It's not often that Suffolk gets a brand new gallery space but tucked away above Crisp's bookshop in Saxmundham High Street is a fantastic new exhibition space called, suitably enough, The Old Print Works Gallery.

By Andrew Clarke

It's not often that Suffolk gets a brand new gallery space but tucked away above Crisp's bookshop in Saxmundham High Street is a fantastic new exhibition space called, suitably enough, The Old Print Works Gallery.

The opening exhibition this weekend has been curated by Maggi Hambling who has brought together a diverse yet complementary collection of works by herself and a number of leading locally-based artists.

“I think it is a marvellous space and it good to bring a little art to the people of Saxmundham,” said Maggi. “It is a venture by Crisp's which I think deserves to be encouraged.”

She said the works have been chosen to show the range of high quality work which is being created in and around Saxmundham itself. The exhibition represents the latest works by Maggi, Jason Gathorne-Hardy, Tory Lawrence and Christopher Newson.

In fact one of the works in her own submission is so new that it was not titled or ready to be hung until yesterday and is of a seal trying to negotiate sea-defences at Slaughden Quay, Aldeburgh last weekend.

“I am so excited by the painting that I substituted it for another painting at the last minute,” Maggi explained. “It's different because this is the first occasion that I have included a living creature in one of my sea paintings.”

She chose Jason Gathorne-Hardy's Texel in the Grass drawing as one of the main images for the exhibition because it established strong eye contact with the viewer as they came into the main gallery space.

Christopher Newson's short film Storm, featuring Maggi drawing on Aldeburgh beach in the shadow of her sculpture Scallop, has been designed to lure visitors up-the-stairs and into the first floor gallery. The skilfully assembled montage of atmospheric, early morning shots has been cut together to Benjamin Britten's music also called Storm.

Inside the main gallery space Christopher Newson has assembled a montage of still photographs of the sky which are being observed by a mini-sculpture of a reclining figure. Also as you leave the gallery Chris also has the last word with a number of fine art photographs of Scallop which manage to discover new angles and views of Aldeburgh's large steel beach sculpture.

While Tory Lawrence vies with Maggi for attention in a colourful, largely aquatic world Jason Gathorne-Hardy's finely observed work re-visits his on-going fascination with farm animals.

The exhibition at The Old Print Works gallery, above HG Crisp, in Saxmundham High Street, runs from this weekend until October 13.