest marks ever awarded. Stuart was awarded three travelling scholarships, choosing to spend two years at the Royal College of Art in London.

The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths spotted his talent and bought most of the pieces he made during that time for their permanent exhibition. Stuart moved to London in 1965, founding a small workshop in Clerkenwell, where he made intricate limited edition products, notably his Christmas boxes and Easter eggs which have now become collectors' items.

Dj vu exhibition in Maidstine

Maidstone fine artist Jodie Kerr is holding a solo exhibition this month at The Craig Turner Contemporary Art and Design Gallery in Maidstones Week Street, ME14 1RH.

Dj vu explores paintings and drawings based on memories real or imagined of another place, or past life regressions, and is mainly abstract. Jodie, a graduate in Fine Art form UCA Canterbury, currently works in acrylic on canvas.

The exhibition runs for two weeks until 10 September, starting with a private view on 27 August from 6-9pm. Jodie will be painting and drawing in the gallery on 31 August.

For more information, tel: 07983 446764 or email: info@dejavufineart.com

From London to Lydd

Artist and printmaker Elizabeth Barton is launching a solo exhibition this month from 9-14 August at historic Lydd Church on the Romney Marsh.

The exhibitions will present both old and new works, all created from New Zealand-born Bartons life, memories or her imagination. A resident artist at the School Creative Centre in Rye, she gained a Private Pilots licence in 1997 and says: "I had never contemplated the idea of learning to fly but one thing led to another and now art and flying are the twin passions of my life."

Unsurprisingly Bartons love of aviation history has inspired a portion of her work. This includes the Paul Nash-inspired piece Encounter, which uses visual references from Elizabeths trips to aviation museums and images reconstructed from her imagination to recreate a scene from the Battle of Britain.

For further information, email: Elizabeth@Musewave.co.uk.

Sculpture in The Secret Gardens of Sandwich

A Sculpture Exhibition is taking place in the delightful surroundings of The Secret Gardens of Sandwich from 23-30 August.

You can visit the gardens and view work by more than 35 local artists, all members of Pure Form, who work in conjunction with the Canterbury Cathedral restoration project to create magnificent pieces of contemporary, abstract and figurative art.

All exhibits will be auctioned on the final day. Open from 10am-5pm daily as part of Sandwich Festival Week. Please note: normal admission prices apply.