• In My Hand a Forest Lies Asleep | The Violet Hour

    In My Hand a Forest Lies Asleep | The Violet Hour

    www.violethour.org/

    In My Hand a Forest Lies Asleep
    Georgia Beaumont Sophie Charalambous Lara Cobden
    Bobbye Fermie Jake Garfield Katherine Jones Ian Thompson

    A gala of art and design in collaboration with
    Rupert Bevan and The Jacksons.
    At 22 St Lukes Mews W11 1DF and at 1 and 5 All Saints Road

    Exhibition continues 10-4pm  26th May - 2nd June
    Weekends and Bank Holidays: Closed
    Open by appointment 5th-9th June

  • Arcadia for All? Rethinking Landscape Painting Now

    Arcadia for All? Rethinking Landscape Painting Now

    Arcadia for All? Rethinking Landscape Painting Now
    26 April - 29 July 2023
    The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery, Parkinson Building, University of Leeds
    library.leeds.ac.uk/galleries

    Surprised, honoured and grateful to be amongst such a fantastic line up of landscape artists, so many I’ve admired for years, what a privilege
    Huge thanks to the curators Judith Tucker & Geraint Evan and to Laura Claveria for coordinating it all.

    Arcadia for All? Rethinking Landscape Painting Now
    26 April - 29 July 2023
    The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery, Parkinson Building, University of Leeds
    library.leeds.ac.uk/galleries
    Is landscape wild or cultivated? Is landscape urban or green? Is landscape going or gone?
    Is landscape ours or theirs?
    This exhibition challenges our expectations of landscape painting. It rethinks landscape in the 21st century - a time of climate crisis, a post COVID-19 world, a post-colonial and capitalist era.
    The exhibition has been guest curated by Judith Tucker, Senior Lecturer at the School of Design, University of Leeds and Geraint Evans, Pathway Leader MA Painting at Camberwell College of Arts, University of the Arts London.
    There will be a catalogue with essays by Rosemary Shirley and Judith Tucker and
    Geraint Evans designed by @i_d_projects

    David Ainley | Hurvin Anderson | lain Biggs | Louise Bristow | Hannah Brown | Simon Callery | Lara Cobden | Kimathi Donkor | Sam Douglas | Natalie Dowse | Geraint Evans | Mark Fairnington | Andrew Grassie | Dan Hays | Lubaina Himid | Barbara Howe | Matthew Krishanu | Paula MacArthur | Elizabeth Magill | Cara Nahaul | Christopher Orr | Rebecca Partridge | Julian Perry | Narbi Price | Carol Rhodes | Greg Rook | George Shaw | Benet Spencer | Clare Thatcher | Judith Tucker | Phoebe Unwin | Joanna Whittle

  • Visions of Healing | Update

    Visions of Healing | Update

    Visions of Healing

    Finissage Event - 28th March for the to view the work and meet the artists
    Cavendish Venues | 44 Hallam St | London | W1W 6JJ
    5 - 8pm | Tuesday | 28.03.23

    www.brusheswithgreatness.co.uk/visionso…

    Ava Haggas | Genevieve Leavold | Lara Cobden | Lorna Sinclair
    Mary West | Michele Fletcher | Ofelia Botella | Olivia Mansfield
    Simona Orentaite | Suhaylah H. | Yiwei Xu
    Hallam Conference Centre | 44 Hallam St | London | W1W 6JJ

    Visions of Healing brings together 11 women artists: Ava Haggas, Genevieve Leavold, Lara Cobden, Lorna Sinclair, Michele Fletcher, Mary West, Ofelia Botella, Olivia Mansfield, Suahylah H, Simona Orentaite and Yiwei Xu. A diversly talented group of female painters, each of whom visually manifest the healing potential of immersion in the rich wilderness. Drift through drawn and painted depictions of the soothing, tranquil, transcendent wonders of our natural world, of Gaia, of Mother Nature.

    Stylistically unified through impressionist and expressionist ideals, with symbolism dappled throughout the exhibition as the sun shines through a forest canopy, each artist intuitively weaves a naturalistic connection, and responds to rhythms of the natural world through process. Journey a morphing multimedia landscape with recurring themes of memory, creation, transcendence, and harmony with nature rife in the undergrowth of Visions of Healing.

