Leave it to the cool and funky streets of East London to faithfully expose the discordant undertones of the sometimes commercially biased contemporary art world. Opening last Friday, @Arch Gallery located on 289 Cambridge Heath Road in the heart of Bethnal Green, Dazed and Refused features portraits which were submitted to and then rejected by the National Portrait Gallery for the annual National Portrait competition. Inspired by the 19th century concept taken from the French Academy of Fine Arts in Paris: Salon Des Refuses, exhibition organizers, Bob Sparrow and Adam Laurence, similar to the wisdom of Napoleon III, value the time, effort and skill which goes into making any type of artistic piece- accepted or not.
by: Tom Montan
Despair by: Frunza Ciprian
Although the National Portrait Gallery diplomatically referred to the work featured in ‘Dazed and Refused‘ as simply ‘unselected’ rather than ‘rejected,’ no matter what terminology used by judging officials, Sparrow and Laurence, as practicing artists themselves, understand how emotionally painful and daunting it can be when something you make from your own hand is blatantly pushed aside.
These two have no problem with the judging aspect of the art world, in fact, this year they have embraced it- but competition for betterment rather than to repudiate- thus celebrating the promotion of success. To this end they have built a large ballot box in the Arch Gallery. Members of the public who visit the exhibition are encouraged to ‘be the judge.’ The artist who has their name on the greatest number of ballot cards will win a solo exhibition at Adam Laurence’s own Bethnal Green Gallery ‘The Gasoline Rooms’. In Addition, there is also a version of “The People’s Choice Painter” on Facebook. Since the online post went viral, it has reached 12000 people who are voting in their hundreds.
Sophie by: Charlote Manzi
Mother 2013 by: Liam Patrick Parkin
Rejected or celebrated, competition or just for kicks- no matter the case, Sparrow and Laurence would like this exhibition to function as a second chance for passionate and struggling artists, providing a platform for all creative and inspiring participants to show their work, rather than just a rebellion from the National Portrait Gallery. To date, ‘Dazed and Refused‘ have never rejected a painting and only stop taking entries when wall space runs out. This first come first serve approach means that the work exhibited is a random mix of entries. From photography, oils or acrylic- all are welcome!
Photo courtesy of: Nicola Tree
Make a trip to the show and support the underdogs, or rather- the overlooked. If you can’t make it to Bethnal Green, take a quick minute to like them on Facebook!
Also, visit the Dazed and Refused website for a full list of artists and their works: http://www.dazedandrefused.com
