Town House Open Exhibition: East End

Earlier this year, before Covid, Town House called for submissions to its Open exhibition originally planned for June. Lockdown happened, we extended the submission deadline and then the exhibition date to September. All our ideas for it changed though as the submissions came in during lockdown, and we saw these moving interpretations of the East End. Then as we read the artists’ statements and chatted to them it began to take on a community feel. So it felt right, in this strangest of years, to include all the submitted work in this exhibition .

There is a wide range of artists, styles and subjects on show here. A look at the past with fading shops and disappearing pubs, the hustle and bustle of Liverpool Street Station. Humour in a Brick Lane padlock with a twist in the artist’s statement and a scene from a life drawing class.  One work vividly reveals the isolation of life behind closed doors and the mental torment of lockdown. Another finds colour and pattern in the view from the 242 bus.

These are tough times for artists, please support them, and that doesn’t have to mean buying. Visiting the exhibition, commenting and following on social media will all help to show support and convince them it’s worth carrying on. All of us involved with this have doubted the future course of exhibitions, painting and art in general over the past few months.

Above all, come and enjoy the exhibition. If you’re unable to visit, or local restrictions are in force, it will be on our website townhousespitalfields.com