Tony Rainbird, Do Nothing at Canal Boat Contemporary, Victoria Park, East London, May 2025 –  Now this one had us curious, both in terms of Tony Rainbird’s paintings and the boat itself; “Our second featured artist in the box will be Toby Rainbird, who will present Do Nothing – a solo showcase of three paintings. We’re huge fans of Toby’s work, which we first encountered when he was one of the participating artists in the Canal Boat Art Fair – the project that gave birth to Canal Boat Contemporary.  Since then, Toby has gone on to study Painting at the Royal College of Art, where he won the university’s prestigious Hine Prize. He is now the Freelands Fellow at the University of Brighton. His paintings have gone from strength to strength. They occupy a space of their own – hovering somewhere between geometric colour fields and the suggestion of representation. We love the tension Toby creates with his tonal chords, offset by zinging, discordant key tones. They really are like watching music” – well that is what whoever is behind the boat said and yes, his colour fields do have a painterly zing to them, a commitment, a generosity of paint. And there it is, on the toepath, here’s another #43SecondFilm…

Of course being a Canal Boat, the gallery moves around, from 21st until 27th May 2025 it looks like they can be found between the Cambridge Heath bridge and the lock adjacent to Victoria Park on the border of Hackney and Bethnal Green. The art is housed in a glass-fronted box on the side of the boat alongside the path, so open 24/7 although you almost certainly and rather obviously need good light as you crouch down on the toe path. The big gates of the park and Gore Road entry will take you there, or that five minute walk from the main road and the Cambridge Heath, don’t double back under the bridge, just walk down the path in the other direction. 

I love this, and when I was there for fifteen minutes yesterday there was people stopping, none of who knew about it and just happened to be passing, It looks like the boat itself is someone’s studio, there wasn’t anyone there unless they were busy inside, but you really don’t need anyone to be there, the art and the information is on the outside of the boat, simple and really well put together… 

Canal Boat Contemporary, can be found on the toepath between the Cambridge Heath bridge and the lock adjacent to Victoria Park on the border of Hackney and Bethnal Green until 27th May 2025. Instagram: Canal Boat Contemporary / Tony Rainbird

“This year we bought an old village Post Office noticeboard, fixed it to the outside of the boat, and turned it into a street-level exhibition space. Each week, we invite a different artist to install a new piece or curated set of works – making space for small gestures, bold ideas, and unexpected encounters with contemporary art”.

As always, do click on an image to see the whole thing or to fun the slide show….