View from the Gallery

2010-04-24T04:17:00.000-07:00

Animal Scupture at gallerytop

2010-04-14T07:17:00.000-07:00

Derbyshire Landscape at gallerytop

On 3 April 2010 we opened a new exhibition of the paintings by six artists working in response to the Derbyshire landscape. The artists were James Wheeler, Kristan Baggaley James Preston, Martin Decent, Lewis Noble and Peter Dworok. the paintings shown below are by Martin Decent. You can see more information about the exhibition here. The show runs until the end of April.

2010-03-01T11:36:00.000-08:00

Visited John Maltby on Friday (26 February) and collected his fabulous work.

The show opens at gallerytop at

11.00 on Saturday 6 March 2010.

The images below represent only a small sample of the work. For more information visit www.gallerytop. co.uk

2010-02-07T03:17:00.000-08:00

We are receiving work from a range of artists for our next exhibition 'FAUNA'. This is the fourth time we've curated the show and it gets better each year. FAUNA is an exhibition of work inspired the animal form. We have new work by Nick Mackman, Blandine Anderson, Jeremy James, Brendan Hesmondhalgh, Euoghan Bridge Nichola Theakston and many others. There is a rich diversity of sculptural forma as well as drawings, paitnings and prints.

The show opens on Saturday 20 February at 11.00.

2009-12-05T03:25:00.000-08:00

CHIRSTMAS at gallerytop

Our Christmas show started on

Saturday28 November,

with a sparkling array

of contemporary art.

We have brought in

Paintings, Ceramics, Glass, Textiles

and Jewellery specifically with very

special gifts in mind. Join us throughout

December for a warm welcome

with mulledwine, mince pies

and exquisite work.

2009-10-27T03:24:00.000-07:00

Martin Decent Solo Exhibition: October 2009

You are cordially invited to our opening of Martin Decent's paintings on Saturday 7 November 2009 when Martin will be in the gallery to discuss his work and answer questions.

The exhibition runs until the end of the month

Martin Decent has established a reputation as a prolific and versatile artist. While his subject matter varies from landscape to seascape and contemporary abstracts, his primary pre-occupation with colour remains constant. His interest in the effect of colour is distinctive and his handling of highly textured and reflective surfaces is a characteristic of his work. His pallet is rich but is not limited to paint. He uses what can be regarded as traditional impasto techniques but a range of other materials find their way into his work, often cleverly incorporated as visual clues and metaphors.

The mark making involved in Martin Decent’s work is increasingly complex, particularly in his more abstract work, where the boundaries of representation and surfacen manipulation blur. His work manifests the fine painterly skills of a mature artist, combined with the sensuous manipulation of what can be, quite literally, a rich and sumptuous surface, where gold and silver leaf are often used - elements that signify immutability and stability amongst a continuous sea of change.

The landscapes which Martin Decent has produced have been focused on the Derbyshire Peak District. Change through erosion caused by the ebb and flow of water is a recurring theme and his interest in colour and the effects of light provide a constantly changing source of inspiration. The area also provides the luxurious textures of rock, bracken and the receding distances which provide the intrigue in his paintings – the immediate presence of the paintings surface and the underlying illusion of space, distance and light.

“I am concerned with colour, composition and texture within my paintings. This often reflects my interest with the beauty of randomness to be found within nature. The paintings are often intended to be a “snapshot” of something far wider in dimension and far more likely to have changed over time. The confines of the edge of the canvas represents, for me, a “box” which can contain these transitory moments - the Momento Mori of life: a theme in painting that has underlined Western Art for centuries.”

2009-10-27T03:22:00.000-07:00

gallerytop and the award-winning East Lodge Hotel and restaurant in Rowsley will host an innovative art bus on 17 October, showing the work of the internationally acclaimed artist Sir Peter Blake. The double decker bus in East Lodge’s grounds accompanies the main exhibition, taking place just around the corner at gallerytop, which also begins on 17 October.

Sir Peter Blake is regarded as the ‘Godfather of British Pop Art’ and is well known for his design of the Beatles’ ‘Sergeant Pepper’ album. His work crosses all generational divides and is globally respected. Knighted in 2002, and an honorary Doctor of the Royal College of Art, much of Sir Peter Blake’s work is represented in major collections around the world. The exhibition at gallerytop shows 21 of Sir Peter Blake’s limited edition prints, including iconic 1950s pop images.

The bus, a mobile art gallery with a few twists, provides a unique educational and entertaining experience of contemporary art. For art enthusiasts who want to enjoy this unusual and eclectic experience, visitwww.gallerytop.co.uk for more information, or to reserve a place for a tour of the art bus.

gallerytop's Keith Logan approached East Lodge to host the Art Bus, part of the gallery's marketing of the exhibition, because it was the perfect location for it. The combination of an international artist, a fabulous mobile gallery, a superb exhibition in gallerytop and the award winning East Lodge Hotel make brilliant combination. East Lodge’s Iain Hardman is looking forward to the arrival of the double decker art gallery, something which he thought he would never see coming up the drive at East Lodge.

2009-08-02T05:54:00.001-07:00

'Subtlety and Beauty'

On Saturday 22 August we are previewing our new autumn exhibition, which includes paintings, prints, ceramics and jewellery. We are showing some of the best contemporary artiss working in the UK. The image shown is an etched glass vessel by Lucy Batt.

We are particularly pleasd to be showing the paintings of the Brighton-based artist Dion Salvador Lloyd

'Leaving'

'Offshore'

'Headway'

'Chalkline'

'Creek'