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15
Oct 2024
Harrogate gallery prepares for final exhibition
A Harrogate gallery is to close after five years — but hopes to reopen in a new location in the town.
Watermark Gallery on Royal Parade has staged 23 exhibitions featuring 90 artists and sold more than 1,250 paintings, as well as many items of jewellery and ceramics, since it opened in February 2020.
But the gallery has reached the end of its lease and owner Liz Hawkes is seeking a new central location.
Ms Hawkes said:
We have come to the end of our lease and the landlord has other plans for the property so, reluctantly, we have to move.
We want to take advantage of the situation by securing larger premises where we can develop the next stage in the Watermark story and make the gallery a real art destination.
We are still looking for our next location so if anyone knows of an inspiring space of 3-5,000 square feet, please get in touch. I’m happy to look at a redundant building in the centre of town, an old school or even a cowshed. We have exciting plans for the future.
Watermark Gallery
In the meantime, Watermark has been invited to stage a pop-up gallery at the Swinton Estate, near Masham, on November 29, 30, and December 1.
It is also planning a series of artist-led residential workshops at the estate’s Deer House.
The gallery has invested heavily in its website so that it can continue to service customers and support artists online until the new venue is secured.
A solo exhibition by land-and-seascape artist Pascale Rentsch will be the final exhibition.
Ms Hawkes said:
Over the years, Pascale has been one of our most popular artists so it is very fitting that her solo exhibition should be the final one in our current home.
Pascale Rentsch
The Swiss-born artist, who is now based in East Lothian, is a member of the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour.
She draws and paints plein-air, capturing nature and the elements, from stormy, wind-lashed seas to sunbaked cliffs, from secret coves to untrodden beaches.
Ms Rentsch said:
I love the fact that wherever I am in nature I know I will always find something beautiful, something that touches me, however small and insignificant it might be.
Her exhibition Light and Shade, featuring 35 paintings will run at Watermark Gallery from October 19 to November 9.
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