Starting to collect art can feel like a daunting prospect, so we spoke to some of the country’s top gallerists to discover their names to know. Both established and up-and-coming, these artists are expressing unique perspectives across a wide range of mediums from woodcuts to patchwork and are making work that’s thought-provoking, beautiful and highly collectible.
Al Bates
Tobias Vernon, 8 Holland Street founder, on the artist who honours her grandmother’s legacy through sustainable fabric ‘paintings’
I was first introduced to the work of Al Bates (pictured top) by a friend of mine at the Fine Arts Society. The creativity and subject matter of her pieces drew me in right away. Having graduated from Edinburgh College of Art with a first-class degree in textile design, Al combines multiple techniques in her art practice: knitting, quilting, needle-felting and embroidery come together to steadily build a long-lasting, handcrafted artwork.
What's everyone reading?
She takes huge creative inspiration from her Grandma Margaret, who, Al told me, ‘as well as being the woman who taught me how to knit, sew and make origami frogs, has the most wondrous garden and home, all of which have been a direct design influence’.
Al’s work reminds me of Kettle’s Yard, which is a very special place to me. I studied history of art at Cambridge University and was constantly visiting its curated corners, borrowing a Bryan Pearce artwork to hang in my dorm. The lack of object hierarchy is something I love about the place, and her use of colour and scenes of quiet interiors suggest this mix of treasured objects. The vernacular furniture, lone pots and fabric textures reflect the lived-in space of home.
Tactile, organic and modern, every piece takes a considerable amount of time and care to create, from her small sketches to the large, meticulously hand-stitched textile ‘paintings’ they turn into. Her practice itself is interesting – she is conscious of leaving no waste and working as sustainably as she can, using deadstock yarns and offcuts of fabric, and celebrating contemporary textile design. Small paintings and drawings are priced from £200 to £800, while large-scale textiles range from £1,200 to £9,000. 8hollandstreet.com/artists/614-al-bates
Louise Body
King & McGaw co-founder Gyr King on the former wallpaper designer whose artistic works show an intriguing evolution
When we first met Louise in 2021, she had already been designing wallpaper for 20 years (some of which is included in the V&A’s permanent collection) and had collaborated with brands such as Dr Martens and Paul Smith. She had started painting again full-time, and I knew instantly that we wanted to work with her. Louise is such a talented artist, and a warm and friendly person.
After studying fine art in Brighton and Nottingham, she found that her career took off in an alternate direction, but having returned to painting four years ago now, she is once again creating some incredibly confident work that’s informed by her experience as a designer, but places her firmly back in the world of fine art.
Texturally, there is something so beautiful about her work. I think it is the way it’s informed by her successful career as a wallpaper designer, and the tools she would use. The surface of her pieces are just lovely; the colours and themes are beautifully composed, tranquil and calming. Her eye for design and composition really strengthens her practice.
The colour palettes, the line work and texture – she’s forming her own unique visual language that translates the elements of nature found on her local Hastings coastline. Having her first solo show this year and exhibiting at the New York Affordable Art Fair, Louise is an artist whose work is worth paying attention to. There is something so sublime about how she blends tones. kingandmcgaw.com
Stanley Donwood
Dario Illari, director of Jealous Gallery, on a sharp-suited artist whose rock credentials are equalled by his eclectic output
I met Stanley about 10 years ago at one of our Jealous private viewings. I can’t remember the show but I do clearly remember the well-fitting, fawn-corduroy suit he was wearing. I shared my appreciation for his attire, to which he replied that it was made by his tailor in Spain. I think we both knew then that we would be working together at some point, although it did take a couple of years until we did.
I knew Stanley’s work long before we met, from his early shows with Steve Lazarides (Banksy’s old agent) back in the early 2000s to his lifelong friendship with Thom Yorke and the iconic and award-winning Radiohead album covers and Glastonbury posters. Stanley is not afraid to explore new processes to create works that are different from anything seen before. The more you look into his creative practice, the more you get to know the person.
His tireless championing of charities and organisations close to his heart results in a diverse and inspiring portfolio. The delicate, nuanced and darkly aware pencil drawings of barren landscapes still have the ability to take me elsewhere, as all good art does.
