David Kovats Gallery – Barnabus Lakatos Gelleri – Arriving into something new

You could easily walk by the David Kovats Gallery, at the Drury Lane end of Long Acre, at least you could, if it wasn’t for the arresting art in this latest exhibition with works painted on 2m x 2m canvases.

Artist Barnabas Lakatos Gelleri, a queer artist, the son of a bishop, who became an artist to be free to express himself how he wished, through his art.

Although Barnabas is gay, and is part of a Queer Art collective, this seems almost incidental to his work and more a political statement. It is his choice of colour, an almost Gaugin palette, that first grabs the attention.

Bull under a Tree

All his work in this exhibition features bulls (Barnabas is Taurus) and snakes,  (not for their biblical symbolism, but that for him, they represent many aspects of life including, knowledge, temptation, and sin)

Both the snakes and the bulls have a benign, almost Japanese anime quality, soft, feminine facial features, in an array of citrus colours of lemon, pink, orange, mauve and turquoise.

Catch the Snake

Barnabas works with the medium of acrylic with brush strokes, spray paint and Japanese ink, creating a layered almost 3D effect.

On two canvases the artist has deliberately left an area, one in the shape of a dagger, unpainted. Barnabas treats this as a deliberate pause, similar to a silence sometimes found in music, but here intended to pull the viewer up and allow for reflection on what has just been seen.

Fighting Bulls

David Kovats, the owner of the gallery is no less interesting. As a child at Kindergarten in Hungary, he and the other children could choose a recognisable symbol to act as their signature. Some chose an apple or a flower, a bee or a tree it was the child’s imagination that guided the choice, and these symbols would even be sewn into clothing. David’s father was an art dealer and so it was perhaps inevitable that David would choose a price tag as his symbol and his own artwork would be taken to his father’s gallery, complete with his signature price tag.

David became an art dealer and supporter of the arts, looking for new talent and bring them to a new audience. David opened a gallery in Hungary and then worked at Sotheby’s before opening his own gallery in London’s Covent Gallery.

Sadly, because of the restrictions of Covid, Barnabas has not been able to visit his very first exhibition, but if you are walking through Covent Garden you should certainly make a detour, as I suspect that this particular artist is going to come to prominence, and this is an opportunity to see him at the start of his career.

The exhibition is open all week including weekends but must close on October 3^rd

For more information:
David Kovats Gallery
80 Long Acre, Covent Garden
London, WC2E 9NG
https://davidkovats.com/

England, 1444. Three women challenge the course of history…

King Henry VI’s grip on the crown hangs by a thread as the Wars of the Roses starts to tear England apart. And from the ashes of war, the House of Paston begins its rise to power.

Led by three visionary women, the Pastons are a family from humble peasant beginnings who rely upon cunning, raw ambition, and good fortune in order to survive.

Their ability to plot and scheme sees them overcome imprisonment, violence and betrayal, to eventually secure for their family a castle and a place at the heart of the Yorkist Court. But success breeds jealousy and brings them dangerous enemies…

My favourite genre to read is without a doubt historical fiction, The Royal Game is the first book I have read that is set in the medieval era, O’brien beautifully brings to life not one, not two but three strong female characters. It is a gorgeously insightful, inspiring and courageous read and I find myself impatient to learn the fate of the Paston family.

If you want to delve into the past and be transported to England almost 600 years ago then I highly recommend picking up a copy of The Royal Game.

Lots of news today from Joffe Books, so let’s get to it: Seconds to Die by Rebecca Bradley is Joffe’s Book of the Week, and has all the twists and turns required of a bestseller:  a killer who sends drawings of the murders he will commit.  A detective who will do anything to stop him.

At only 99p/99c to celebrate the launch.

And yet more:

Murder under the Bridge by Roy Lewis. 99p/99c

Meet Arnold Landon, mild-mannered history buff turned amateur sleuth. Really truly, a fabulous read. I gulped it down. And what a jacket.

