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From as early as the 1970s John Walker was one of the most influential  and imitated painters working in the UK; he exhibited alongside Andy  Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, represented his country at the 1972 Venice  Biennale, had extensive survey shows at both the Tate and Hayward  galleries and was nominated for the Turner Prize in 1985.



On the occasion of Walker's exhibition at Messums London, we present a conversation between John and Jonathan Watkins. Jonathan Watkins is an English curator, and the former Director of the Ikon Gallery in Birmingham.

Ceramic artist Kitty Shepherd specialises in slipware, the technique of painting on damp clay  using coloured slip and through her designs she creates dynamic and  joyful works of art that evoke feelings of nostalgia and joy. Kitty  arrived in Spain rather by accident, but the circumstances had a  positive and direct effect on her work. Her upbringing might be  considered unorthodox and Kitty talks candidly to radio broadcaster Ian Rutter about her mysterious  father, her maverick mother and an idyllic Sussex childhood.

Narbi Price is a painter. Born 1979 in Hartlepool, he lives and works in Gateshead and Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

He was the Journal Culture Awards Visual Artist of the Year 2018, and the winner of the Contemporary British Painting Prize 2017. He was featured in Phaidon's Vitamin P3 - New Perspectives in Painting and was a prizewinner in the John Moores Painting Prize 2012.

He has recently completed an AHRC funded PhD at Newcastle University in partnership with Woodhorn Museum.

Interview with Ian 'Mouseman' Cartwright', head carpenter and great grandson of Robert 'Mouseman' Thompson who founded Robert Thompson's Craftsmen Ltd the oak furniture company famous for it's great craftsmanship and the handcarved mouse on each piece they make.

Podcast interview with gallery owner Johnny Messum and the artist Jo York.

"My work comes from a strong sense of place derived from walking in the  landscape; absorbing it in all weathers, seasons and moods. Landscapes  are full of layers; geological and historical, industrial and personal-  they carry traces of what’s gone before, and this is what fascinates and  intrigues me. I abstract ideas from the landscapes I know well, using  observation, imagination and memory. Current work is exploring margins  in those areas where land, sea, water and sky, shift and merge and  change, and the wild landscapes of North Yorkshire, Cornwall and  Scotland are recurring themes.

Paintings are made slowly, building multiple layers and often  scraping back and incising detail, before glazing over the top, to  create a complex picture surface. Acrylics are central to my practice as  I love their flexibility and immediacy, but I also work in oils, mixed  media, textiles and print."

Hugo Burge is the owner and led an 8 year restoration of Marchmont House, winner of Sothebys Historic House restoration award of the year in  2018.  Hugo has plans to now bring it alive as ‘a Home for Makers and   Creators’ in the Scottish Borders.

He is also a sculpture collector and has a passion for the arts and crafts movement.