Summer sees the 70th artists’ show

The 70th summer exhibition of the Rye Society of Artists (RSA) is being held at the Dance Hall, Community Centre, Conduit Hill, until August 29, and is open daily. The flyer picture is one of Richard Adams’ images produced especially for the show and signed copies will be on sale.

Viewed on Tuesday, August 3 as setting up progressed, the exhibition tags had not then been completed, so some of the photographs do show the individual labels.

A brief history is indicated in celebration of this notable anniversary. What is now the RSA was formed as the Rye Arts Club in the 1920s, with a roll call of members that included Augustus John, Dame Laura Knight and Edward Burra. The influx of artists locally after the second world war led to the formation of another group in 1951, by eight artists who launched their own modern movement named the RX8, after a fishing boat. It merged in 1952 with a newer group, which included Ken Townsend and Wally Cole and was finally called the ‘Rye Society of Artists’.

Still artists-led and now celebrating its 70th anniversary, the RSA holds its show each year in August on Conduit Hill. 2020, the year of the (continuing) pandemic, was the exception and meant that no show was possible, so the time was spent developing an informative, very useful and much improved website.

The show itself takes three solid days to set up, and due to social distancing requirements, has meant fewer people can be in the space at any one time. A decision was reached not to use the room downstairs, because of its size and lack of ventilation. The sales office is situated in a side room, not in the main hall, as this gives more room for the displays. The venue is, at is says, a proper dance hall, so all that equipment, including floor length mirrors, has to be removed before setting up can even start.

Shown round by Denise Franklin, chair of RSA, with help from ceramicist Sarah Palmer, the show itself has a very wide range of both two and three dimensional work, including collage, oil and watercolour images, mixed media, two textile pictures and a variety of ceramics, with clay, raku and brass and slate all in use. There is also a memorial wall.

Public submissions had to be limited this year to one piece per entrant and as always there were more entries from members and the public than could be displayed. 86 works were submitted and 70 are being shown.

One of the longest standing members, Shirley Spottiswoode, continues to display her work, alongside Katherine Reekie’s amazing surreal images. Katherine herself has just been invited to join the Society of Women Artists.  It is the variety of the exhibits that holds such a fascination each and every year.

There are no invited artists this year,  because John Owen (1928 -2020) has very sadly died, and so there is a memorial wall of paintings on show, donated to the RSA by his family. Steve Duffy has contributed ‘the Black Boat’ in his memory as well. There is a memoir of John on the RSA website

This year, fewer people will be admitted at any one time, and the floor is marked out with social distancing squares. Everyone coming is free to wear their masks and hand sanitiser will be at the ready. Unfortunately, the dance hall does not have a lift, and as the entire show is on the first floor, a flight of stairs is the only way in.

Details: The 70th summer exhibition of the Rye Society of Artists is being held at the Dance Hall, Community Centre, Conduit Hill, Rye TN31 7LE, from August 7 to August 29, and is open from 10:30am to 5pm daily. A donation of 50p gets you entry. All articles are for sale.

Full of interest and variety, with a mix of very talented artists, many of them well known, like the painter Fred Cuming, RA, a carefully thought out layout and Covid-19 safe, come and see us all!

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Image Credits: Gillian Roder .