Young artist in the frame for London exhibition (From Swindon Advertiser)

Young artist in the frame for London exhibition

6:00pm Wednesday 18th July 2012 in News By Katie Bond

TALENTED artist Jemma Gunning has won the chance to have her work exhibited at galleries in the capital.

The 24-year-old, of Royal Wootton Bassett , has been studying a degree in Fine Art Practice at Swindon College , which is validated by Oxford Brookes University.

She submitted her work in to the Royal Society of Painter Printmakers Open competition for a chance to exhibit at the Bankside Galleries in London, next to the Tate Modern.

And Jemma was delighted to hear that two of her prints were chosen by judge Colin Harrison, assistant keeper of Western Art at the Ashmolean Museum.

She said: “I was really shocked when I found out because there were over 3,000 prints submitted. I’m really excited.

“I didn’t really expect it because it is the first competition I have entered and because there were so many people applying, so to have two of my prints accepted was pretty good.”

Jemma’s collograph prints which took approximately a week to complete, will be on display from August 20 to September 3.

“The boards took quite a while to do – the whole process takes about a week because you have to allow for the drying stages in between each set of varnishes, but I was really pleased with the finished products,” she said.

“I worked for a few years as a manager at a pub but I have always been into art.

“I am hoping to apply for the Prince’s Drawing School, in Hackney, and go from there.

“Hopefully if I can get into London and get my work out there it will widen lots of different routes for me.”

A spokesman for the RE Open 2012 said: “Designed as a showcase for excellence in printmaking, the exhibition will also provide a fascinating forum for consideration of current trends and new directions in this ever evolving art form.

“Selected by a distinguished group of artists, academics, curators, print dealers and collectors, the exhibition will reflect the discerning judgment of the panel.”

Visit www.parkerharris.co.uk/ competition/RE-Open