cbp-newsletter-august-2026

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AUGUST 2026

CBP Prize 2026

We are thrilled to announce the artists for the Contemporary British Painting Prize 2026. The 15 shortlisted artists are:

The exhibition opens on 19 September at YAS Sheffield where the Winners of the CBP Prize, the YAS Exhibition Award and the Judith Tucker Memorial Prize will be announced. See our website for more details.

Artist of the month

Paint Shadows, Installation view, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.

Photo Pete Carr, National Museums Liverpool, 2025.

Graham Crowley

Artist of the Month is an ongoing series where we highlight one of our members. This month we are pleased to introduce artist Graham Crowley selected and interviewed by Paul Newman.

"I paint shadows. I’m intrigued by luminosity in painting. This is the driving force behind LIGHT INDUSTRY*. I’ve always been fascinated by those of Manet. The way in which the image and the painting (as its own object) can be seen simultaneously – fused together as a single luminous entity. This remarkable duality is one of paintings defining characteristics."

* Extract from a statement first that appeared to accompany LIGHT INDUSTRY which won the first prize in the John Moores Painting Prize in 2023.

Read the interview

Light Industry, oil on canvas, 152 x 178cm, 2022

Two Person Exhibition

Vans

Vans brings together the work of Shaun Morris and Paul Newman, featuring the van as both a personal and social symbol. Influenced by the traditions of landscape painting and the realities of contemporary urban life, their paintings explore memory, work, consumption, and change in modern Britain.

Shaun's paintings examine the van as a defining feature of the contemporary landscape. Through close observation, he transforms these overlooked vehicles into symbols of labour, consumption, and economic growth. His work explores how vans reflect the pressures of modern life, inviting reflection on work, value, sustainability, and society.

Paul's work draws on childhood memories, Romantic landscape painting, and popular culture. A chance encounter with a Ford Escort van, echoing memories of his father's weekly return home, inspired a recurring motif. Alongside Gothic figures, these images explore memory, change, decay, and uncertainty in a shifting world.

The Showcase Gallery, The Jubilee Trade Centre, 130 Pershore St, Birmingham

Private view: Friday 7 August, 4pm - 8 pm

Exhibition dates: Open throughout August

Opening times: By appointment - Contact: [email protected]

Group Exhibitions

Nothing Gold Can Stay

Artists: Damaris Athene, Ruth Murray, Nastassja Simensky, Zoe Wilkinson.

Taking its name from a poem by Robert Frost, Nothing Gold Can Stay exists for a short while as a collection of artworks that explore transience and impermanence. Through thinking about light, nature and the inevitable cycles of time it offers a dialogue between the poem - written in 1923 - and contemporary issues such as climate, post-colonialism, identity and post-humanism.

Nature’s first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf’s a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay

Texture, 48 Stocks Street, Cheetham Hill M8 8QJ

Private view: Friday 21 August, 6pm - 9pm

Exhibition dates: 22 August - 20 September 2026

Opening times: By appointment • Admission free

Art Fairs

Monica Metsers

Art In The Pen

Monica Metsers will be exhibiting her landscape oil paintings at 'Art in The Pen' for the first time as part of their 20th Anniversary Event.

Skipton Auction Mart, Skipton BD23 1UD

Exhibition dates: 15 - 16 August 2026

Opening times: 9am - 4pm

More details and tickets available via the website.

Continuing Solo Exhibitions

Miranda Boulton: Garlands and Wreaths II, oil and acrylic spray paint on canvas, 150cm x 120cm, 2025

Chain of Flowers

Chain of Flowers, an exhibition of new oil paintings by Cambridge-based artist Miranda Boulton will open at Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery this May. Boulton’s practice explores ideas around memory and time, referencing the traditions of still life painting and abstraction with a mixture of vigorous and delicate marks.

Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery, Castle Hill, Norwich NR1 3JU

Exhibition dates: 16 May - 6 December 2026

Opening times: 10am - 5pm • Admission: Ticketed - please see website

Continuing Group Exhibitions

Susie Hamilton: Red Eye

SALON

Paul Stolper is pleased to announce 'Salon', a group show featuring works by Susannah Baker-Smith, Helen Beard, Lauren Bryden, Sarah Hardacre, Susie Hamilton, Donna McLean, Grace O'Connor and Jemima Stehli. The exhibition spans a period of almost thirty years, focusing on paintings, prints, needlework, and sculptures.

