Former Wick gallery coordinator holds first solo exhibition in London

An artist who lived in Caithness for five years before moving south is delighted her first solo exhibition in London is getting “a very positive response”.

All Things Are Full Of Gods by Jana Emburey opened at the Ione and Mann Gallery in Conduit Street last Thursday and will run until May 23.

Jana, who was the co-ordinator at the St Fergus Gallery in Wick, was in the UK capital for the opening and said it went very well.

“More than half the exhibits were sold on the first two nights which was very unexpected but fantastic. Galleries have been quieter and work has not been selling as well as it did before Covid so I was surprised but delighted,” she said.

Jana, who now lives in Grantown-on-Spey, added: “There were lots of interesting people at the exhibition and a couple of art critics as well. There were also people who bought my work in the past and the response was very positive.

“If nothing else sells during the exhibition I will still be delighted as more than half the 14 exhibits have already been sold but the more that sells the better.”

Jana will have another exhibition there next year and said Ione and Mann is the only major gallery in the UK she works with. She has been involved with them for about 10 years and said the gallery has been “very supportive” of her and her work. “They have included me in various group exhibitions, but this time it is a solo, my first one in London. They have asked me to go exclusively with them.”

Describing the exhibition, which takes its name from a quote by ancient Greek philosopher, Thales of Miletus, she said: “It is very calm and peaceful and features some of the works from my Oblivion series. Some of the paintings are more expressive and have more colour. It celebrates life, renewal and the unbreakable link between nature, humanity and the cosmos.

“I was really pleased with how the opening two days went and, hopefully, it will carry on in that way.”

Jana was born in 1979 in Bratislava, Slovakia. She is a graduate of the Academy of Arts and Crafts in Bratislava and Leeds Metropolitan University. She has exhibited all over the country and in Europe and last year took part in a group exhibition at the Inverness Museum and Art Gallery with a number of Highland-based artists.

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