  • London Trees | Lauderdale House

    London Trees | Lauderdale House

    London Trees
    An exhibition about the vital subject of trees in London
    by members of
    the Arborealists and Urban Contemporaries & guest artists

    Lauderdale House,Highgate Hill, Waterlow Park,London, N6 5HG
    29th March to 24th April 2023
    Please check website for latest opening hours:
    www.lauderdalehouse.org.uk/plan-your-vi…

    PRIVATE VIEW - WEDNESDAY 29TH MARCH 2023 – 7.30 to 9.30pm.


    This exhibition is a partnership between two distinct groups of artists, The Arborealists and The Urban Contemporaries and presents a diverse range of paintings, prints and drawings on the rich and vital subject of the trees of London. Each artist responds to the subject and explores and articulate ideas about trees, encapsulating many varied interpretations. Some observe the way trees can be street architecture and urban decoration, others explore the ecological dimensions and trees as the ‘lungs of the city’. A number of the artists involved depict trees in opposition to or in harmony with their surroundings and as depositories of history.

    Trees sustain our existence. At a time of international anxiety about the existential threats of the effects of global warming, the role of nature and trees in the nation’s capital city has never been more pertinent.

    Trees have enjoyed a long and significant legacy in British art history as part of the landscape tradition and. the subject has attracted such artists as Thomas Gainsborough, John Constable, JW Inchbold, Harold Gilman, Graham Sutherland, Paul Nash, David Inshaw and George Shaw. This exhibition aims to raise awareness of the importance of trees in the lives of London’s citizens.

    The artists who have contributed their work towards this exhibition offer thought-provoking contemplations of trees in the capital, and the, predominantly, figurative nature of the works make them accessible to all audiences.

    Our E-Catalogue can be found here: www.flipsnack.com/CAED5BDD75E/london-tr…

    Artists:

    The Urban Contemporaries Group and guest artists - Rory Brooke, Alexandra Blum, Frank Creber, Ferha Farooqui, Annette Fernando, Michael Johnson, Alex Pemberton, Melissa Scott-Miller, Jane Smith, Stewart Taylor and Grant Watson.

    The Arborealists Group - Philippa Beale, John Blandy, Lara Cobden, Tim Craven, Julie Held, Abi Kremer, Natasha Lien, Angela Rumble, Nahem Shoa, Jacqui Wedlake-Hatton and David Wiseman.

    If you would like more information or to attend one of the Private Views, please contact Ferha Farooqui or Frank Creber. They can be reached via:

    Ferha Farooqui
    ferhafarooqui39@googlemail.com
    07906543135
    https://ferhafarooqui.weebly.com

    Frank Creber
    frankcreber@gmail.com
    07984016326
    http://www.frankcreber.space

  • A Sense of Place | Bermondsey Project Space

    A Sense of Place | Bermondsey Project Space

    Bermondsey Project Space

    A SENSE OF PLACE

    Survival
    13 December – 7 January 2023

    Closed for Christmas
    23 December until 2 January 2023

    Curated by Philippa Beale

    This is the last of three thematically linked exhibitions curated by Philippa Beale responding to the concept of A Sense of Place. The challenge to the artists’ imagination in the 2020s is to profoundly question our values by asking how does humankind imagine its place on the planet? How can the artist evolve ways of living and working with ourselves and with nature? This current exhibition encompasses a diverse range of responses to the central idea, including distance, politics, and imagination. The exhibition at Bermondsey Project Space contains work by internationally celebrated artists studying why certain places hold special meaning for them.

    project-space.london/survival

  • INCANTATIONS OF LIGHT | IRVING CONTEMPORARY

    INCANTATIONS OF LIGHT | IRVING CONTEMPORARY

    I’m excited to present my upcoming solo show

    INCANTATIONS OF LIGHT

    5 - 26 November 2022

    www.irvingcontemporary.com/lara-cobden-…

    IRVING CONTEMPORARY
    28 Essex Street Oxford OX4 3AW

    Irving Contemporary is delighted to present INCANTATIONS OF LIGHT, a solo show of new paintings by contemporary artist Lara Cobden, opening at our Oxford gallery on Saturday 5th November (Private View 3pm to 6pm), and continuing until Saturday 26th November (Closing drinks, 3pm to 5pm).

