AFTER 18 months, Kay Dower's Corner Gallery is on the move to another corner in York.
"I'm finding a new corner or three! I'm moving the gallery from Scarcroft Road to the more spacious surroundings of my house at 2, Telford Terrace, South Bank," says Kay.
"I'm also going online, with style, and I'm trying trying to take over various corners of York, starting with the Click & Mix exhibition at City Screen, in Coney Street, which is on now and running until March 10."
Kay, who also runs the innovation company Idea-licious with Liz Grierson, started out as an "unserious, serious artist", opening her first gallery venture, Corner Gallery, in 2016, when she took over the existing gallery space from Argentinean artist Andres Jaroslavsky.
Pop...Art , popcorn still life painting, by Kay Dower, at City Screen, York
"It’s been an amazing 18 months," she says. "I’ve had a blast. I’ve worked with some awesome artists, big and small; met a lovely bunch of customers; and a lot of art has found its way on to local walls and those as far away as Switzerland, St Lucia and New Zealand, and the business will now be finding new corners."
The Scarcroft Road gallery will close on March 3 and the date is yet to be confirmed for when Corner Gallery will rise again in Telford Terrace, just off Bishopthorpe Road. "When one door closes, another door opens," says Kay. "The business ethos remains the same: local, stylish, affordable art, which will now be displayed in my home and also be available to purchase online at cornergallery.art.
"Having more space will allow me to showcase more art to more people in the context of a relaxed, contemporary home, and of course there’s the excuse to make more of a party out of it. I’m all for a casual approach to art with a dollop of fun and fizz thrown in for good measure."
The new website is in development and will be launched at cornergallery.art in the next few weeks. "I'm working with fellow Bishy Road trader Design@79 to ensure a fresh, stylish design that offers people the opportunity to browse the gallery whenever, wherever," says Kay.
As mentioned earlier, she also wants to "free up the time to get both her art and that of her Corner Gallery Collaborative into more corners of York".
Screen In The City, by Kay Dower
"This is starting with the Click & Mix exhibition at City Screen, where the witty, paper-cut photography of Claire Morris – the "Click" – is hanging alongside my impasto palette-knife acrylic paintings of uber local landscapes and cinema-inspired still-life works – the "Mix" – in the light and airy café bar," says Kay.
"I also have a selection of my prints, of York Minster, Clifford’s Tower, York walls etc, on sale in the ‘corner’ of the York Art Gallery shop."
Meanwhile, the Art Squad band of pencil-wielding children will continue their art lessons with Kay, but these sessions now will take place in the bigger, more comfortable workshop space at Olive’s Nest at 4, Scarcroft Road. "We'll have more room, more materials and more opportunities to experiment with all aspects of art, from painting and pastels to cut-outs and collage," she says.
"Olive’s Nest and Corner Gallery also will be working together to run specialised art workshops in preparation for the York In Bloom festival in July to ensure Bishy Road looks 'blooming marvellous' when the time comes."
The present Corner Gallery premises are to become a wine shop under a new tenancy.
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