Art - Body of Work

The Old Market Lane Garage has been enjoying something of a new lease of life as a centre for experimental arts in recent months. Lewes Repertory Theatre launched a programme of plays there earlier in the year. Last week it was the setting for Lewes’s first Arts Lab. Now, and for the next thirteen days, it will be home to ‘Body of Work’, an exhibition of the work of thirteen artists from the local area. “My co-organiser Grant found the venue” says Sara Abbott, one of the curators of the exhibition. “It’s such a massive space filled with lots of natural light so it’s a great opportunity for artists to display work which would normally be too big for gallery spaces. Most painters love working on huge canvasses but they don’t usually have the chance to display them.”
The artists will be allocated an area of the gallery each, with established artists exhibiting alongside relative newcomers. “It’s all about showcasing brand new work from artists at various stages of their careers”, says Sara. “Some of the artists we met on MySpace, and a couple were finalists in a web-based competition called Seeking Picasso. One of the finalists, called Nicholas Steele, is a hospital porter and this will be the first time he’s ever exhibited any work.” A raffle will be held for the chance to win a selection of paintings that have been donated by the artists. All proceeds will go to the Rocking Horse Appeal for sick children. ER