    Lara Cobden (b.1971) is a British painter living and working in Norwich, Norfolk. Lara graduated with a degree in Painting at Brighton University in 1996, and then spent eleven years in Ireland before relocating to East Anglia. Predominately a landscape painter, focusing on memory and sense of place, her work is a response to the natural world around her.

    She is a member of The Arborealists, a group of artists specialising in the art of trees, who exhibit widely across Europe. In 2019-20 Lara completed a year on the Turps Banana Correspondence Course, a highly regarded programme of one-to-one online mentoring.

    Lara's work has been exhibited in the UK and internationally and she has been a recipient of a number of awards, including the Parker Harris Mentorship Prize at the 2018 Wells Arts Contemporary Art Awards, 2nd place in the 2019 Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize, the Chair’s Purchase Prize in the 2019 ING Discerning Eye exhibition, and most recently she was a finalist in the 2020 John Moores Painting Prize, at the Walker Gallery, Liverpool.

    INCANTATIONS OF LIGHT features a collection of recent paintings on gesso panel, linen, and paper, mostly made between the spring and autumn of 2022. Spellbound by those fragments of time where light transcends the everyday, the mundane, and an everyday scene is elevated to one of significance, Lara's work is an attempt to collect these experiences - a fleeting moment, light and shadows, ephemeral and yet enduring. These landscapes dance between reality and dream, drawing on nature and invention, fact and fiction.


  • FALLING WITHOUT EVER LANDING | LILIYA GALLERY

    FALLING WITHOUT EVER LANDING | LILIYA GALLERY

    Falling Without Ever Landing
    Solo Show
    Liliya Gallery
    158 Putney High Street London SW15 1RS
    Opening 4 October 2022
    PV 4 October 2022 6PM - 8.30PM

  • The Architecture of Trees | Gallery East

    The Architecture of Trees | Gallery East

    The Architecture of Trees
    21 October 2022

    www.galleryeast.co.uk/uploads/1/1/8/1/1…

    www.galleryeast.co.uk/coming-up-next.ht…

    The Architecture of Trees
    including member artists from The Arborealists 21 October. Private view Friday 21 October 5-8pm.
    Arborealists: Jemma Appleby, Buckmaster and French, Claire Cansick, Lara Cobden, Tim Craven, Alex Egan, Fiona McIntyre, Nahem Shoa.
    Gallery East artists: Perienne Christian, Kate Giles, Jane Human, Caroline Poole.​
    In this coming exhibition of over 50 works we explore the architectural personality of the trees we live with in our landscape. We ask what it is in the natural design - form, colour, pattern that draws us to represent, protect or preserve a particular tree, grove, orchard, copse, clump, thicket.

  • Trees & the Sacred | The Arborealists & Guests

    Trees & the Sacred | The Arborealists & Guests

    Trees and the Sacred
    28 April - 28 May 2022

    The Arborealists and Guests

    Norwich Cathedral | The Hostry | The Close | Norwich | NR1 4DH

    An exhibition of fifty painters
    Curated by Lara Cobden, Claire Cansick, Alex Egan

    Introduced by Tim Craven, founder of The Arborealists

    ‘Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. They do not preach learning and precepts, they preach undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life.’

    Hermann Hesse

    issuu.com/laracobden1/docs/trees_the_sa…

    www.cathedral.org.uk/whats-on/events/de…

    www.arborealists.com/exhibitions/trees-…

  • THE SHADOWS IN BETWEEN

    THE SHADOWS IN BETWEEN

    CANE & DAVIS
    present
    THE SHADOWS IN BETWEEN

    A solo show of contemporary landscape paintings
    By Lara Cobden

    12 MARCH - 9 APRIL

    Lara Cobden’s first solo show with Cane & Davis brings together a selection of works created between Spring 2020 and 2022.
    Cobden (b.1971, London, UK) is a contemporary painter based in Norfolk, UK who paints in oil, acrylic ink and watercolour and this show features her works on gessoed panel, canvas and paper.

