July 20 2002, Saturday, 10am-4pm (several exhibitions until 6pm)

DISCOVER ARTISTIC SCENES OF CHINA, FRANCE, INDONESIA, IRELAND, ITALY AND - OF COURSE, PUTNEY, ON TOUR OF FOURTEEN PUTNEY OPEN STUDIOS

Putney is known for the beginning of the Cambridge-Oxford boat race as well as having several nearby street corners with more estate agents than any other part of London. With this in mind here is an event that will have you racing round this increasingly popular part of the borough of Wandsworth, looking at the artistic contents of various properties. The event has been organised by the Wandsworth Arts Office. It is your chance to see many artists at home, as well as to buy the art on offer! There are over two-dozen homes/galleries featured in the "Open Studios: Artists at home in SW15" brochure and map, though not all are open today (the second last day of the 11-day event). You can get your own copy of the brochure at the Putney School of Art and Design (address below). Enthusiastic illustrator, Julianna Franchetti - one of the featured artists, designed the map within the brochure. Scenes of Putney and southern Spain are displayed on the walls of her home. We have a planned a route, based on some of the numbers on the map, that you can follow. Some of them have brackets, giving some idea of the works featured. We suggest you start at location 25 - open from 10am until 4pm, which is the Putney School of Art and Design (look out for map as you enter!) and head eastwards before heading westwards.
 

Following this art school we suggest you head to location 21, home to Sim Hock Neoh, for some art of Italy and other countries. You can follow this by visiting - in the order given - 18, 15, 14, 13 (Putney), 4, 6 (Ireland, open until 4pm), 12 (China, France, Indonesia, Italy), 26, 20, 19, 10 (London) and 5 (Putney). Looking at some of these - in more depth - we discovered that The Barbara Stanley Gallery, at 271 Upper Richmond Road, is probably the most recent gallery to be established in London SW15. It features works by Irish artists and is listed on the map, and on the above tour, as location 6. An art studio in Cambalt Road (20) hosts three artists, one of which is showing vineyard scenes in Languedoc and other parts of France. Another artist, at home in Norroy Road (location 12, on the above tour) also has scenes from France. In addition to these the same artist is featuring paintings of Chinese doorways, Indonesian palm trees plus Tuscan and Venetian doorways in Italy. We visited about six or seven last weekend, and were impressed with what we found. Free admission to all, though please note that closing times vary (i.e. a few at 4pm, mostly 5pm, several at 6pm). Location: Putney School of Art and Design, Disraeli Road and Oxford Road, London, SW15. Tube station: East Putney (District line).