It's open!

When Augustus John opened Sven Berlin's exhibition at the Bladon Gallery in 1956 he simply announced 'It's open!' We managed a few more words than that at our new exhibition Sven Berlin: Disturbance in the West on the 10th September at the packed Private View at St Barbe Museum & Gallery in Lymington, and the same excitement which pervades all Sven's shows was evident...

It was a moment to celebrate our 30-year connection with Sven's work and his family and we were delighted that Will Fisher, Juanita's son from her first marriage who had lived at Home Farm in Emery Down was able to join us. Juanita's daughter Sheba too and Sven's grandaughter Jessica.

Will Fisher - and Will Fisher by Sven

photo by Vanessa Kidby

The Private View reception was a quite extraordinary gathering, full of genuine love and appreciation, and there's been a steady stream of visitors ever since. We grabbed a quiet moment to share it with visiting family in recent days and here's a glimpse of what you can see in the three galleries, all devoted to Sven and his work. Our books are also on sale there and there's a useful exhibition guide worth adding to your collection.

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For those who couldn't make the Private View here's a short excerpt from my 'few words'!

"The title Disturbance in the West came from a conversation Sven had on the Scilly Isles after the war with his friend John Wells. They were looking for a way of changing painting, but felt unable to adopt the pure perhaps clinical abstraction favoured by Ben Nicholson, Barbara Hepworth and others.  To them feeling and emotion was paramount.

Articles followed, such as that in the Facet magazine which caused hackles to rise as it gave what amounted to a critique of his fellow artists and in a fateful manner he compounded this with his book The Dark Monarch which he wrote after he arrived in the New Forest. Berlin was also fascinated by Alfred Wallis and before his war service he had begun writing the first biography of the elderly naive mariner turned artist, but this also turned out to be a controversial act in itself.

Sven was not afraid to express his strongly held opinions. Anyone who met Sven will tell you it was not an experience you easily forget. Even in a short time his presence made an impact."

So you have until January next year to discover Sven for yourself. We hope you enjoy your visit!