Last summer I spent a day in London going around bookshops with my book ‘Ocean Swell’. I went with my husband Simon and towards the end of the afternoon we came across Sotheran’sin Sackville Street. Sotherans is an Antiquarian Bookshop and, initially I wasn’t over keen to enter but my husband persuaded me otherwise! I met one of the staff who enthusiastically sent me downstairs to meet Richard Shepherd who is in charge of the Print Department.
The Print Department have an extensive selection of Prints from William Blake to Aubrey Beardsley but they also specialise in Japanese prints and recently had a Hokusia Exhibition in December. I showed Richard my book and images of my prints which he seemed to like and suggested that he would be interested in offering me an exhibition.
The department was about to have a refurbishment and a new small gallery. Richard thought my work looked quite Japanese…something that has been mentioned before. We kept in contact and a year later it all came to fruition and I’m still pinching myself!
As a gallery they prefer to exhibit the work without frames, partly because you can see the print better and for the customer it is possible to choose your frame. From an artists’ point of view, this is beneficial, as I didn’t have to buy expensive frames.
Sotheran’s are the oldest Antiquarian Bookshop and have been at Sackville Street for 200 years. All the staff are very friendly and each have their own specialist area ie travel, children’s books, literature etc. There is so much to see and buy.
To catalogue the work, they have their own photographic studio and hire in a photographer to photograph all the work, the work is then numbered and made into an extensive catalogue which goes live the day after the Private View.
For the Private View, I was asked to give a small Artist’s Talk. I always get nervous about this, but it seemed to go well. It was lovely to see so many friends, colleagues, students and Ochre members along with Sotherans’ own customers. Thank you for coming.
The exhibition is still open and I hope to be there most afternoons from 2.30pm onwards.
2 Sackville Street
Piccadilly
Exhibition continues until 16 August
Download Richenda’s Catalogue here:
