"A Portrait of Rye" - A retrospective exhibition of Rye portraits by local artist Marina Kim.
Roche Gallery
93 High Street
Rye, East Sussex
TN31 7JN
Tel: 01797222259
Mobile: 07726538389
August 26th, 2022
ROCHE Gallery in Rye is excited to announce the upcoming retrospective exhibition of portraiture works by Marina Kim, "A Portrait of Rye". The show's visitors will be delighted to see the well-recognised faces of community leaders and the town's characters. The collection will be displayed for ten days, September 17-26, at Roche Gallery, 93 High Street, Rye, TN31 7JN.
From the artist:
"A Portrait of Rye" is a collection of portraits of Ryers I painted in the last two decades of living in our little English town. Most of them are portrait commissions, and a few I painted for the Rye Bonfire Society's fundraising auctions.
Rye's community comprises traders and occasional crooks, wealthy retired people and paupers, creatives and fishermen, farmers and city-dwellers looking for a country escape, and many others, ordinary and eccentric folks. I don't claim that I know it well, but I have had the privilege to get to know some interesting, exciting people through painting their portraits. For a foreigner new to this country, the hours of live sessions conversating with my sitters were the best way to get to know British people and learn first-hand about their history, culture, ways and values. Perhaps, sometime in the future, I, too, will be able to say that I am a Ryer."
About Artist Marina Kim
Marina is descended from Korean families who settled in Russia's Far East. They were forcibly transported to Central Asia during Stalin's time, where Marina spent her early life.
A graduate of the prestigious Republican Art College in Uzbekistan, Marina opened her own gallery in Tashkent before moving to London. In 2001 she held her first major exhibition "Beyond the Great Silk Road", at the Arndean Gallery in Mayfair. Soon after, she and her husband Tim Roche moved to Rye, where they opened the Roche Gallery, which celebrates its twentieth year in 2022.
Marina works in most traditional media, applying herself with equal facility to oils, acrylics, watercolours, tempera, pencil, and ink. She also makes prints using a variety of techniques - drypoint, etching, aquatint - and specialises in mezzotints, of which there are many examples in the gallery.
However, it is portraiture that allows Marina to bring together all the strands of her artistic knowledge and experience. This genre utilises all her skills, as well as her insights and knowledge of human experience. She has completed numerous portrait commissions in recent years in a wide range of styles and media: formal paintings in oils and acrylics; informal oil, watercolour and pencil sketches – especially of infants and young children; and monotypes in "pop art" style.
Most of the show "A Portrait of Rye" comprises commissioned portraits. After the show, the pictures on loan will return to their homes.
ROCHE Gallery was founded in February 2002. The gallery's ethos is to promote skill and professionalism in visual arts by exhibiting quality fine art pieces and undertaking art commissions. The gallery specialises in figurative art and, most of the time, displays works by the proprietor Marina Kim.
This event marks two decades of ROCHE Gallery. Sadly, one of the proprietors, Tim Roche, passed away in January this year. However, the family is dedicated to continuing the business.
Coinciding with the Rye Art Festival, the exhibition "A Portrait of Rye" promises to be a visual treat for art connoisseurs visiting the town. Make it part of your cultural program this September!
During the exhibition, the gallery is open from Thursday to Monday, 10-5.30. Aside from special events, regular opening times are fluid. Please, come in on weekends or call to make an appointment. We'll be glad to see you, any day, any time.
To learn more about the show, visit marinakimart.com
For ROCHE Gallery business info - rochegallery.com