    ‘The Shadows In Between is a collection of paintings made between Spring 2020 and 2022. This body of work is a composite of part true, part embellished, tales of experience and hearsay and intuitive responses to my surroundings over the past two years.

    caneanddavis.co.uk/upcoming-show

  • INCANDESCENT - Irving Contemporary

    INCANDESCENT - Irving Contemporary

    www.irvingcontemporary.com/incandescent

    5 November 2021 - 16 January 2022

    INCANDESCENT: Irving Contemporary’s first online group exhibition, featuring the work of sixteen artists selected by Irving Contemporary’s owner and curator Vanessa Lacey.

    The artists featured in INCANDESCENT are:

    Adam Hedley | Alexis Soul-Gray | Alice Neave | Anja Niedring | Daisy Clarke | David Abbott | Ella Clocksin | Gemma Petrie | Kate Boucher | Kate Sherman | Kate Shooter | Lara Cobden | Lucia Jones | Lucy Spanyol | Rosey Prince | Sarah Bold

    It’s a diverse and personal selection of work by these brilliant artists, conceived as a glowing light to accompany us as we head into the darker days of winter, full of colour, brightness and brilliance.


    Delighted to be taking part Irving Contemporary online winter group show.

    The show is open on the gallery website at 5pm on 5 November until 16 January 2022.

    All enquiries to gallery owner Vanessa Lacey: 07969 673349

    5% of all sales are donated to the work of the Trussell Trust, which offers a lifeline to those impacted by food poverty and rising living costs.

  • Petrichor

    Petrichor

    Petrichor
    15.10.21 - 21.11.21

    liliya.uk/exhibitions/18-petrichor-soph…

    Sophie Mei Birkin · Lara Cobden· Michele Fletcher · Beatrice Hasell-McCosh · Melissa Jarram · Amber Khan · Lucy Neish · Paula Turmina
    Petrichor (noun) :
    a distinctive smell, usually described as earthy, pleasant, or sweet, that frequently
    accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather.
    Michele Fletcher
    Revenant
    Oil on Linen 50 x 60 cm
    For enquiries: info@liliya.uk
    Since the Stone Age, our relationship to the natural world has been explored through
    art, helping us to connect with
    our surroundings and inspire creativity. Today, however, it is increasingly complex, with the climate emergency impacting us all, some artists have decided
    to use their art to voice concern. Others have used their work to emphasise the connection and admiration for the world around us. Petrichor presents a selection of work by a group of contemporary artists who invite us to consider our relationship to nature in new and emboldening ways.
    Liliya Art Gallery 158 Putney High Street London SW15 1RS

    In a break from traditional landscapes - with vistas and horizons to ground the viewer - the works selected contain a mediative quality, encouraging the viewer to get lost in the experience of viewing - just like the experience of losing oneself in nature. From abstract paintings of flora and fauna, to somatic sculptures of fruit, every artist embraces and infuses their own personal experience of nature into their work. They call for us to appreciate and admire the beauty and mystery of natural forms, shapes and lines, engaging us in an exploratory and reflective pro- cess of looking.
    In this age of the Anthropocene and extinction, our connection to nature should be celebrated. Art is one of the greatest tools to initiate discussion and create change, offering an entry point into complex issues that affect us daily. It is our hope that this exhibition will provide an opportunity to both celebrate the beauty and complexity of the natural world, and to consider our power and responsibility to protect it.

  • Country Life Magazine - interview

    Country Life Magazine - interview

    Going out on a Limb
    Laura Gasciogne meets the Arborealists
    An interview in Country Life Magazine 29.09.2021

  • Celebrating Trees

    Celebrating Trees

    Celebrating Trees
    1 - 13 November 2021
    St Margaret’s Church
    Norwich


    The exhibition at St Margaret’s will show paintings, sculpture and photography by established artists from Norfolk and beyond – as well as some pictures by children, as the future of the planet is so vital to them – to celebrate the beauty of trees.

    St Margaret’s Church has now been re-booked for Nov 1- Nov 13, 2021 for the exhibition.

