News and Announcements

So if you missed our large and vibrant Christmas exhibition you can still view the gallery pages on this website and contact us should you wish to purchase.  We enjoyed seeing so many regular customers again as well as welcoming many new faces, and would like to thank all who visited  us, by car, on foot and astride horseback.  The final word must belong to a newcomer who sent the following email; "I would like to congratulate you on the obvious hard work that has gone into a great exhibition.  The location / setting is beautiful; the selection of art, sculptures, jewellery etc was stunning.  I look forward to returning to the next exhibition with a lot more to spend I hope."

Christmas shopping is rather like a treasure hunt, as we all seek out the new, unusual, exciting and appropriately applicable perfect present. And in so doing, we sometimes stumble upon a treasure for ourselves too; something which makes our hearts sing and our souls soar.
With this in mind, our Christmas show is a veritable cornucopia of delight. From breathtaking oil paintings to beaded tree decorations; from voluptuous stone sculpture to cut paper cards; from multi-coloured ceramics to solid silver jewellery; there is originality, creativity and novelty to aid your choice.
Repeat visits, slow browsing, sipped cups of hot tea and coffee, and questions about the artists are all encouraged. Dogs and children are welcome; and parking, entry and catalogues are free.
Once again, Art of Africa will be raising funds for the charity FARM-Africa and hoping to bring some festive support to those in the rural communities this Christmas.  We look forward to giving a warm welcome to you and your friends.

After many of you discovered Hidden Gems at Fillingdon Farm in the summer, you are all invited to explore again from Saturday 12th to Sunday 20th November and unearth some Seasonal Treasure.  The Christmas exhibition will be a veritable trove of exciting and tantalising new paintings, sculpture, crafts and gifts, especially good for presents as the festive season approaches.  In particular, is a focus on jewellery, which is apt as the winter party season gets underway.  Keep a watch as new work gets added to the website and please contact us if you have any enquiries.

Art of Africa opens the new summer exhibition for 2011, "Hidden Gems" at 10am on Saturday 18th June. 

An impressive collection of dazzling new work by over 130 artists awaits your inspection, and we hope everyone will find the gem for them.  Strong powerful oils by Jane Digby contrast markedly with soft, muted watercolours by Franny Simpson.  Striking & complex multi-media sculptures by Richard Jack play off against the simple naive work in wood by Boniface Chikwenhere and galvanised wire by Jeff Mwaza.  Ornate, colourful assorted jewellery by Hanan Yanny offsets simple copper designs on ribbon by Tessa Kelly.  Fine porcelain in white with silver leaf by David and Sarah Walters opposes bold, vibrant ceramics by Chris Silverston and Bruce Bell. 

The exhibition is open daily from 10am - 5pm until 26th June.  Directions can be found on this website and there will be signs on the A40.  Parking and entry is free, children, ramblers, dog-walkers and horse-riders are welcome, and refreshments are available.  Donations to the charity ZANE: Zimbabwe a National Emergency are most welcome.

We look forward to seeing you and hopefully the sunshine too!

We have just unloaded 41 boxes into our barn.  After weeks and months of flying, driving, searching, meeting, feeling and choosing, the gems of art and craftwork, which we have found hidden in off the beaten track recesses of Africa, are now at Fillingdon Farm.  Over the next few weeks we will unwrap 563kgs of secure packaging and hold our breath whilst we check that each unique piece has arrived undamaged.  Keep watching the website, as new images appear, and remember to put the dates 18th - 26th June in your diaries to come and visit us and enjoy this new collection in person.

The good news is that  two of the four artists selected from Zimbabwe to exhibit at the 2011 prestigious Venice Biennale have had work on display previously at the Art of Africa Gallery.  Stone sculptor Tapfuma Gutsa has shown pieces before as part of a Shona sculpture collection and photoprints were on exhibition by Berry Bickle, who is showing video art this year in Venice.  An invitation to the Biennale is a huge coup for the African nation beset with political  problems, as it is the first sub-Saharan country to be invited.   "It is gratifying to know that patrons can view work by top artists at our rural Chiltern gallery before they grace the big international stage."

The bad news is that another Zimbabwean artist who has previously exhibited with Art of Africa was arrested last year in Bulawayo.  Owen Maseko's controversial show, exploring massacres in the country in 1980's was closed after one day and he was taken away in leg-irons for interrogation lasting four days.  A year later the exhibition remains a restricted crime scene and if Owen loses his impending court case he faces up to 20 years in prison.  Awaiting trial he says that censorship is holding back Zimbabweans who are living in fear after his arrest.