And his raw, stripped-down canvases! Primary-coloured maps, bordering on the abstract, based on the colours used for road signs yet absent of all human intervention, following ancient ley lines that may or may not have existed. Not only are his original works a good investment, but his editions are also a huge success, and he is one of our most in-demand artists. jealousgallery.com
Kate Williams
Will Jarvis, CEO and co-founder of Gertrude gallery, on the artist making a statement in the softest materials
I first saw Kate’s work in an exhibition in east London and was immediately struck by her playful architectural landscapes – they have a certain utopian aspect that, combined with the comforting quality of the textiles she uses, feels really uplifting.
We’re so used to seeing the hard shapes of architecture represented in paintings and drawings – which means we’ve also come to expect a certain sharp, detached observational aesthetic to these renderings. But Kate’s work is warm – both in terms of colour palette and literally, because she’s making quilts. Her pieces sit in an interesting space between drawing and soft furnishing: do you hang them on the wall, or do you wrap them around yourself?
Her most recent series, Soft Cell II, responds to the anxieties of our time. In the face of constant negative news, it’s tempting to turn away from it all and insulate ourselves from the world. Only Kate could make the connection between our need to be comforted and the idea that this need might, absurdly, be met by a straitjacket or padded cell. Somehow, she still manages to turn that thought into a beautiful artwork.
I think this connects with us because the idea behind it feels so relatable. What’s more, the formal, geometric composition gives her work a timeless quality, referencing a long tradition of textile artists who have used the medium to explore space, pattern and dimension. gertrude.com
Amelia Humber
The UK’s wildest corners inspire this artist’s landscapes, says the founder of The Wrong Shop, Sebastian Wrong
I came across Humber’s work about a year ago via a very good workshop in London that she uses to frame her atmospheric paintings. I was immediately struck by their beautiful energy. Humber journeys around the UK to find the rural landscapes that fuel her work, be it the Cornish coast or the Scottish Highlands.
Within the solace of her studio at the end of an east-London garden, consulting photographs and notes from her excursions, she translates the imprints of her travels into her paintings. The artist’s fascination with the landscape is rooted in a childhood spent in the Sussex countryside; exploring the South Downs, Humber cultivated a connection with the ever-changing skies and their impact on the land.
Her work captures the beauty and drama of the environments she paints, conjuring a timeless yet contemporary aesthetic that resonates with viewers of all ages, and a raw power that offers a distraction from contemporary digital culture. Humber’s aim is to decompress the mind and give the beholder space to dream.
Her original oil paintings have been exhibited across the UK and can be bought through McAllister Thomas Fine Art and Lemon Street Gallery, starting from around £2,000. Three new limited-edition prints for The Wrong Shop, though, offer the chance to collect her unique landscapes at a more accessible price point. thewrongshop.co.uk
Jake Garfield
London Original Print Fair director Helen Rosslyn points us in the direction of the printmaker to look out for
I first came across Jake’s work at a Royal Drawing School degree show in 2013, where he won the Printmakers Prize. His work is a celebration of printmaking: both the range of effects you can achieve and also its historic importance in taking art to a wider audience. He has a mastery of the techniques, like the great printmaker Picasso did, and often combines several in one work, which is unusual for a contemporary artist and takes considerable discipline.
Jake is part of the artist collective Verbatim, organised by his tutor, fellow printmaker Thomas Gosebruch, and his work has been bought by The British Museum (a woodcut aptly entitled Private View) and, at 2023’s Fair, Tobias Vernon, founder of interior-design studio 8 Holland Street, bought one of Jake’s woodcuts and has gone on to show them in his galleries.
Even though Jake’s work is in world-class collections, he doesn’t lose sight of the fact that prints can be a wonderful way into the joys of collecting art. Alongside his monumental pieces, which might cost around £10,000, he still makes smaller prints at prices of a few hundred pounds each. His editions are always small, often monotypes that are single prints, and he is involved with every stage of the production, which makes them very special. londonoriginalprintfair.com; jakegarfield.co.uk
