Vacant Crouch End tile shop turned into exhibition space

Telling Tales sees artists from North London collective Kolo London show their work at 141 Crouch Hill – a space donated by local estate agent Martyn Gerrard and which it plans to redevelop.

Hampstead artist Marianne Nix, whose work is inspired by the natural world, said Kolo London's director Daniel Collins and artist Jukka Kettunen both live in Crouch End and walked past the shop on a regular basis.

The Various Coloured Jungle VIII (Image: Marianne Nix)

"It's an empty shop with white floor, ceiling and walls with a wide open windows onto the street. They thought it would make an amazing 'white cube' space for an art exhibition and asked about who owned it. Simon at Martyn Gerrard was very pleased to be able to help."

Daniel Collins added: "I love the idea of a local business sponsoring our art exhibition and I am very happy to be given the opportunity to exhibit exciting artworks to local collectors."

Marianne Nix working in her studio (Image: Courtesy of the artist)

Living in the Vale of Health, Nix's artworks are often inspired by the Heath. Her mixed media compositions, using digital manipulation, hand printing and oil paint glazes, also draw from Darwin and other explorers to re-imagine photographs of tropical plants from Kew Gardens to evoke a sense of the exotic and nostalgia for foreign lands.

"I am very interested in the things we amalgamate from history and our personal experiences and there are a lot of influences from writers and artists around Hampstead."

Also exhibiting is Sandra Von Haselberg, who uses digital tools and photography to alter idealised versions of the familiar to create alien fairy landscapes. J Tapani also uses photography to find a meditative quiet space in the urban world and Sarah Barker Brown’s paintings focus on the female body and women's lives, with themes of intimacy, sexuality, pleasure and female friendship.

Chair is one of the artworks in the Telling Tales exhibition (Image: J Tapani)

Jukka Kettunen's work is inspired by the paintings of the Italian Renaissance, using classic figurative postures and artistic symbols from the past to create new meaning from old masterpieces.

Less I Know The Better (Image: Jukka Kettunen)

A spokesperson for Martyn Gerrard said: "The shop is empty and going to be redeveloped so while it's in this limbo land it seemed a brilliant space for a little pop up art exhibition. We like to do what we can for the local community."

Managing director Simon Gerrard said: "We are very happy to be able to give back with support for this exciting exhibition on our doorstep."

Telling Tales, art exhibition runs April 22 until May 2 at 141 Crouch Hill. To find out more about Kolo London go to kololondon.com/

Biba Forever (Image: Sarah Barker Brown)