Christopher Brown exhibition in Chichester

“My work is often far from serious but I am very serious about my work,” Christopher said. Andrew Churchill, gallery director, added: “We are thrilled that Christopher Brown will be exhibiting with us at Oxmarket Gallery. When Holly Fox-Lee and I started at the Gallery in September we both had him on our lists of brilliant artists we’d like to work with. “That we are showing his work in one space and Emily Maude in the second space is even more exciting. She was also on both of our lists and it turns out she is a family friend of Chris Brown! A wonderful pairing. The work is very reasonably priced and perfect for presents. I’ll have a hard time not spending all my money on them!” Christopher Brown is an illustrator, printmaker and artist. He will be exhibiting a selection of original editioned linocuts as well as items designed for the home. Christopher was born in 1953 and educated in London. He attended the Royal College of Art from 1977. In his last year at the RCA Christopher’s personal tutor Sheila Robinson introduced him to Edward Bawden (the ‘Master of the Linocut’). They soon became friends and Edward asked him to accompany him on several sketching trips to Cornwall and assist him with printing. It was Bawden who encouraged him to explore this medium. Christopher has continued to work as an illustrator with clients including Faber and Faber, Penguin Books, Bloomingdales and Webb & Webb. He has written and illustrated the Alphabet of London (Merrel 2012) described by Time Out as “the perfect picture book for adults.” He has exhibited regularly at The Royal Academy, The V&A, Michael Parkin Fine Art, St Judes Gallery, The Fry Gallery, The Fine Art Society and Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Christopher said: “The work in the exhibition is mostly recent work and some older work. I’ve been cutting lino blocks for long time! They are all things I like and like looking at. “Many of them are on the theme of fashion, not really fashion illustration, more about the history of costume. During there lockdowns I cut 150 fashion heads. They go right up to the 21st century but started with Egyptian and Syrian. Of course there are lots of Georgian and Victorian, lots of bonnets! “There are a number of prints about objects I like, Wedgwood and Staffordshire figures that I collect. I have three larger prints of a Wedgwood teapot. They were made for a project called an Alphabet of England which I started and never completed. It was to be an expanded version of my Alphabet of London book. “I took a journey from London through Essex and then Suffolk and Norfolk for a series called East Coasting. Along they way I stopped at places I loved and discovered new places. One of the prints is of The Labworth Cafe, an amazing early modern building on Cambery Island in the middle of the Essex estuary! “A lot of my prints are in black and white. I like that, the art of getting the balance between two tones, ying and yang. They are also exercises in cutting, creating texture and tone in just one colour and the white paper. “I used to teach illustration at MA in Camberwell. I still teach on the fashion course at Central St Martin’s. Fashion isn’t my subject but I have an interest in it. “It is very stimulating. It keeps you very alive and in touch with what younger people are doing. “I think of it as two mirrors reflecting each other. They can show me new things and I them. We both learn from the experience. Education is about learning and I am still learning.” Celebrating one of Britain’s most beloved performers, Dame Vera Lynn A book about loss and hope A remarkable tale of recovery from a rare form of cancer New book inspired by days out with the family