London calling for local artist

A PORTRUSH artist has been invited to exhibit his work at the prestigious Brick Lane Gallery in London.

Mark Hunter from Hopefield Crescent is preparing to travel to London to take part in the Art in Mind exhibition which runs until the end of April.

The Brick Lane Gallery - where street artist Banksy was discovered - invited applications from artists to take part in the group exhibition.

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“I applied and they asked to see some samples of my work,” explained Mark who holds a degree in Fine and Applied Art.

“They said they really liked my work and were interested in seeing more so they offered me a three metre wall space in the Art in Mind exhibition.

“I had an exhibition in the Riverside Theatre in Coleraine last November but it’s a big jump to go from exhibiting in Coleraine to exhibiting in London.

“I also sent them an artist statement about my work explaining about the modification of my landscapes, how the aristocracy are taking over landscapes and making them more idealistic.”

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Mark will be exhibiting three landscapes in the exhibition - Horizon on Your Doorstep, Gaze of Glory and Watersteep Walk.

He explained that his landscapes can incorporate features from different countries.

For example Watersteep Walk features the cliff walk around Dominican College in Portstewart alongside the waterfall at Glenariff and a landscape in Portugal that Mark particularly liked.

“At the moment we have just built a crate to take the paintings over to London as I don’t really trust a courier to take them,” said Mark.

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“When it’s your work that you have created and spent so much time on it, you want it to arrive in tact.

“It will be fantastic opportunity to exhibit in London especially since the exhibition runs until April 25th which is the week of the Royal Wedding so London will be buzzing with people.

“I am also busy at the moment working on commissions I have been asked to do.

“When I finished my degree course in 2009 I had been working on video and it was just recently that I got the urge back to start painting again.

“It’s great to get back to my roots and painting again,” he said.

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