    Private View on Nov 3rd will be opened by the well known nature writer Richard Mabey

    www.celebratingtrees.org.uk/

  • Silent Disco - Curated By Graham Crowley

    Silent Disco - Curated By Graham Crowley

    Silent Disco: Group Show curated by Graham Crowley Greystone Industries, Wickham Market, UK

    29 August - 10 September 2021

    ‘A Silent Disco is one
    in which all the participants are all listening to a track of their
    choosing on head phones - ie. all dancing to a different tune. Kill
    the DJ’ - Graham Crowley

    SILENT DISCO
    29 August - 10 September
    By Appointment Only
    Greystone Industries
    Wickham Market
    Suffolk

    Edwin Aitken•Matilda Beavan•Terry Bond•Kate Bowen•Graham Chorlton•Lara Cobden•Graham Crowley•Sally Crowley•Rosalind Davis•Karen Densham•Rob Dunt•Geraint Evans•James Faure Walker•Sam Jackson•Robin Mason•Clare Mitten•Kate Murdoch•Ruth Murray•Gilbert Sills•Andy Stahl•John Stark•Kate Terry•Josh Thomson•Judith Tucker•Dina Varpahovsky•Joanna Whittle•Simon Willems•Glynn Williams

    Video interview with Rob Dunt - ArtTop10.com
    LARA COBDEN - Artist Interview at SILENT DISCO curated by Graham Crowley
    m.youtube.com/watch?v=fBNhWX_SlmI

    SILENT DISCO: Curator Tour by Graham Crowley
    youtu.be/mFQQfM_xSUA

  • Cley 2021 nowhere

    Cley 2021 nowhere

    Cley 2021 nowhere

    cleycontemporaryart.org/

    This year the remarkable North Norfolk Exhibition Projects celebrates 21 years with the 20th exhibition, intended for 2020 and realised this summer.

    Spread across 2 venues –

    Saint Margaret’s Church, Holt Road, Cley-next-the-Sea, Norfolk NR25 7TT

    Norfolk Wildlife Trust, Cley Marshes Visitor Centre, Coast Rd, Cley next the Sea NR25 7SA

    The 20th exhibition, curated by Amanda Geitner, features work by 60 artists and includes painting, sculpture, textiles, photography and ceramics – a marvellous range of work addressing themes as diverse as the migration of birds, the movement of the stars and the pure pleasure that can be found in colour and form. Amanda Geitner says ‘ nowhere embraces work that signals our psychological spaces, exhibited here temporarily, but ultimately belonging everywhere and nowhere – work that brings our attention firmly back to the now here’

  • John Moores Painting Prize: Commissioned Text by Jeff Young in The Double Negative

    John Moores Painting Prize: Commissioned Text by Jeff Young in The Double Negative

    This was a wonderful surprise and a beautiful, poignant text written by author Jeff Young, in response to my painting in the JMPP:

    In a new series commissioned exclusively for us by the John Moores Painting Prize, playwright and Costa prize-shortlisted author Jeff Young presents a new text on one of this year’s selected artworks: Lara Cobden’s A Year of Ghost Wishes…

    www.thedoublenegative.co.uk/2021/04/jmp…

    Jeff Young is a dramatist for theatre, radio and TV. His memoir, Ghost Town: a Liverpool Shadowplay, was published in 2020 by Little Toller and was shortlisted for the Costa Book Awards.

    Lara Cobden is a figurative painter living and working in Norfolk. Her oil on linen, A Year of Ghost Wishes, was selected for the John Moores Painting Prize 2020, and ‘is an attempt to convey a year in the life of such a tree during 2019, and the hopeful/hopeless act of leaving a wish.’

    This new text has been commissioned by the John Moores Painting Prize and is part of a creative-critical series published exclusively by The Double Negative during April and May. Writers were given free rein to respond to any painting or paintings from the 2020 exhibition, and in any style, tone or format that they wished to use.

    The John Moores Painting Prize provides a platform for artists to inspire, disrupt and challenge the British painting art scene. Established in 1957, it is the UK’s longest running painting competition. For over 60 years the John Moores has brought to Liverpool the best contemporary painting from across the UK and has over that time, developed a legacy of supporting artists at all stages in their careers – undiscovered, emerging and established. All entries are judged anonymously. The John Moores 2020 jurors were: Hurvin Anderson, Alison Goldfrapp, Jennifer Higgie, Gu Wenda and Michelle Williams Gamaker.

