Jealous Gallery London Releases New Print Portfolio by 16 Leading UK Artists to Raise Funds for Charities Affected by COVID-19

COVID-19 has affected charitable organisations and their users in numerous, unprecedented ways. Launched on 5th November 2020, Jealous Gallery and Print Studio’s new publication, The Help Portfolio, features new signed, limited edition prints donated by sixteen important UK artists, and seeks to provide financial support to a number of affected charities. These include larger national bodies, as well as local organisations whose vital work in communities is often overlooked and underfunded.

The collective spirit of the artists working together mirrors the conception of The Help Portfolio. The works in the portfolio cover a wide range of mediums, themes and imagery, distinctive to each artist. Each artist involved has been given the opportunity to select a charity, and all profits from the sale of this boxed print collection will be divided by the sixteen selected charities.

In this way, the charities supported by the project reflect the passions and priorities of the artists.

With a special launch price of £7,500, the edition size of the portfolio has been limited to 125 copies, available from the Jealous website.

So what gems can buyers of the portfolio expect to find inside? Abstract compositions exploring line and colour are realised in signature works by Ian Davenport and No consequence by Remi Rough is printed directly onto plywood. Jake and Dinos Chapman’s smiley face is illustrated in glitter in three different colours. Annie Morris, who often draws on the history of art, presents Flower Woman (after Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe).

Mathew Weir’s delicate still life entitled The Watching Hour is brought to life with snippets of glow-in-the-dark ink. Paul Winstanley offers us a lily, a symbol of hope in these strange times. Yinka Shonibare CBE incorporates gold leaf into his print to illustrate a symbolic tulip that sits under the words ‘Thank you’. In his characteristic bold, iconic style, Michael Craig-Martin’s contribution is a screenprint depicting gerbera flowers.

London-based painter Sue Arrowsmith has created a print that changes in the light using copper leaf and green ink. Nicky Hirst’s contribution combines found objects with pages from magazines and books as part of a larger project, Elemental Works. Elizabeth McGill captures an evocative landscape, while Paul Morrission has donated Night Pond, a debossed version of a signature black and white image.

Compassion, the featured print by light artist Chris Levine, is a portrait of the Dali Lama realised in glow-in-the-dark inks. Scottish artist Paul McDevitt has contributed his interpretation of a brick wall to the collection, while Idris Khan has obscured the notations on a sheet of music with densely applied areas of blue in a work entitled Four Bar Rhythm.

With a cover design by iconic British graphic designer Margaret Calvert, who is best known for designing the UK’s road signage system, the complete collection is presented in a stylish portfolio box. A print of Calvert’s Help logo can also be found inside the portfolio

This project was originally intended to run alongside an exhibition of the featured prints, but the event was cancelled due to changing lockdown regulations.

The Help Portfolio is the brainchild of David Cleaton-Roberts, Director of Cristea Roberts Gallery, artist Sue Arrowsmith, collector Christian Mathews and Director of Jealous Gallery and Print Studio, Dario Illari. It was conceived and developed during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown.

The Portfolio is available to purchase now from Jealous Gallery: www.jealousgallery.com

Article by Toby Buckley.