Pop! Goes The Easel, The Crypt Gallery, Norwich, Nov-Dec ‘23
Kerwin exhibits again at historic Norwich School Crypt Gallery for two weeks, 21 November – 4 December 2023
I was delighted to exhibit once again at The Crypt Gallery in Norwich in ‘Pop! Goes The Easel’, a two-week exhibition of my Jackson Pollock-inspired pop art music paintings and artwork. This solo exhibition ran between Tuesday 21 November to Monday 4 December 2023. This historic, 700-year-old venue is Norwich School’s commercial gallery, located next to Norwich Cathedral.
This was a fantastic two weeks and another successful By Kerwin exhibition. It was great to meet hundreds of visitors, receive lots of positive feedback and see my art heading to dozens of new homes. Alongside 40 original acrylic paintings, I also displayed many different types of prints of my paintings, new limited edition series of handpainted vinyl records, and my large merchandise and clothing ranges.
I enjoyed displaying my large collection of original acrylic pop art music icon paintings – created in my signature Jackson Pollock-inspired style – and my range of merchandise at this show. It was also great to exhibit in the run-up to Christmas and be part of the festive buzz among enthusiastic visitors of all ages. As usual, I had my behind-the-scenes time-lapse painting videos playing on a big screen, and my By Kerwin neon signs.
Exhibiting at the Crypt Gallery for the second time
I previously exhibited at the Crypt Gallery in early 2022, in which I exhibited my entire range of paintings together in public for the first time. Read the story of this exhibition here. It was pleasing to see visitors from my 2022 exhibition returning to view my latest paintings and purchase new artwork.
With the gallery a part of my former school, Norwich School, it was great to catch up with some of my former teachers, as well as current students. I welcome educational visits from the school and from local arts colleges, and Q&A sessions with sixth form Business Studies students from Norwich School about my art business journey.
Exhibiting new By Kerwin paintings for the first time
To build on my 2022 exhibition at the Crypt Gallery, I had several new paintings on display for the first time. These included my Debbie Harry striking pink pop art painting, my Elvis ‘TCB’ lightning bolt painting, plus my flower-embellished George Harrison, Liam Gallagher, Johnny Marr and The Queen.
I also exhibited Jay-Z in the UK for the first time, having previously launched this piece at my 2022 New York show.
To further differentiate this exhibition from my 2022 show, I also displayed my colourful 2012 seascape paintings collection for the first time in a decade! These are also available as prints from my online shop.
New Limited Edition, handpainted vinyl records: Mixing Art and Music
Also new for my Pop! Goes The Easel exhibition was two new series of Limited Edition, handpainted vinyl records – a yellow and green, Norwich City FC-themed series, and a vibrant and multicoloured series. These are real vinyl records that I’ve painted with my Jackson Pollock action-painted technique, before signing and framing these for a stylish and unique pieces of artwork. The records are available in both 7” and 12” sizes.
I have painted a couple of vinyl record series before in different colour schemes, and it was great to see some of these latest edition records heading to new homes! These are perfect, one-off pieces of handpainted artwork for any music and art lover. Contact me to enquire about purchasing one.
Displaying new types of prints at Pop! Goes The Easel
For my Pop! Goes The Easel exhibition I also displayed a ‘wall of prints’ for the first time, which featured a fun and collage-like collection of different prints of my original paintings. The prints on this wall included framed canvas prints, box canvas prints, framed paper prints and some new stylish aluminium metal prints.
The different print sizes, types and colours on this wall worked great together – let me know which is your favourite here!
New By Kerwin merchandise
Alongside my original paintings and prints, I also enjoyed showcasing my range of homeware merchandise and clothing once again – including some new pieces. I had several types of t-shirts and sweatshirts on display, plus mugs, coasters, cushions, flip-flops and greetings cards.
The new merchandise this time included colourful By Kerwin clocks, tea towels and bath towels. These new merchandise items will be added to my online shop soon – for now you can contact me with any enquiries and custom orders.
Media Coverage for Pop! Goes The Easel exhibition
Another pleasing aspect of this exhibition was to secure some good media coverage in the build-up and during my show. These included a Norwich Evening News newspaper story, a live BBC Radio Norfolk, Suffolk & Cambridgeshire interview appearance, and blog posts on the Norwich School website.
Private View Evening sponsored by Suffolk drinks brand Adnams
As with my 2022, Southwold distillery and drinks brand Adnams kindly sponsored the Private View evening of my exhibition on Wednesday 22 November, providing many bottles of Adnams fizz for the evening. This was a fantastic edition to what was a packed and fun Private View evening to open my exhibition formally.
I was also pleased to present my ‘The Beatles’ custom, hand-embellished print to the winner of this auction prize at the Nelson’s Journey charity ball fundraiser in September 2023. Nelson’s Journey CEO Simon Wright also visited my exhibition so it was good to meet him too and hear about the continued good work of the Norfolk-based children’s charity.
New By Kerwin Art Exhibition House & Disco DJ Mix Soundtrack by Danny Blackburn DJ
As if all of the above wasn’t enough, visitors were treated to my brand new By Kerwin Art Exhibition House & Disco DJ Mix. This custom DJ mix was produced by my cousin, professional DJ Danny Blackburn, featuring remixes of tracks by the music icons I’ve painted in my collection! This was the perfect soundtrack to my exhibition, bringing the art and the music together.
Listen to the By Kerwin DJ mix here or below.
Among the many visitors and purchases from the show, a highlight from the exhibition was to find a new home for my John Lennon and George Michael original paintings.
Thank you to everyone who visited my Pop! Goes The Easel exhibition, those who purchased artwork, and those who sent messages of support or wrote in the guestbook. It’s all greatly appreciated!
I’ll be writing many more website blog entries on the different parts of this huge solo exhibition, as well as other tips for how to design and organise your own exhibition for aspiring artists. You can also explore my other art exhibitions from the last few years in the Exhibitions section of my website.
You can explore my full range of Jackson Pollock-inspired pop art paintings, and shop canvas prints, from my online shop. Fast worldwide delivery is available. Who will you choose?
My full range of Jackson Pollock-inspired acrylic paintings can be viewed at www.bykerwin.com – the originals and prints of these are available to purchase, with worldwide delivery. You can follow my art progress on Instagram and Facebook.
