The World According to Gray
Rotherhithe artist Ed Gray’s latest show brings together 30 years of painting city life all over the world and includes some of his greatest hits going back to the mid-90s, writes Michael Holland.
As well as get a true insight into our London and its markets, London Underground buskers, Remembrance Day commemorations and pubs, we get to see Mexican rituals, Americans at play, Japanese commuters and football in the South African townships.
We also get to see how Gray’s work has evolved over the years. I asked him how he thought it had changed:
‘I used to work in straight lines and now I work in circles,’ he said enigmatically, but when you look at something from 2001 and then his recent Shoreditch High Street painting, you can see exactly what he means. They are more complex these days and need more of an intense look; they have so much going on you really need to stop to take it all in.
A new addition to the artist’s shows now are QR Codes with each artwork that take you behind the scenes and tell you what inspired the work and also reveal some of the hidden secrets that he includes in every painting.
The show, in a fantastic Huguenot house that has hardly changed since it was built in 1705, has already attracted overseas visitors along with London’s finest. I spoke to Americans and Italians during my visit, and saw that already the red ‘sold’ stickers were going up on the sketches and prints. This is contemporary art in early-18th century surroundings.
The highlight of this exhibition, for me, is the West Lane War Memorial piece because it has a poignant story attached to it and 70% of each sale will go to UNICEF.
House of Annetta, 25 Princelet Street, Spitalfields, E1 6QH until July 20th. Admission Free. Mon – Tues 11am – 5pm; Add – Sun 11am – 8pm.
Link to the War Memorial print(67cm x 60cm): https://www.edgrayart.com/shop/remembrance-west-lane-war-memorial-rotherhithe/
