Out & About: Dulwich Open House

Last weekend was a whirlwind of art in south London – and this weekend, much of it continues, as the Artists Open House event revs up for its final weekend.

I couldn't afford much (but it's nice to look), and saw a fraction of the things I wanted to see – it's quite a tiring thing to do, especially in last week's driving rain – but nevertheless here are a couple of highlights.

Above: the Cavaliero Finn open house in Croxted Road, SE21, which is open this weekend too.

If you're anywhere near southeast London tomorrow or Sunday, do check it out. Details at the end. And if you're not, all the listings have website details – do some online window shopping or discover some new inspiring bookmarks.

Some paintings by Trevor Burgess, whose work I've enthused about before – he has a great talent for capturing very ordinary scenes and, by painting them, giving them a beauty you might overlook passing them by in real life.

The canvases look great in situ, as part of the Cavaliero Finn Open House, which was on at two venues: Croxted Road (pictured here) and the incredible Belair House, near chichi Dulwich Village (pictured lower down this post). Trevor Burgess is around for a Meet the Artist event at the house tomorrow, Saturday 17th (sadly Belair House was only open for the first weekend, but you can see some pictures below).

Above: Some more of the interesting artworks and homewares in the Cavaliero Finn show including (second shelf up) ceramics by Vanja Bazdulj, whose work I've featured here before.

An interesting take on the Heygate Estate in Elephant & Castle, famous for being massive and being demolished, it also features in multiple British urban-set films or TV series where a sprawling estate appears, including Attack the Block, The Bill, Top Boy and even Madonna's Hung Up video, below in case you're interested.

Another highlight was the house of Jess Walton, also in SE24. She runs Fabulous Vintage Finds and the house was stuffed with affordable gems.

Below: The aforementioned Belair House was a treat. Just look at the space...

...and that's just one room.

Loved the surrealist takes on classical sculpture, above, by Kathy Dalwood.

And isn't this, by Alexena Cayless, an interesting idea? (You'll see why below).

Rowena Brown's tiny houses also appealed.

And I loved Judith Tucker's deserted concrete diving boards.

I've written about Custhom's technical wizardry here before, and it was interesting to see their digitally embroidered fabric up close. Beautiful. There's also a film that shows how it's done you can watch at the event too.  

But this was probably the overall highlight for me: I was mesmerised by Gill Rocca's paintings. Way out of my price league (I think the painting above was £10,000) but my god it is gorgeous, isn't it? 

What you don't get in the photo above – but which you can see enlarged in the one below – are the tiny little lights she's painted on the horizon of the river; three little boats glowing in the gloomy light. I think I could look at a painting like this every day for the rest of my life and still get lost in it.

And by the time we got to the beautiful house of quilt-maker and designer, Cassandra Ellis (below), late on the Sunday afternoon, she'd practically sold out of all her beautiful things. I enjoyed her freshly sanded floorboards though and had a lovely chat with her other half about their floorboards technique.

If you've never been to an open house event before, it's basically a group of exhibitions in the homes of the people who've made or collected the things on show. The things are for sale and you get to have a mini nose into their houses – and who can resist that?

Above: cups and saucers by Ali Miller

A word of warning, though, it can be a rather unrelaxing experience if you pick, as we did several times, a house empty of other visitors and full of art you're not very keen on (naturally, none of the highlights here fall into that category). One stern-looking lady followed us around her silent ground floor, hands clasped as her eyes bore into the backs of our heads, while we tried to look like we liked her paintings more than we did. Leaving quickly is painful. The houses where you could see people milling about through the windows were good bets, as were those with doors permanently open to welcome people in.

Be aware that not all the events or venues are open both weekends. Check and download the guide here

Cavalierofinn.com; cassandraellis.co.uk; Fabulousvintagefinds.co.uk

Alice Mara's urban architecture ceramics

I've written about London-based ceramicist Alice Mara before – I particularly loved her plates decorated with tiny synchronised swimmers, and cups adorned with the pleasing geometry of urban architecture.

Now she's launching some new designs, and I love them too. What do you think of these salt and pepper pots?

The set is named 'Affordable Housing’ and features a series of twenty different buildings that measure 7.5cm x 3cm. They cost £30 a pair.

I also like Alice's new 'Brits Abroad' vases, below, that are colourfully wrapped in her photography of Benidorm. They remind me a little of the deliciously gaudy postcard photography from the John Hinde studio (a minor – major? – obsession of mine). Each vase measures 30cm x 6cm and they are priced at £40 each.

I'm not sure what kind of flowers you'd put in them, mind. Maybe a few classic palm leaves...

If you like Alice's work, you might also like the wonderful paintings by Trevor Burgess (I do). His most recent exhibition, A Place to Live, is all about homes in the city – in all their glorious ordinaryness.

These new designs by Alice Mara aren't yet available to buy on her website; she launches them next month at a group show worth checking out if you can get to southeast London, at the gallery-in-a-house run by contemporary art and design consultancy, Cavaliero Finn. Find out more about the event, or buy work online (from May) here, which takes place as part of the Dulwich Festival on the weekend of 11-12 May.

Trevor Burgess exhibition

Tonight I'm going to the private view of an exhibition of paintings by Trevor Burgess. I've posted about Trevor's work here before, which I absolutely love. Especially the series that makes up this show, which takes place in London from today.

'A Place to Live' is a show made up of Trevor's depictions of urban housing; none of it is made to look beautiful and stylish, it just is what it is and – just like London – none of it matches, in style, period or value. He has painted the homes, found in estate agent adverts, onto plywood. I love his democratic approach, the attention he has lavished on the very ordinary: on the ordinary places in which most of us live. Home is home.

'A Place to Live' is on at the Dreamspace Gallery in London's Clerkenwell. It runs from today until 12 December. Find out more on the gallery's website. And if you can't make it down to see the paintings in person, you can get a good look at them all on Trevor's website, under the 'gallery' tab. Just click on 'A Place to Live'.

Urban art by Trevor Burgess

I was born and brought up in the city, and hold London close to my heart. But often, when capturing the place in art, there's an urge to edit out the ordinary, the not architecturally fashionable, the un-shabby chic (the just a bit shabby). 

It's as if Londoners want a shinier, swankier, more designer version of their city reflected back at them. Which is exactly what I love about the work of artist, Trevor Burgess, which doesn't celebrate obviously beautiful buildings and scenes, but instead highlights the beauty in ordinary, everyday living.

A Place to Live 13

A Place to Live 8

A Place to Live 19

A Place to Live 4

About Trevor Burgess: Recent regional prize winner of the The Discerning Eye, most of Trevor's work is about the ordinary business of living. Trevor is interested in a painting that explores relationships, people, contemporary urban spaces.

Catch Trevor's work in person at an upcoming contemporary art and design show in, haha, south London (and – of course – in the rather chichi Herne Hill) over the weekend of 12/13 May. You can also see what's on show at the website of hosts, Cavaliero Finn as well as getting full details of where the event takes place here.

It's a departure from my usual, more affordable picks (average price of the paintings above is £650), but I just love these paintings and wanted to share them. And looking at pictures is free. It is only buying them that costs...