The Liverpool Academy of Arts

Phil Pyros

Phil Pyros was a well known figure in the art world in Liverpool in the seventies prior to his emigration to Australia where he has pursued a succesful art career. We were delighted to welcome him back with a collection of his superb portraits and charcoal drawings.

Click on the image of his portrait of Harry Jones on the left to learn more about him and see some samples from his exhibition.

Six In The City

A joint exhibition by six of Merseysides most experienced artists - E Scott Jones, Deborah Butler, Mary Campbell, Irene Jones, Martin Jones and Brian Roe.

Click on the image of their composite work on the left to learn more about them and see some sample images from their exhibition.

Beatles Plus

An extention of the Beatles exhibition combining some of Len Ehlen's wonderful portraits with a selection from the ComeTogether 2009 exhibition.

You can see some samples from the exhibition by clicking on the image of Lee-Ann Pritchard's painting 'Liverpool Classics' on the left.

The Brave Little Ferry Boats

An exhibition by artist Maria Saunderson of the original illustrations she created in fabric using embroidery and appliqué techniques for her children's book "The Brave Little Ferryboats".

Maria researched the story herself which recounts how the ferries Royal Iris and Royal Daffodil earned the right to use the prefix "Royal".

Riverpool

An exhibition of poetry and paintings by Liverpool Echo reporter Peter Grant and Cathy Roberts depicting the magic of the River Mersey.

Cometogether 2009

Our annual Open exhibition of Beatles art.

This was one of our best Beatles exhibitions yet with over one hundred and sixty paintings, sculpture etc produced by over seventy Merseyside artists.

You can see some samples from the exhibition by clicking on the Beatles image above.

Beatles For Sale

This was a welcome return of Cheshire artist Len Ehlen who used his skill at portraiture to create a wonderful collection of paintings with a Beatles theme.

You can see some samples from the exhibition by clicking on the image of Len's painting 'Reflection' above.

2009 Summer in the City

In July we welcomed back Imagine, the Mental Health Charity with their exhibition of paintings and sculpture aptly titled "Summer in the City". As this is also Liverpoool's year of the environment the usual activities & workshops were based around our surroundings and its effect on our health.

Click on the Imagine logo above to go to their web site and learn more about them.

Pop Art Reloaded

Ahead of his second solo exhibition in New York we were delighted to have Stephen Collett presenting his largest and most audacious show yet.

"Pop art Reloaded" relates closely to contemporary living and the modern desire to express one's self through a purchased lifestyle influenced by sex appeal or fashion.

Stephen's large, bold pieces of modern art are a move on his part away from his impressionistic roots to tackle the canvas in a completely original way.

Just click on the image above to see some samples from his exhibition.

Collidoscope

At the end of June we welcomed back the Collidoscope collective with their own highly individual and diverse styles and media, ranging from representational to expressionist and abstract work.

Just click on the image on the left to see some samples from the exhibition.

Artists exhibiting this year were Jackie Brown; Nicola Brown; Janet Cobbold; Dorothy Culshaw; Sylvia Garrette; Mair Griffiths; Ann Harrison; Marie McGowan; Jeff Nelson; Pat Nelson; Maria Shuttleworth and Sydney Smith.

JFS (Works for You)

An exhibition by three established local artists - June Lornie, Frank Hendry and Stan Cummings with "Works for You".

Click on JFS Link to see samples from the exhibition.

June is drawn to both the textures and colours of different materials using exotic fabrics, gold leaf, diamante, acrylic and pastel, in fact anything she thinks would enhance her work, to produce her highly decorative and dramatic pictures.

Frank has exhibited for many years in Liverpool and in the Academy, his scenes of Ireland, the Lake District and, of course, Liverpool especially the docks and pictures of the Blitz.

Stan, at one time a glass-blower and sculptor, has since retiring devoted his time to painting, and produces many works, some of them showing the beauty of Canada.

42nd Street

Our second Open exhibition of the year was on the theme of the musical "42nd Street". It was an Open exhibition and there were three prizes of £100, £75, and £50, sponsored by Queenie's charity, which were presented by Herbert of Liverpool at the private view.

We ran this exhibition in partnership with the Birkenhead Operatic Society. who are staging a production of the musical at Liverpool's Empire theatre at the beginning of May.

Click on the 42nd Street image above to find out who were the prize winners, see some samples from the show and some images from the private view.

Waste Into Art

An exhibition by the Liverpool based artist collective Red Dot on a single theme - recycling. All of the art work was created from waste materials and/or found objects.

For the duration of the exhibition Red Dot staged four art-related recycling workshops at the FACT Centre. A selection of the art work made by the participants was then added to the 'Waste Into Art' exhibition.

