Jeanette Edgar takes a look at an exhibition focusing on northern artists which is currently on show in Cumbria

The fourth New Light Biennial Prize Exhibition has been shining a light on northern artistic talent and celebrating the range and quality of work being produced by artists in and from the north of England.

It is completing its year-long tour at Tullie House Art Gallery (closing on January 27, 2019).

Artists at any stage in their creative careers, from emerging talent to esteemed Royal Academicians, born, resident or who have studied in the North of England (Cumbria, Lancashire, Yorkshire Northumberland and Durham) were eligible to apply when the call for artists was made last year.

Prizes on offer included the £10,000 Valeria Sykes Award, a Patron’s Choice Award of £2,500 and a special Printmakers’ Prize.

More than 2,200 Prize Exhibition entries were considered by an impressive line-up of judges, comprising contemporary artist Charming Baker; renowned art critic and writer, Frances Spalding CBE; chief executive of the Buy Art Fair and The Manchester Contemporary, Thom Hetherington; chief executive of York Museums Trust, Reyahn King; Director of Northern Print, Anna Wilkinson and chief executive of New Light and artist, Emerson Mayes.

Mr Mayes said: "I’ve had the privilege of being involved with New Light since its conception and in a variety of roles, such as an artists’ mentor, a committee member, a board member and now as CEO, so have witnessed at first hand the charity’s growth.

"This year’s New Light Prize Exhibition has been, by far, our largest yet – with more artists, more venues and more education work - and I’m delighted it has bene on show in Cumbria for the first time this autumn and winter.

"One of the thrills of the tour is seeing the exhibition hung in a variety of venues and Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery is the perfect venue to highlight the wealth of artistic talent we have in the north of England. As a working artist myself I understand how important such exposure is to all those selected for this year’s Prize Exhibition.’

In total 72 artists were selected to take part and every work short-listed for the prizes has been featured in the New Light Prize Exhibition, which has been delighting audiences with its eclectic mix of paintings, sculpture, prints and drawings as it has toured galleries in Barnard Castle, Huddersfield and in London before heading for its finale at Tullie House Art Gallery in Carlisle.

After the exhibition, the works return to the artists or to the collectors who have added a new piece to their collections or ‘bought into’ contemporary art for the first time.

The artworks range from the hyperreal to the purely abstract, from printmaking to sculpture.

Lancashire artists include George Melling, Alan Flood, Michael Ashcroft, Paul Crook, Steven Heaton, Vic Harris and Peter Layzell.

Layzell paints and draws in his studio at his home in Morecambe, where he has worked since 2010. He has lived in Lancashire for more than 30 years and has taught at colleges in Lancaster, Preston, Blackpool and Blackburn. He continues to encourage the development of painting and drawing in young people who are, he says, ‘as enthusiastic about painting and drawing as ever’.

Cumbrian-born or based artists Alan Stones, Janet Kenyon, Jan Huntley-Peace (who won the New Light Purchase Prize), Mark Gibbs, Rachel Gibson and Sally-Marie Gardner feature in the work selected for the Tullie House Gallery exhibition:

Alan Stones, who has exhibited widely across Cumbria since moving to the county in the 1982, said: “I have loved having my work in the New Light Art Prize Exhibitions.

"As an artist I want, more than anything, to have my work seen - by that I mean displayed sympathetically with good lighting and in front of a large audience.

"This is exactly what New Light achieves with its exhibitions in some of the best galleries in the north of England. Now the exhibition has opened at my ‘local’ - the wonderful Tullie House in Carlisle.

"This exhibition includes a fantastic collection of contemporary painting, drawing and printmaking.”

Our Cumbrian and Lancashire artists are indeed in good company. Fellow exhibitors include Royal Academicians Anne Desmet RA and Norman Ackroyd RA CBE.

Works on display include Justin Coburn’s beautifully executed ‘Dreaming Hare’, Glen Ibbitson’s figurative ‘Human Bridge’, Neil Bousfield, whose atmospheric wood engravings capture the essence of the English landscape and Anja Percival, whose etchings explore the different ‘moods’ of light.

In addition there are Isobel Peachey, the youngest woman commissioned to paint an official portrait of The Queen and Tom Wood, an acclaimed artist, whose portrait sitters have included Professor Lord Robert Winston and Alan Bennett, both commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery, London.

There is an opportunity for visitors to Tullie House to vote for their favourite work, either using the ballot box in the gallery or through New Light’s social media platforms – using the #newlightmyvote hashtag.

The prize is awarded at each touring venue and is based entirely upon votes by the general public. It gives an interesting insight into their differing tastes as the show tours the North.

New Light: The Fourth Biennial Prize Exhibition

Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle

www.tulliehouse.co.uk/