The art world is most focused on artists who are 20-35 years of age. Age is an explicit qualifying criterion in a huge number of artist opportunities, we want you to expose this, or question this, we want to know why and when will this change...
Most would agree that art historians and curators have done a poor job over the past century of bringing a full and complete picture of the world’s cultural production.
Rediscoveries of artists who were ignored over a lifetime, excluded from public exhibitions but who continued to produce despite the art world’s best efforts to exclude them.
We know who has been excluded: it disadvantages older artists especially, women, queer and non-binary creators, artists of colour, poor, disabled, and working-class artists.
There are many mechanisms that bring about an undervaluing of artists, but there is one that exacerbates all and has been largely ignored: age discrimination.
This exhibition explores the issue of how age is presented in the arts.
Artist: chris clark
Instagram: @chrisclark_art
Title: Autumn beauty
Media: Oil on board
Description: This is a nude portrait of a mature sitter painted over 5 sessions.
Artist: Eskild beck
Instagram: @starflight.dk
Title: “Boomer”
Media: video
Description: When I was young, I’m now 72, I was annoyed it was mostly older well-known artists who were offered the opportunity to exhibit. Now I’m annoyed it is mostly young people. In both cases sometimes without significant talent. Hope one day it will be quality that decides.
Youtube or Vimeo video link
https://youtu.be/tjexC12zPUA
Artist: Nicky Ruddick
Instagram: @nickyruddickart
Title: Age vs Beauty - This is Not How I Look in My Head
Media: Collage
Description: This is my personal response to the invisibility of ageing faces on social media (and media as a whole). It's a woman giving herself a face lift and absorbing all the language associated with ageing, from adverts, magazines and online trolls.
Artist: Ann-Marie Brown
Instagram: @annmariebrown.art
Title: Rare Bird in The Garden
Media: Encaustic & oil on canvas
Description: Rare Bird in the Garden is a painting of my striking neighbour who works on fishing boats and in her time off rides her motorbike down to Mexico. She's fierce and interesting and the elements she's out in have shaped her face. The painting has been published in lit magazines in North America and Europe and she's been consistently paired with stories about monstrous characters. I think it's because the editors aren't used to seeing that face in a painting.
There's a slickness I'm resisting, both in the figures I choose to paint and the methods I use to paint them. Encaustic is tricky and the marks that build up on the canvas while the painting is being fought for have a value, like wrinkles and scars on a person. They are the story of becoming, written on the body.
Artist: Susan Plover
Title: Old Boy With A pearl Earring.
Media: Mixed
Description: Based upon a Victorian postcard showing a sketch of an older gent I have used the device of the earring to engage the art historical reference,using this as a ground by painting onto the piece and adding a collaged earring. The final piece is light,colourful and many layered in its reading. The second piece is a drawing I made on a wallpaper ground finished with water colour and a claged pearl earring The nod to art historical is a deliberate poke at ageism and the added image a knowing device .
My practice is often playful and aims to challenge !
Im an older artist who graduated with a First in Fine art. I will be 70 next year and my work ethic is gaining strength Often excluded and definately overlooked,I continue to work every day in my home studio and always chase fresh opportunities.
Artist: Siobhan Wall
Instagram: @siobhan_drawings
Title: Disappearing
Media: Digital photo
Description: I have been making series of images about living with hairloss. These self portraits are about finding ways to disguise and hide my alopecia. I am not ready to declare my baldness to the world.
Artist: Fred Fabre
Instagram: @drawlogia
Title: André’s Revelry
Media: Oil
Description: This painting forms a compelling artistic testament aimed at dismantling the boundaries that ageism erects. In 'Andrè’s Revelry,' the canvas portrays an octogenarian courageously unfurling his true self. The vibrant colours of his pants capture his joyous self-acceptance, while challenging ageist stereotypes by daringly highlighting the universality of human desires across generations. This image acts as a powerful reminder that love and self-discovery have no expiration date, encouraging viewers to embrace authenticity at every stage of life.
Artist: Karen Horsfall
Instagram: @Khorsfall111arts
Title: Not ready for Hush Puppies
Media: Ceramic sculptures
Description: Ceramic sculptures of shoes. I love shoes and as I approach 55 I love to wear Dr Martens / Converse /Vans /Nike Jordan’s etc I’m not ready for hush puppies and don’t think I ever will be.
Artist: Angela Brookford
Instagram: @angelabrookford
Title: ‘Disappearing’
Media: Textiles
Description: Ageism is one prejudice that is still allowed it seems. This piece is part of a textile book of 23 images using the idea of working on both back and front of the ‘page’ at the same time. ( as illustrated in photos). The book was developed from drawings I did of my mother in her last days; on the theme of vulnerability. Older women it is said become invisible. And literally and metaphorically, on many different levels she is ‘Disappearing’ into the background.
Artist: Jessica Sheehan
Instagram: @jessicasheehan.artist
Title: Self portrait at 3*
Media: Oil on canvas board
Description: I was inspired by Rembrandts ‘Self portrait at 34’. He was at the top of his career, and depicted himself in the dress of the old masters, looking out across the art pantheon showing himself to be their equal. In contrast this self portrait is of me, an female emerging artist over 35, starting to show small but subtle signs of getting older. I’m looking out into the art world with a mild sense of overwhelm, awkwardness and a worry that my career is subject to an arbitrary time limit - when it has barely begun.
Artist: Angelica Guerrero Licona
Instagram: @angelica.guerrero.art
Title: 8 Muses
Media: Mixed media on canvas
Description: I present my latest geometric composition, a tribute to eight remarkable women artists who've made a lasting impact on art history. Through this artwork, I aim to shed light on their often overlooked contributions, honoring pioneers like Hilma af Klint, Louise Bourgeois, Georgia O'Keeffe, Niki de Saint Phalle, Aurora Reyes, Barbara Hepworth, Bridget Riley, and Remedios Varo. This composition serves as a gateway to rediscover and appreciate their invaluable artistic legacy, while also challenging age-based discrimination, inspiring generations to come.
