Last week, the ninth annual Art of Motoring Exhibition took place in the recently opened Iconic Images Gallery in Waterloo Place just a stone’s throw from The Royal Automobile’s clubhouse in Pall Mall, marking a change of venue from last year’s exhibition at Sotheby’s Conduit Gallery in Bond Street.
The exhibition has come along way from when it first opened in the now closed Royal Opera Arcade Gallery in Pall Mall almost a decade ago, before moving to the Mall Gallery by Admiralty Arch and then into the RAC’s Pall Mall clubhouse for a few years.
This year’s exhibition brought together the works of around 24 well-known and up and coming motoring artists and sculptors which was open to the public from Wednesday 1st to Saturday 4th November, making these beautiful pieces of art far more accessible for the first time in what has now become Europe’s leafing curated automotive art exhibition.
Once again this year’s Art of Motoring Exhibition was organised and curated by Andrew Marriott of Pitlane Productions and Rupert Whyte of Historic Car Art in association with the Royal Automobile Club, with all the pieces of art available to buy either at the exhibition or online at www.theartofmotoring.co.uk until 4th December.
Exhibitors this year included former Swedish Formula One and Le Mans winner Stefan Johansson, Anna-Louise Felstead, Tim Layzell, Ella Freire, John Ketchell, Paul Howse, Jonny Ambrose, Robin Bark, Juliet Marsh, Simon Britnell, Emma Capener, Neil Collins, Harry Gravett, Brian James, Gavin McMurray, Kevin McNicholas, Gregory Percival, Timothy Potts, Roy Putt, Jean-Yves Tabourot, Martin Tomlinson, Chris Wainwright, Richard Wheatland and Amalgam Models, who brought along a couple of their fabulous model cars: an Aston Martin Zagato and one of Jackie Stewart’s Tyrrell Formula 1 racing cars.
Artists Tim Layzell, Roy Putt, Martin Tomlinson, Richard Wheatland and John Ketchell have been exhibiting their artwork every single year, along with several others who have been at most of the previous nine exhibitions. However, this year has seen some new talent showing their artwork.
For the first time at the Art of Motoring the work of Welsh pencil artist Emma Capener was on display, having been a big hit at the summer show at the RAC’s Woodcote Park. There was also the exhibition’s youngest artist, the very talented 24-year old Harry Gravett, along with another lady artist Juliet Marsh and the exhibition’s first Scottish artist Gavin McMurray. First-time sculptor Greg Percival was showing his works, and finally newcomer Alan Thornton, complemented by Amalgam’s superb scale Grand Prix cars.
Newcomers from last year were also present, with displays from Anna-Louise Felstead, Richard Neergaard, Andy Shore and Kevin McNicholas.
Previous Art of Motoring discoveries Neil Collins and former McLaren chief sportscar designer Paul Howse were also present, as was Brian James with his colourful and bold poster art style.
Successful sculptor Jonny Ambrose, who was the first to use 3D printing for motoring art was back with some of his “floating” sculptures, as was the desktop sculpture Robin Bark, who was also joined by former Bentley designer Tim Potts with his impressive bronze pieces.
Ella Friere returned this year with her silk screen supercar profiles, as did Simon Britnell with his distinctive signature paintings of iconic classic cars, telling me:
“You will see I am particularly drawn to the stylish designs of the 1970s. For me, this era celebrates iconic design with evocative classic vehicles and vibrant motorsport.”
Although the exhibition is primarily for UK artists, a mention needs to be given to a couple of non-brits in the guise of Sweden’s Stefan Johansson, who returned for his third year, this time displaying a fabulous large painting of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes-AMG racing car with his “bomb blast” signature effect. And finally, France’s Jean-Yves Tabourot, who was exhibiting for the first time.
Author Bio:
Simon Burrell is Editor of Our Man Behind The Wheel, a member of The Guild of Motoring Writers, professional photographer and former saloon car racing driver.
Photographs by Simon Burrell
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