Art on a Postcard at Gathering, Soho, London, november 2024 – Tuesday night, take the Lizzy Line again, off up West, another night, another so called Private View, no I don’t know why they’re called Private Views either, most unwelcoming, tonight the reason for riding the Lizzy again is the one night only viewing of the art to be found in this year’s always rewarding Art On A Postcard Winter Auction. This year we’re at Gathering, a gallery just about on the Soho side of Regent Street so we’re battling the way-too-early Christmas lights and those damn trike things that want to blind you with neon while they blast endless Abba crimes at you, the West End at this time of year is some kind of hell, yet we seem to have to travel in more and more as London’s art scene falters and the establishment takes an upper hand while the new gatekeepers strangle the life out of almost everything else. 

Art on a Postcard is ten years old now, a slightly tarnished as the London art scene is feeling right now, Art on a Postcard still feels refreshing, their annual online fundraising auction is underway right now, the auctions are always full of good art, art from all over the spectrum, always exciting to go see it all in the flesh. Always carefully curated, always alive with a healthy mix of well known art names alongside new artists you may not of heard of yet as well as those of us who kind of fall somewhere in between the two or the cracks or wherever we all fall – yes, time to own up to my own vested interest, I’ve been invited to contribute some art again, always a pleasure to take part in what is essentially a fundraiser for a very worthy cause. All money made once again goes to The Hepatitis C Trust, none of us contributing artists take anything other than the aforementioned pleasure to be had in taking part and feeling a tiny bit good about it. 

This is the biggest Art on a Postcard auction yet, I do hope they haven’t overstretched themselves, money is tight right now. You’ve got over six hundred pieces of art to explore, bidding is all via the Art on a Postcard website and well do go explore, some of the pieces will sell for silly prices, others will be waiting for just that one bid, there really is something for everyone there. One thing though, looking at art on a website is a little flat, these pieces are all at least ten times better when viewed in the flesh, they need to be seen in real life where the colour pops and the piece talk and the texture lives rather than in the dull of a lifeless website, mat I politely suggest some of the event photos here at the foot of this page might tell you a little more than just looking at the images on the actual auction site? 

The gallery is packed tonight, you are having to use elbows quite a bit, get out of the way, if you need to chat don’t do it right in front of the art, I guess it is no bad thing that it is so busy in here, Art on a Postcard events do always feel like proper events, they are a big part of the London art calendar now and yes, when you do get to see the art then there really are some very very fine pieces in here, it is genuinely difficult to pick out favourites (we will do that later though, tomorrow, over the weekend maybe, come back later)   

The now annual Summer and especially the Winter auctions of postcard sized paintings and pieces from Art On A Postcard have grown to become a much anticipated fixture on the art calendar now (that and the shows and events in between AOAP’s main auctions). The very considered curatorial adventures that Gemma Peppé and her team have been taking us on over recent years, the mini auctions and smaller events from invited curators, their pro-active podcasts and features that make the AOAP website always worth a look, Art on A Postcard really have built a reputation worth celebrating over the last ten years. We have of course said all this before, it is a reputation built on finding those exciting emerging artists and placing them next to the established names that take part in their events, new names next to the Royal Academicians and the artists we maybe already know about. There has always been someone or something new to discover at an Art On A Postcard event, artists to watch, to follow up on, there is again in the auction. This is not the time to be picking out the highlights though, I do have highlights, one or two pieces to lust after, several to really admire, the temptation to pick out names shall be resisted in terms of this piece, last night’s private view as excellent as ever, last night was exciting, actually was it last night? Days are all flowing into one, bands, gigs, art shows, hangs, takes downs where am I? Last night’s Art on a Postcard viewing was a fine one, there was once again some genuinely exciting art, some new names to explore, once again some excellent curation (really like the Pallas Citroen picks) and once again a real sense of an art occasion…

“Bidding in our Ten Year Anniversary Auction is now live! We would like to thank you for ten years of support whether you have been with us from the start or you’ve joined us along the way. There are 613 artworks for you to explore across our guest curator’s auctions as well as our own Art on a Postcard auction curated by Gemma Peppé, split into three parts. A huge thank you also goes to our guest curators who have helped to make this such as a special auction – Benjamin Murphy & Nick JS Thompson (Delphian Gallery), India Rose James (Soho Revue), Pallas Citroen (The Bomb Factory Art Foundation), Tom Best (The Auction Collective) and Dario Illari (Jealous Gallery)” – so yes, lots and lots to see, to explore, maybe too much, maybe it is all a little overwhelming, and I’m walking back up Regent Street thinking damn, I didn’t even see what’s her name’s paintings, did I? And now I’m looking at the bag of photos and thinking I don’t remember seeing that one on the night, who’s is that one? I really hope Art On A Postcard haven’t over-stretched themselves here, I really hope there isn’t too much, there was so much, there were so many good pieces…

Please do go explore the Art On A Postcard website, the auction is closing over two days. All guest curators auctions will close on Thursday 19th November starting from 2pm and Art on a Postcard’s auction will close on Friday 20th split into two parts starting from 12 midday, it is all for a good cause but in a way, that almost doesn’t matter, what matters is all the good art that awaits you, Art on a Postacard have done it again… (sw)     

Art On A Postcard / The auction

As always, do click on an image to see the whole thing or to run the slide show, then go find the pieces in the auction