Paul Stolper Gallery, 31 Museum Street, London WC1A 1LH

Exhibition dates: 30 June - 14 August 2026

Opening times: Mon- Fri 10am - 6pm • Admission free

Enzo Marra, Incident, oil on canvas, 31cm x 22.5cm, 2026

THE LIDO OPEN: CALLING

The Lido Open: Calling marks five years of the open call painting prize, presenting works by past winners alongside those by the painters who selected them.

Artists: Laura L Bell, Vincent Hawkins, Kristen Healy, Sophie von Hellermann, Lee Johnson, Enzo Marra, Olivia O’ Dwyer, Anne Ryan, Jack Shearing, Sukey Sleeper, Charles Williams.

The Lido Stores, 2 Ethelbert Terrace, Margate CT9 1RX

Exhibition dates: 11 July - 13 September 2026

Opening times: Friday - Saturday 11am - 4pm Sunday 10am - 2pm • Admission free

Tarantella installation

Tarantella

'Tarantella' is a curatorial project involving sixty artists who have been invited to paint a small board in a colour significant to them, then give their colour a name. The exhibition, curated by Jenny Sutton and Sean Williams, features contributions from CBP members Mandy Payne, Jo Whittle and Sean Williams, as well as many others with art practices which connect to Sheffield and beyond.

Prosaic Projects Gallery, Bloc Studios, Sheffield S1 4RE

Exhibition dates: 8 July - 6 September 2026

Opening times: Please contact Sean Williams @swseanwilliams to arrange a viewing • Admission free

Ruth Calland: Gialu, oil on paper on board, 76cm x 61cm, 2024

The Sidney Nolan Art Prize (inaugural exhibition)

Inspired by the legacy of pioneering Australian modernist artist Sir Sidney Nolan (1917-1992), the Sidney Nolan Art Prize invited artists to explore art that engages with emotion and human identity in relation to society and/or the landscape, environment, plants, and animals. Includes work by CBP member Ruth Calland.

Sidney Nolan Trust, The Rodd, Herefordshire LD8 2LL

Exhibition dates: 11 July - 4 October 2026

Opening times: Weds - Sun 11am - 4pm

Admission: Free with admission to the Sidney Nolan Trust (£6.30)

Day Bowman: Marking Out the Boundaries 8, oil, charcoal and conte on canvas, 145cm x 164cm

Britten Pears Arts Open 2026

The inaugural Britten Pears Arts Open 2026 including work by CBP member Day Bowman.

Snape Maltings, Snape, Suffolk IP17 1SP

Exhibition dates: 25 July - 30 August 2026

Opening times: Mon - Sun, 11am - 7pm • Admission free

Day Bowman: Vertical Landscape 16, 30cm x 25cm, 2025

The Hogarth Prize

In its inaugural year, the Hogarth Prize recognises outstanding contemporary British artwork and creativity across a range of practices and ideas including work by CBP members Day Bowman and Marguerite Horner.

The exhibition will be held at Hogarth’s House (the former home of William Hogarth), now a historic house, contemporary gallery, and learning centre in Chiswick, London.

Hogarth's House, Great West Road, London W4 2QN

Exhibition dates: 28 July - 6 September 2026

Opening times: 12 noon - 5pm daily. Closed Mondays.

Admission: Exhibition free; house ticketed.

Paul Smith: The Mixer, oil on panel, 25cm x 20cm, 2026

The Football Art Prize 2026

The Football Art Prize has announced its 2025/26 shortlist, selecting over 75 works from around 900 entries submitted by artists across the UK and internationally.

The Football Art Prize exhibition will take place at the Millennium Gallery, Sheffield before travelling to the National Football Museum, Manchester from November 2026 - February 2027.

The exhibition includes work by CBP members Karl Bielik and Paul Smith.

Exhibition dates: 15 June - 13 September 2026

Opening times: Tues - Sat 10am - 5pm, Sunday 11am - 4pm. Closed Mondays • Admission free

Susan Absolon: Memory and Forgetting #4, 2026

Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition

Held every year without interruption since 1769, the Summer Exhibition showcases a diverse array of contemporary works, including prints, paintings, films, photography, sculpture, and architectural works. It features a mix of art by household names and emerging talent.

The exhibition includes CBP members Susan Absolon, Day Bowman, Robbie Bushe and Susie Hamilton.

Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London

Exhibition dates: 16 June - 23 August 2026

Opening times: Tuesday-Sunday 10am - 6pm, Friday 10am - 9pm • Admission: Ticketed via Royal Academy of Arts website

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