‘Every Day is a Miracle’ is the tagline of Art Below’s first gallery exhibition since January and the Covid Lockdown which saw every gallery and theatre close in the UK and across the world.
Opening Friday 17 July at Ad Lib Gallery, it runs until the 26th of July following months of isolation and global uncertainty. ‘Every Day is a Miracle’ celebrates a reunion of work by the artists. A ray of hope for the Arts community that has been so acutely affected by the Covid 19 lockdown. Art Below presents an optimistic look towards the future.
Open to the public for ten days, this exhibition will comprise of a series of events, each with a limited capacity to comply with guidance as the COVID- 19 lockdown measures begin to lift.
We live in extraordinary times. Beyond the great tragedies of recent years, Art Below represents the triumph and pride in moments of adversity in the past. It also looks optimistically towards the future, with fresh works recently created by longstanding artists as well as some newbies.
From the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee to the 50th Anniversary to the first moon landing and the great work of our NHS, all these themes which have been explored in past exhibitions, are presented again in this exhibition as Art Below looks optimistically towards the future.
Coupled with old works are fresh works recently created by artists longstanding and newly brought on board.
L-R: Hendrix © Fin Dac (2010); ‘Fighting Fire’ by Sarah Maple (2006) 
L-R: Hendrix © Fin Dac (2010); ‘Fighting Fire’ by Sarah Maple (2006)
Curator and Art Below Co-Founder Ben Moore says:
“I feel that the coronavirus has created a wall in history, and that everything that happened before 2020 we will reminisce about for years to come – about the way things used to be.
This brief window of time is an opportunity for me as a curator to reflect on those wonderful years as Art Below went on its journey, from 2006 to its last event at the start of this year.
This is a chance for us to relive that wonderful time, enjoying a gallery as we used to do and seeing those iconic works that once starred on the walls of the London Underground in a new environment.
Things, I believe, will not be the same again in our lifetimes, however with change comes opportunity, and we are looking forward to our continued work with new, emerging artists on the scene, as well as those with whom we have collaborated for over a decade.”
The exhibition is part retrospective, looking back at some of the most iconic billboard posters from Art Below’s fifteen-year span, including Ben Eine, Sarah Maple, Billy Childish and Alison Jackson, as well as work from the Art Wars collection by artists such as Hayden Kays, Philip Colbert, Orlanda Broom and Joe Rush.
The show also unveils fresh new work by James Ostrer, Karen Bystedt, Anna Kenneally, Tom Lumley, Jeffrey Robb, Ben Eine, Ru Knox, Mark Metcalfe, Pauline Amos, Nasser Azam and Mikey Voice.
L-R: © Johnny Morant; © Nick Reynolds
A section of the show will be dedicated to the work of underwater photographer Terry Arpino (12 December 1944 – 7 April 2020), who sadly passed away in April.
Terry was a regular Art Below exhibitor from its earliest days and will be greatly missed. He became passionately interested in underwater photography over 35 years ago, excited about how nature shows its beauty and colour in the shapes and forms of organisms, living in this challenging yet serene environment. He enthusiastically described his unique practice as being at times “beyond imagination and dreams.” A billboard poster of work by Terry Arpino was installed at Hyde Park Corner Tube Station on Monday 13 July 2020. RIP Terry.
“Every day is a miracle” runs at the Ad Lin Gallery, 725 Fulham Road, London SW6 5UL from 17 – 26 July 2020