Art of Africa thanks all those who braved the lashing rain and gusty winds to attend our recent Christmas exhibition, "Fine Art & Festive Frippery".  The fact that we had more visitors than ever, despite the adverse weather conditions, bears testament to, either the wonderful unique quality of the work created by the artists and craft people in Africa, or our roaring fire and constant supply of tasty coffee - we like to think it was both!

Aside from excellent sales, which means we can return to Africa early next year to purchase and commission more work, we also raised £323.13, thanks to your generous donations, for the worthy charity FARM-Africa.

Since the show ended on 14th November, we have received numerous requests for purchases, so don't forget you can peruse the website and contact us anytime throughout the year if you would like to make a purchase.  Our next exhibition though will be in June 2011.  In the meantime, we would like to wish everyone a very festive Christmas and a happy and healthy new year.

And finally, if you are passing through Wallingford, keep an eye out for our beady reindeer adorning the Christmas windows of esteemed jewellers, Brooker & Breeze.

Christmas is a time of indulgence; fine food, party clothes and effervescent wine.  So too does the art world celebrate; as the nights grow darker, so the colours get richer, the textures deeper, and everything is sprinkled with a touch of sparkle and glamour.

Four brand new artists; John Borman, Milly Jones, Lorriane Piers and Kier Turner bring their exciting new styles of fine art to the magic of this show; while  critically acclaimed artists such as Wendy Rosselli, Karen Laurence, Mary-Jane Alexander and Sheena Chadwick anchor the exhibition with their established kudos.

The range of festive craft is ever-expanding, from beautiful works of porcelain and stone sculpture, to sparkling silver jewellery and luxurious soft mohair, to unusual wood, glass, pewter, felt, metal and all manner of the "fripperly fabulous".

As always, Art of Africa will be raising funds for the charity FARM-Africa this Christmas and hoping to bring some festive support to those in the rural communities.

"Fine Art & Festive Frippery" is on at Fillingdon Farm, Piddington, High Wycombe, Bucks, HP14 3BL (sign-posted on A40) from Saturday 6th to Sunday 14th November, daily from 10am - 5pm.  Parking and entry is free, all are welcome, including dog-walkers, horse-riders and ramblers, and refreshments are on offer.  We look forward to seeing you.

ZANE is an extraordinary charity set up by inspiration and continued by sacrificial love. I have been enormously impressed by the vision, the hard work and the unquenchable spirit of everyone I have met. There is no escaping the need. What matters is an equally serious response from people at all levels of society.

ZANE is making such a response and I gladly put my name to the work these splendid people do. If we were equally motivated to make a difference to those in need, the world would be a much better, fairer and healthier place for us all to live.

“Art of Africa is the place I go to buy special and unusual gifts. It has the best range of contemporary African art in the UK and finds and promotes outstanding young African artists.
I am very grateful that Art of Africa supports FARM-Africa and helps us to make a lasting difference to the lives of farmers and livestock keepers in Africa”

Pliny the Elder was correct nearly two thousand years ago when he famously said; "There is always something new out of Africa".  The brand new, fresh work exhibited on this show seems fitting for spring and the month of May, when flora and fauna alike is rejuvenated and appeals to our senses with all its vitality and crispness.

"Fresh Appeal" opens on Saturday 15th May 2010 and runs daily from 10am to 5pm until Sunday 23rd May.  It is on show at Fillingdon Farm, Piddington, Bucks HP14 3BL, which is sign-posted on A40.

New artists, such as Wendy Rosselli, Linchen Kirchner, Willa Pitcher, Karen Sinovitch and Shelley Maisel make their inaugural debut with Art of Africa, while exciting new work by familiar names such as Karen Laurence, Mary-Jane Alexander, Nadia Kisseleva, Marinda Rossouw, Hennie Meyer and Johan Swart adds continuity to this show.

Within the catagories of paintings, sculpture, ceramics, jewellery and craft there is an extensive range of size, price, style, medium, subject matter and use which ensures that there is something of appeal for every space, taste and pocket.

As always on the mid-year show, Art of Africa will be supporting the elderly citizens of Zimbabwe, so any donations to the charity ZANE (Zimbabwe a National Emergency) will be gratefully received.

Entry to the exhibition is free; parking is plentiful; refreshments are available and all ages, sizes and abilities are welcome.  We look forward to seeing you.