  • Forces of Nature 28 June - 18 September 2021

    Forces of Nature 28 June - 18 September 2021

    Forces of Nature: group show (19 June – 31 August 2021)

    www.glyndebourne.com/events/art-and-exh…

    The Forces of Nature group show is Glyndebourne’s first all-women exhibition. Bringing together new works on paper and paintings, the show explores wo(man’s) relationship with nature, our fascination with its beauty and forms, its power and our fears about its current degradation.
    The exhibiting artists include Lesley Birch, Kate Boucher, Lara Cobden, Linda Felcey, Michele Fletcher, Jelly Green, Melanie Goemans, Tyga Helme, Kathryn Johnson, Rosie Lascelles, Kathryn Maple, Victoria Sebag and Jayne Sandys-Renton. Also included are a selection of photographs of Glyndebourne gardens by pioneering émigré photographer Ilse Bing from 1937.

  • Out of the Blue at Gallery East - March 2021

    Out of the Blue at Gallery East - March 2021

    New show coming March 2021 - Out of the Blue
    & Includes Ruth Bunnewell, Lara Cobden, Jane Lewis RWS, Martin Laurance, Shanti Panchal Hon RBA, RWS, Sula Rubens ARWS.

    www.galleryeast.co.uk/coming-up.html

  • Blue Shop Cottage - Live Chat

    Blue Shop Cottage - Live Chat

    So thrilled to be invited to chat with Ocki from Blue Shop Cottage.

    www.instagram.com/tv/CMKpFd_F9fI/?igshi…

    We chatted about trees, the Arborealists, residencies and our mutual love of Kerry, Ireland...

  • Works on Paper 3 | Blue Shop Cottage

    Works on Paper 3 | Blue Shop Cottage

    Works on Paper 3 at Blue Shop Cottage

    www.blueshopcottage.com/shop

    Delighted to be part of ‘Works On Paper 3’, Blue Shop Cottage online store. with over 200 works from 70 different artists worldwide.

  • John Moores Painting Prize 2020

    John Moores Painting Prize 2020

    Virtual Tour is now open!

    www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/jmpp/john-m…

    It is an absolute thrill to announce that I have a painting selected for this years John Moores Painting Prize.

    The John Moores Painting Prize brings together the best in contemporary British painting right now. Supporting artists from all over the UK – whether they’re undiscovered, emerging or established in their careers – the prize provides a platform for artists to inspire, disrupt and challenge the British painting art scene today. All entries are judged anonymously over a two-stage selection process by our panel of judges. The competition will culminate in exhibition held at the Walker Art Gallery In partnership with John Moores Painting Prize Trust. The exhibition will be held at the Walker Art Gallery on 12 February 2021, running until 27 June 2021.

    www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/jmpp/exhibi…

  • ING Discerning Eye 2020

    ING Discerning Eye 2020

    So pleased to have a painting selected by Tabish Khan, aka The London Art Critic, for this years 2020 ING Discerning Eye exhibition.

    Completely held online this year, the link below will take you to the six curators and their individual selections.
    www.ingdeexhibition.org/exhibition


    issuu.com/chelseamagazines/docs/art_stu…

  • Being with Trees

    Being with Trees

    Being With Trees

    Gustavo Bacarisas Gallery
    Casemates Square
    Gibraltar

    4 March - 30 April 2021

    The Arborealists in association with the Lloyds of London Art Group and The Fine Art Society

    www.arborealists.com/exhibitions/being-…

  • The Narrative of Trees

    The Narrative of Trees

    The Narrative of Trees
    Gallery East Arborealist exhibition
    The Narrative of Trees - 28 November 2020
    Gallery East
    Woodbridge
    28 November 2020 

    www.galleryeast.co.uk/#

  • THE ARBOREALISTS Exploring trees and woodlands on Exmoor and Dartmoor

    THE ARBOREALISTS Exploring trees and woodlands on Exmoor and Dartmoor

    swheritage.org.uk/events/arborealists/?…

    12th August 2020 - 10th October 2020
    The Arborealists are a group of professional artists, from across southern England, who share the rich and versatile subject of the tree. Over the past two years they have been visiting ancient woodland sites on Exmoor and Dartmoor to produce works in response to the landscape.
    Exploring the National Parks
    The Arborealists worked in partnership with the Exmoor and Dartmoor National Park Authorities to explore the landscape. The resulting artworks depict many of the parks’ most beautiful and iconic spots.

