UAL to showcase artist's work with 'Look Club'

by Hoang Quynh Nga

The University of Arts London Paint Club Research Network will showcase the work of former Royal Art College student, Philip Allen in a special researching event, titled Look Club.

Artist Phillip Allen’s work will be exhibited on May 20 for the first time, and it will feature some of his paintings in an engaging conversation led by writer Martin Holman.

Look Club will be held in the form of a book club, a public discussion of ideas involving one painting, one critic and audience.

It aims to open up a critical interpretation prompted by an aesthetic encounter with a single painting.

Tate Modern

Elspeth Penfold, a third-year student of BA Fine Art (Painting) from Wimbledon College of Art, said: “Look Club seems far more related to my practice than similar events I normally attends at the Tate Modern and the Tate Britain.

"I am interested in the language which we use when we discuss a painting and how our ideas about painting have changed over time."

She said she expected the Look Club event would help “further my knowledge” and “engage me in debates about painting and its purpose.”

Penfold also had an opportunity to meet Allen and see his work, when he gave her tutorials at college: “I feel a common empathy with him as he is always passionate about painting.

“I would like to see more of him and his work in a different context."

Rich Sheehan, a 22-year-old Graphic and Media Design student at London College of Communication said: "I think Look Club could have a positive effect on the art practices of students.

"It could also set a framework for something similar. Students could take their portfolios and have debates with critics that will help them with their own work. If you brought down high-profile artists to be a part of the debate, that could draw big interest."

Allen was born in London in 1967 and studied at Kingston University and the Royal College of Art. His work has been exhibited extensively in Europe, and further afield in New York, where some of his work was part of an auction at Bonhams, a famous auctioneering firm in 2004.