Brighton’s Arty: Alison Krog

NO TIME TO GIVE UP

New Year’s resolutions. Pah to all that. At Arty towers we laugh in the face of ‘dryathons’ and consider a bottle of Rioja one of our five a day. But one promise we always manage to keep up is to add to our increasingly covetable collection of local artwork each year. And if that’s the kind of purposefulness that appeals to you, but you’re not quite sure where to start, I’d strongly suggest a chat with the approachable, affable and extremely well-informed James Stewart at Zimmer Stewart Gallery in Arundel.

Established in 2003 by James and John Zimmer, this warm and welcoming artspace shows emerging and established contemporary artists through a programme of six to eight exhibitions each year. James curates every exhibition – and coming from an accounting, rather than art history background means he can relate to both browsers and collectors alike.
James and John want visitors to feel free to come in and view the work on show, talk about it frankly, and give their honest opinions. Their mission is to showcase art in many forms – bringing new artists to Sussex – and they believe that if all visitors liked every exhibition, they would not be doing a good enough job.
Zimmer Stewart appreciates that it cannot ‘sell’ contemporary art – visitors either love a piece or they don’t. It is the gallery’s role to present the work well, inform visitors about the artists and their work, and let the art speak for itself. Then if people like what they see, they may want to start their own contemporary art collection.

Work on show includes paintings, original prints, ceramics, sculpture and textiles. And if you do fall in love with a piece of artwork, but can’t quite afford it, the gallery offers Own Art Loans, which enable visitors to purchase art interest-free over 10 months. See zimmerstewart.co.uk for more.
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