    They include Culbone and Horner Wood, Cloutsham, Wilmersham Common and Simonsbath, on Exmoor. And, Wistmans and White Wood, Burrator Reservoir, Black-a-Tor Copse and Hawson Cross on Dartmoor.

    Connecting with Nature
    Many of the artists have been mobilised to explore the subject matter of the tree due to the increasing disconnect between people and the natural world. At a time when the news is often filled with reports about environmental destruction, they propose that a personal re-connection to nature is vital in order to awaken and mobilise change. They demonstrate that trees still have a great relevance in contemporary art and retain their power to move us as a vital element in our landscape.
    The charge for this exhibition is Give What You Think.

    Dates and locations
    The Museum of Somerset
    Wednesday, 12th August 2020 - Saturday, 10th October 2020, 10:00 - 5:00

  • BEEP Painting Biennial Art Prize

    BEEP Painting Biennial Art Prize

    So happy to hear that my painting Flipside of Nowhere has been selected for this years Beep Biennial Exhibition 2020

    m.youtube.com/watch?v=xWAZbg7pJf8

    Exhibition to be held in Elysium Gallery in Swansea; Wales this October.

    Launched in 2012, BEEP (biennial exhibition of painting) is a contemporary international painting prize based in Swansea, Wales.

    BEEP supports imaginative and vibrant practice in contemporary painting.

    BEEP returns on *3rd October - 7th November 2020 with an expanded programme of satellite painting led exhibitions, residencies and symposiums around the main BEEP show in partnership with Swansea and South Wales galleries and arts organisations.

    The main Beep Painting Prize exhibition will take place at the new elysium gallery and its next door neighbour Liquid Gallery in Swansea City centre at 210 & 211 High Street.
    The main prize is £1000 and a solo exhibition with elysium gallery in 2021. The Friends of the Glynn Vivian will sponsor the Welsh Painter's Prize and elysium gallery will sponsor the Peoples Prize.

    Beep is not-for-profit, artist led project run by elysium gallery
    www.elysiumgallery.com

    | https://www.beeppainting.com/news.html|

  • Castlegate Art Prize 2020

    Castlegate Art Prize 2020

    Very excited to be selected as one of the final 30 for the Castlegate Art Prize with my painting A Year of Ghost Wishes.

    A newly launched competition which supports the mental health charity Young Minds by donating the entry fee to the charity.

    The inaugural exhibition of finalists’ works at Castlegate House, and the announcement of the first Castlegate Prize winner, has been postponed from May 2 to September 12 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

    All the finalists’ work can be viewed on the prize website: thecastlegateprize.co.uk, link below.

    Held in aid of the Young Minds, the UK’s leading charity for young people’s mental health, so far The Castlegate Prize has raised more than £12,000.

    Due to the current situation, the winner of the Castlegate Prize will now be announced on Saturday 12th September 2020.
    www.castlegatehouse.co.uk/paintings-for…

    www.castlegatehouse.co.uk/exhibitions/t…

    www.edp24.co.uk/news/two-norwich-artist…

  • National Memorial Arboretum

    National Memorial Arboretum

    The Arborealists Exhibition at the National Memorial Arboretum Alrewas Staffordshire - 6th December 2019 – 29th March 2020

    Delighted to have my painting Remnants of Hope I on show at the NMA with The Arborealists.
    The Arborealists: An international group of artists who all take trees as their inspiration. Working in a range of styles, the artists each respond to nature in a distinctive and personal manner, reflecting the diversity of trees across the globe. The work of The Arborealists is as varied as the subjects they depict, but each artist is linked by a shared love of nature's giants.

    www.thenma.org.uk
    www.thenma.org.uk/whats-here/exhibition…

  • ING Discerning Eye 2019

    ING Discerning Eye 2019

    UPDATE: 16.11.2019
    At the artists preview evening of the ING Discerning Eye Exhibition I was presented with the Chairman’s Purchase Prize for my painting Nowhere Pond which was selected for the exhibition by Sir Tim Rice.

