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| The most northern private gallery in England opens in Berwick | The most northern private gallery in England opens in Berwick |
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| The Berwick Watchtower, a brand new gallery and arts centre, has just opened in Tweedmouth. The venue will host a permanent display of paintings by the late Ian Stephenson RA, as well as regular exhibitions and also concerts and performances. | The Berwick Watchtower, a brand new gallery and arts centre, has just opened in Tweedmouth. The venue will host a permanent display of paintings by the late Ian Stephenson RA, as well as regular exhibitions and also concerts and performances. |
| Originally built as a Presbyterian church in 1848, the turretted building on the south bank of the Tweed was, more recently, the Kingdom Hall of the Jehovah's Witnesses, who blocked up all the windows. | Originally built as a Presbyterian church in 1848, the turretted building on the south bank of the Tweed was, more recently, the Kingdom Hall of the Jehovah's Witnesses, who blocked up all the windows. |
| Kate Stephenson, widow of Ian Stephenson, and the developer of this centre, has re-opened many of the original windows, letting in plenty of natural light, and created a huge rectangular hall which will act as both art gallery and performance space. She insists that the name refers to Bob Dylan's All Along the Watchtower song, and not to the Jehovah's Witnesses' magazine. Downstairs is a fully equipped sound-proofed digital recording studio and a practice room which will be available to local musicians and bands. | Kate Stephenson, widow of Ian Stephenson, and the developer of this centre, has re-opened many of the original windows, letting in plenty of natural light, and created a huge rectangular hall which will act as both art gallery and performance space. She insists that the name refers to Bob Dylan's All Along the Watchtower song, and not to the Jehovah's Witnesses' magazine. Downstairs is a fully equipped sound-proofed digital recording studio and a practice room which will be available to local musicians and bands. |
| High on the walls on the main hall are a series of large-scale works by Ian Stephenson, who died in 2000. These are here to stay – as the art critic William Feaver said at the official opening this week: | High on the walls on the main hall are a series of large-scale works by Ian Stephenson, who died in 2000. These are here to stay – as the art critic William Feaver said at the official opening this week: |
| They needed scaffolding to put up, and they're not coming down again any time soon. | They needed scaffolding to put up, and they're not coming down again any time soon. |
| Stephenson was an abstract pointilliste painter whose works are in the Tate, as well as in the Arts Council and British Council collections. He was one of the first abstract artists to be elected to the Royal Academy, and his works feature in Michaelangelo Antonioni's cult 1960s film Blow Up. Stephenson created his works using a spray with specks and dots of paint falling onto a horizontal surface, building up layers of colour and pattern. His Polychromatic G was acquired by the Tate when the artist was only 28, and there are now 17 of his works in the Tate collection. He had a major solo exhibition at the Hayward Gallery in 1977. As well as being an artist, he was also influential as a teacher at Chelsea School of Art and at Newcastle University. Since his death, exhibitions of his work have been mounted at the Baltic and at the De La Ware Pavilion, as well as at the Berwick Gymnasium Gallery. | Stephenson was an abstract pointilliste painter whose works are in the Tate, as well as in the Arts Council and British Council collections. He was one of the first abstract artists to be elected to the Royal Academy, and his works feature in Michaelangelo Antonioni's cult 1960s film Blow Up. Stephenson created his works using a spray with specks and dots of paint falling onto a horizontal surface, building up layers of colour and pattern. His Polychromatic G was acquired by the Tate when the artist was only 28, and there are now 17 of his works in the Tate collection. He had a major solo exhibition at the Hayward Gallery in 1977. As well as being an artist, he was also influential as a teacher at Chelsea School of Art and at Newcastle University. Since his death, exhibitions of his work have been mounted at the Baltic and at the De La Ware Pavilion, as well as at the Berwick Gymnasium Gallery. |
| As well as Stephenson's paintings, the gallery is showing many works from his own collection. These are an eclectic mix, from abstract works by John Hoyland, to paintings, prints and drawings by Hockney, John Bellany, Richard Hamilton and many others, and also many 19th century watercolours and oils of local scenes – Bamburgh Castle, Lindisfarne and so on. | As well as Stephenson's paintings, the gallery is showing many works from his own collection. These are an eclectic mix, from abstract works by John Hoyland, to paintings, prints and drawings by Hockney, John Bellany, Richard Hamilton and many others, and also many 19th century watercolours and oils of local scenes – Bamburgh Castle, Lindisfarne and so on. |
| In the main space, at eye-level, there will be regularly changing exhibitions. In the first, Lancashire-born Stephen Lewis' steel sculptures stand on plinths in the main section of the gallery, with abstract paintings by his partner Mali Morris, RA, on the walls underneath the huge Stephenson works. Lewis has exhibited in Holland, Germany and New York as well as extensively in the UK, while Mali Morris, who was a student at Newcastle University when Ian Stephenson was teaching there in the 1960s, was elected to the Royal Academy in 2010. She has had three solo shows in Tokyo and two in New York. | In the main space, at eye-level, there will be regularly changing exhibitions. In the first, Lancashire-born Stephen Lewis' steel sculptures stand on plinths in the main section of the gallery, with abstract paintings by his partner Mali Morris, RA, on the walls underneath the huge Stephenson works. Lewis has exhibited in Holland, Germany and New York as well as extensively in the UK, while Mali Morris, who was a student at Newcastle University when Ian Stephenson was teaching there in the 1960s, was elected to the Royal Academy in 2010. She has had three solo shows in Tokyo and two in New York. |
| Mark Irving's "Glimpses" can also be seen, in a single-storey section underneath the mezzanine gallery. The Berwick-based artist recently won an award from the Royal Society of Wildlife Artists and has exhibited at the Society of St Ives Artists' Open and at the Royal Scottish Academy. | Mark Irving's "Glimpses" can also be seen, in a single-storey section underneath the mezzanine gallery. The Berwick-based artist recently won an award from the Royal Society of Wildlife Artists and has exhibited at the Society of St Ives Artists' Open and at the Royal Scottish Academy. |
| Next week the front of the building will be the screen for a projection of work by photographer Amit Madheshiya as part of the Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival, which runs from September 18-23. | Next week the front of the building will be the screen for a projection of work by photographer Amit Madheshiya as part of the Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival, which runs from September 18-23. |
| The next exhibition at the Watchtower will be the Berwick Open Art Exhibition in October. According to Kate Stephenson: | The next exhibition at the Watchtower will be the Berwick Open Art Exhibition in October. According to Kate Stephenson: |
| We will be running a Best in Show competition voted for by visitors, the prize for which will be entry into the selection process for next year's summer show at the Royal Academy of Art in London. | We will be running a Best in Show competition voted for by visitors, the prize for which will be entry into the selection process for next year's summer show at the Royal Academy of Art in London. |
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