“Assembling layer upon layer of details . . . Lewis brings an insidious cleverness to his latest offering . . . canny enough to keep us enthralled.” Publishers Weekly

“The skilful Mr Lewis has made Arnold Landon an unforgettable character.” New York Times

Quiet Neighbours by Catriona McPherson 99p/99c

After a horrendous year, Jude buys a train ticket to the last place she remembers feeling happy.  A bookshop in the Scottish Highlands.  Sometimes the place you run to is even more dangerous than where you came from . . .

Collateral Damage Paul Bennett  99p/99c

The very title summons a chilling suspicion. An innocent hurt? Whaaat? So let’s have a look …

Nick Shannon knows what it’s like to be on the inside. He has the perfect experience for a job in the Fraud Squad, it’s just a shame that the cases thrown his way are about as stimulating as watching paint dry.

But now things are about to explode. I should say so. Behind the sofa with you. Duck!

MORE EXCITING NEWS.

The Joffe Books Store is here.  Joffe Books wanted to create one space especially for its readers where we can discover the work of Joffe’s authors, all in one place.

Ta ra… Roll of drums … Enter the Joffe Books Store which  allows us to browse all our old favourites, discover exciting new reads, shop for box sets and more. With Christmas on the way – oh yes it is, this could save time all you readers as you bustle in from the shops, and want to collapse over a cuppa, having plodded around shop after shop. Here it is, made easy for you, just one  convenient location.

Joffe Books Store UK    Joffe Books Store US

Visit the store today and tell Joffe  what you think.

And finally:

Join Joffe Books authors Margaret Murphy and Susanna Beard for a full day of exclusive events at Perfect Crime Festival 2021!

Margaret and Susanna are joined by some of the biggest and most exciting names in the world of crime writing to discuss how Liverpool as a city inspires crime writing and why are we fascinated by the murderous mind. A fabulous list of speakers including Ann Cleeves and Sophie Hannah and many many more. A feast of authors, a great time will be had.

Book your tickets here today.

September 11^th 2001, a date where  many people around the world know exactly where they were and what they were doing.

I was nine, my mum picked me up from a after school club and we went to a friend’s house where we all  watched the horror unfold on TV, I remember the broadcasters’ screams as they witnessed the second plane strike the twin towers, I struggled to understand what I was seeing, the smoke, the shock in my parents’ faces, the horror, the fear. I wondered why it was happening, what did all of those innocent people do to deserve their fate  as they started work for the day? Suddenly everything seemed to have changed in my life.

In the years since I have watched a couple of documentaries with stories from survivors and eyewitnesses. Initially I wanted to write about the unsung heroes of that fateful day but morally I felt I couldn’t do so as everyone in their own way was a hero; some ran up the stairs towards the danger in a effort to save as many as they could, some did everything in their power to help strangers get to safety, some dug through the mountain of debris to help save someone’s life, some stayed calm and listened to the heart-breaking phone calls from those trapped above the fires and relayed messages to their loved ones.

Our Frost Magazine editor was at an auction sale. The sale stopped, people went home in silence, raw with shock. Her husband was in a meeting with Americans nearby. They rushed to the airport. What did it all mean? everyone thought. What? What was going to happen?

In 2008 I visited New York City and one of the many places I went to was Ground Zero, which was at the time under construction as the memorial was being built. Unlike the other stops on my trip, it was not full of hustle and bustle and crowds of people. It was quiet and sobering and incredibly emotional. I struggle to find the words to describe exactly what it was like , unless you have been there it is something you may not understand.

So many changes, but I speak of only those I experienced: before 9/11 as I flew out to America, it was not necessary to have a ticket before walking around a airport or to wait at the gate, passenger ID’s were not checked prior to boarding a plane and the only item that people had to remove when passing through security was loose change. Airport staff did not need background checks prior to employment and checked baggage was never scanned.

But most importantly for that nine year old that was me, is that  from that age I  realised our safety is not a given, because up until that moment this child named Natalie had assumed the rock like foundations on which her life was lived were assured forever.  Out of the blue , I realised, everything can change as it did that day.

I also learned that this is when the rebuilding begins… Life resumes. We go on. 

9/11 is a day that I will remember for the rest of my life. It was a day  that stopped the world, one that showed the worst and the best in so many.

Images courtesy of Kim Knight.