Anthony Barrow
The Art of Love 2005
All you need is love - The Art of Love 2005
From liquidised hearts to a pair of designer shoes, The Art of Love 2005 was nothing if not wholly diverse, featuring the work of nearly 700 artists, poets and musicians brought together in one massive exhibition. A celebration of love and art. Visitors to the Oxo Tower Wharf on London's Southbank this February were in for a surprise, as what started in the contemporary gallery space of the.gallery@oxo, located on the ground floor of the Oxo Tower itself, soon sprawled into the three floor warehouse space across the way in the Bargehouse.
All kinds of media and interpretations were entered, there were orgasmic abstract paintings, short film animations of a couple playing 'love games', a room dedicated to different heart pictures, sculptures of toy soldiers marching in the name of love and even a giant reclining 'horn' chair for the adventurous. Gay love, motherly love, passionate love, love of shoes, unconditional love, lost love, lack of love - there was every kind imaginable. Joining the surprising number of work which used shoes as a metaphor for love (from a brogue next to a dainty court to denote a couple, to a sexy spike heeled stiletto for a lusty lady) was legendary designer Terry de Havilland, who designed a pair of shoes especially for the exhibition. Using an image of a painting featured in last year's Art of Love of a reclining modern-day Venus by artist Christian Furr, transferred to silk and stretched across a curving wedge-shaped sole, and adorned with gold snakeskin and diamante studs - they were indeed shoes fit for a goddess.
The opening night saw over 2000 guests in the gallery, artists, poets, Londonart friends and press, plus a variety of live performances. The winning poets read aloud their entries, and a chosen few from the musicians played their tracks live in the gallery. (CDs of the music are still available to buy from Londonart, and feature a variety of love songs from the rocky, to the folky to the bluesy.)
This year's winning artists announced at the opening, were chosen by Londonart's panel, which included Reginald Gray, one of Ireland's leading portrait artists. They are Kristian De La Riva and Emily Russell, two animation /filmmakers from Cambridge; Anthony Barrow, a painter from Wigan, Lancashire; and Kathy Prest, a sculptor from Barnet, Hertfordshire. They shared the prize money of £1000 equally three ways. All the work from the exhibition will continue to be shown online here on Londonart.co.uk.
A room in the Bargehouse was dedicated to displaying all the poetry, chosen from the 1500 entries for the exhibition, by Andrew Motion, Poet Laureate. In the middle of the room was an installation in the shape of a large white heart on the floor, made from hundreds of traditional origami paper cranes. The symbol of love and peace, the cranes were made to help raise awareness for OCD-UK, a charity that supports those affected by Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. On the opening night two members of the British Origami Society were present making cranes for guests in return for donations to the charity, with nearly one hundred pounds raised in total.
On Valentine's Day itself The Art of Love had its own show on Resonance104.4fm, the arts radio station based in London. It included features on the history of love in art, artist couples, as well as poetry and music from the exhibition itself. Joan Michelson, the winning poet, came in to the studio to brilliantly read her work Amen, whilst Paul Wynter and Mandy Kay, co-hosts of both this year's exhibition and last, also read poems from the Art of Love catalogue. Jessica Michaels, one of the musicians who played on the opening night also spoke about her work and what it was like to be part of the Art of Love, with a couple of her tracks played. Two artists, Vikky Furse and Isobel Hutton, also came in to talk about their entries and their personal interpretations of the theme of love.
Nearly 9000 visitors saw The Art of Love exhibition this year, with more than enough love left to go round thanks to all the many contributions from the artists, poets and musicians involved. One thing's for certain - Valentine's Day will never be the same again...
Winning Visual artists
Kristian De La Riva and Emily Russell, UK Animation / filmmakers from Cambridge
Anthony Barrow, UK painter from Wigan, Lancashire
Kathy Prest, UK Sculptor from Barnet, Hertfordshire
Winning Poets selected by Andrew Motion
1st Prize: Amen by Joan Michelson from London
2nd Prize: Room Service by Andrea Porter from Huntingdon
3rd Prize: Apples by Jennifer Copley from Barrow-In-Furness, Cumbria.
Artworks and artists that were included in the exhibition
Heart Room selection
Poets that were included in the exhibition
To look at all the submissions made to The Art of Love 2005 please click here
Private view pictures
HANNAH WATSON la
