Varied Narratives: Capital Culture Gallery
Nando Kallweit: Small Bronzes from 10-25 cm tall.
Capital Culture Gallery is run by artists Rachael Dalzell and James Sparshatt in Coltishall, Norfolk England. The gallery champions art that represents culture, landscape and diversity. “We welcome all art lovers, whether they are seasoned collectors or possible first-time buyers to enjoy looking at our diverse collection of art in a relaxed and friendly environment,” says James. In addition to hosting exhibitions in the gallery, the owners also exhibit the works of the artist they represent at numerous international art fairs, including London, Los Angeles, New York, Singapore, Paris, Milan, Stockholm and Hamburg among others. Here are just a few of the standout artists they represent.
John Kenny has travelled to some of the most remote corners of sub-Saharan Africa to highlight the pivotal role that traditional communities play in places where the earth’s resources are minimal and under growing threat. His striking portraits emphasize beauty, inherent strength and give insight into traditional dress and adornment. John has also extended this work to document ethnic groups in India. Of his photographs, it has been said “There’s a piercing intensity to British photographer John Kenny’s portraits, a magnetism that draws you into the lives of the people before his lens”. We quite agree. Photos: John Kenny.
Nando Kallweit is a German sculptor working in bronze and oak. As a young boy, he was inspired by the beauty and antiquity of a bust of Nefertiti housed in the Egyptian Museum of Berlin. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, his new-found freedoms allowed him to travel to Egypt and develop his belief in the basic strength and pride inherent in inhumanity. His sculptures seek to emphasize this through elongated forms and upright postures. He reduces the figures to simple gestures and movements creating sculptures with a wonderful interplay between the archaic and the modern; between art and design. His work has exhibited across Europe and is held in many private collections. Photos: IJ, Nado Kallweit.
New Zealand-born artist, Gabrielle Pool, had her first solo show in Japan at the age of 16, where she was schooled and which continues to have a powerful and lasting oriental influence on her work. Since then, her paintings and mixed media works have been exhibited in solo and group shows in New Zealand, Australia, Japan, China, the US, the UK, Greece and the Bahamas. In 2004 she began to record several of the world’s vanishing tribes – the Hamer Tribe in Ethiopia, the Maasai of Kenya, and more recently, the Indigenous women artists of Utopia in Australia’s Northern Territory. Having immersed herself in tribal life, she often using sacred body paint pigments in her work. She states ““My painting has always been driven by a desire to preserve and record the history of ancient people and their environments, in a world that seems to be trying its very best to eradicate them and ‘civilize’ them.” Photos: Gabrielle Pool.
— Christina Spearman