Click on the Red Dot logo above to learn more and see some samples from the exhibition.

Private Collection

Our second exhibition of the year was a feast for art connoisseurs and collectors. It contained works from a private collection built up over the last twenty five years being sold as the owners no longer have space to display the paintings.

On show, for the first time in years, and available for purchase were over eighty works by thirty nine notable artists such as as Sam Walsh, Maurice Cockrill, Dick Young, Don McKinlay and others.

Click on the image of Sam Walsh's "Affirmation and Negation" above to learn more and see some samples from the exhibition.

Buttons (with Buckles and Bows)

Our first exhibition for 2009 was an Open exhibition on the theme of Buttons, Buckles and Bows. We had nearly one hundred paintings, ceramics and needlecraft works on display created by over thirty Merseyside artists.

Click on the button on the left to see some samples from the exhibition

The private view was an interesting affair with the Pearly King (George Major) from Peckham coming down from London to perform the opening.

Christmas Open

Our annual end of year open exhibition for 2008 was the largest exhibition we have ever had with over 340 works by over a hundred different Merseyside artists.

You can see some samples from the exhibition by clicking on the Christmas scene on the left.

John Sutherst

A return exhibition by local artist John Sutherst. Just click on the image on the right to see some samples from the exhibition.

From New York to Liverpool

In the rear gallery we had a number of exhibitions:-

During the 1950s over 20,000 young Liverpudlians who were employed in the merchant navy or on the Cunard Liners were known as the ‘Cunard Yanks’ bringing the flash of New York to the streets of Liverpool in the exciting clothes, hairstyles and, most importantly, records.

Two excellent artists, Simon Pritchard and John Chatterton, gave their impressions of the people and music that have been influenced by this cross Atlantic culture import.

Click on Simon's picture on the right or John's on the left to learn more and see some samples of their work from the exhibition.

On top of this we were lucky enough to have memorabilia and video, suplied by two of the original 'Cunard Yanks', on display. Click on the image of the Queen Elizabeth liner above to see a clip from their film.

Finally we had a book signing. John Kerrigan's was here signing copies of his book - "Gateway to America" about emigration through Liverpool to America.

Click on the image of his bookcover on the left to learn more.

Imagine

Our regular exhibition run by Imagine - the mental health charity. (click on their logo on the left to go to their site and learn more) The exhibition was for people who have been affected by mental health problems – this could include anyone from mental health service users, to carers, friends, family, colleagues, mental health professionals etc. Click on the image on the right to see some samples from the exhibition.

Face, Figure and Folly

This was the first solo exhibition at our gallery by Len Ehlan. His name may not be familiar to you but visitors to our gallery will  recognise his striking portrait work from his regular contributions to our Open exhibitions.

Click on the image of David Bowie to see some samples from the exhibition and to learn more about Len and his work. 

The Launch of the 'Dooley Trail' and an Exhibition of Arthur's Sculpture

We had a marvelous collection of bronzes, portraits of Arthur by Merseyside artists, a bust of Arthur created by Tom Murphy and photgraphs and other artefacts from the Dooley Archive.

Just click on Peter Shaw's portrait of Arthur above to see some samples from the exhibition.

At the Albert Dock near to the Tate we had the Launch of the 'Dooley Trail'. A Liverpool City Centre walk covering works and places associated with Arthur.

Beatles - ComeTogether 2008

Our annual Beatles exhibition.

It contained paintings and sculptures mainly by local artists but also some from as far afield as France and Zimbabwe.

If you click on the image on the right you can see some sample pictures from the exhibition.

Ronnie Wood - Rock Star and Painter

In August we hosted an exhibition for Jonathan Poole of Ronnie's work.

Ronnie is well known for his work with the Rolling Stones but perhaps less well known as an artist however if you click on the image of on the right ( Ronnie in his studio)  you will go to Jonathan's site containing information about Ronnie and samples of his work.

 The exhibition was staged in the large Sculpture Gallery and ran at the same time as the Beatles exhibition.

Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland

Our Open Exhibition on the theme of Lewis Carroll's  Alice, sponsored by the Community Foundation for Merseyside, ran in July. You can still see images from the exhibition by clicking on the Tea Party below.

We asked artists to  produce works based on the 'Alice in Wonderland' and 'Alice Through the Looking Glass' stories and had over one hundred exhibits on display.

As well as these we had a full series of paintings based on 'Alice in Wonderland' created by June Lornie (click on the Tea Party above to see these) plus photographs and details from the lives of Lewis Carroll and Alice Liddell supplied by members of the Daresbury Lewis Carroll society.