    The exhibition is at the Mall Galleries, London, from Thursday 16 November until Sunday 24 November 2019.

    The annual exhibition is a show of small works chosen either by invitation or by submission. From over 3000 entries a total of 150 artists were independently selected by six prominent figures from different areas of the art world: two artists, two collectors and two critics. The curators this year were artists Gill Button and Charlotte Hodes, collectors Kwame Kwei-Armah and Tim Rice, and critics John Penrose and Louis Wise,

    discerningeye.org/exhibition/intro.php

    My painting ‘Nowhere Pond’ has been selected for the ING Discerning Eye 2019 Exhibition
    14 - 24 November at Mall Galleries London

    Really happy to have a piece selected as one of 150 artists from over 3000 entries this year. Not sure yet who of the six curators selected it so will be a nice surprise on the PV night!

    The Discerning Eye annual exhibition is a show of small works independently selected by six prominent figures from different areas of the art world: two artists, two collectors and two critics.
    The selectors choose both publicly submitted works and works by personally invited artists. Each selector's section is hung separately to give each its own distinctive identity. The impression emerges of six small exhibitions within the whole.
    It provides an unusual opportunity for works by lesser-known artists to be hung alongside contributions from internationally recognised names.

    Making a Mark blog on ING Discerning Eye entries and selected artists:

    makingamark.blogspot.com/2019/09/ing-di…



  • The Westmorland Landscape Prize

    The Westmorland Landscape Prize

    Very honoured to have a painting selected for the Westmorland Landscape Prize.
    The exhibition will open on 14 September to 10 November 2019.
    For further details of opening times and events, please visit
    www.rheged.com/event/westmorland-landsc…

    BACKGROUND
    The Westmorland Landscape Prize is a national call to artists who are inspired by the landscape of the UK. Conceived and developed by Westmorland, the Prize aims to document, celebrate and interrogate our relationship with the landscape. The selection panel will be looking for works which reach beyond the aesthetic, stimulating thinking and debate about the way in which we exist alongside, as part of, or sometimes in spite of our landscape.
    John Stokes, Arts Manager of Westmorland says: “We are a family business, whose original motorway service area grew out of the Dunning family farm in Tebay, Cumbria, when the M6 was built through our land. Everything we do today reflects those beginnings and we want our visitors to feel that when they pass through that they have arrived somewhere, not just anywhere and catch a glimpse of the place and landscape they are in. We are looking forward to launching The Westmorland Prize this year and feel passionately about capturing the beauty of our landscape which has been so important to our businesses success.”

    SELECTORS
    The exhibition will selected by eminent individuals from the art world including artists, curators, writers and gallerists who all have a broad knowledge and awareness of contemporary artists working in the UK today. Further details will be available shortly.

    Cherie Federico
    AESTHETICA MAGAZINE

    Anne Desmet RA
    ARTIST

    Hazel Stone
    ARTS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, FORESTRY COMMISSION ENGLAND

    THE EXHIBITION
    The exhibition will be hosted by the Westmorland’s Rheged Centre, near Penrith in Cumbria. In the spacious Gallery on the top floor, they host a changing programme of exhibitions every year which have a connection with our Cumbria home. Some exhibitions break the bounds of the Gallery and take over the centre, so you may find art in unexpected places. Each exhibition is curated with a leading cultural organisation or a creative community. This strong relationship with artists means we can show creativity at its most diverse, as well as reflecting life in the landscape.

  • The Arborealists and Guests: the Art of the Tree at The Young Gallery

    The Arborealists and Guests: the Art of the Tree at The Young Gallery

    The Arborealists and Guests: the Art of the Tree at The Young Gallery
    2 - 24 August 2019

    A new exhibition at The Young Gallery in Salisbury, will present the work of 40 Arborealists and nine guest artists.

    The Arborealists and Guests: the Art of the Tree, curated by Peter Riley, features artists including Jemma Appleby, Philippa Beale and Fiona McIntyre among the local artists engraver Howard Phipps and Paul Newman.

    The Arborealists were founded in 2013 by artist and then curator at Southampton City Art Gallery Tim Craven following the seminal exhibition Under the Greenwood: Picturing the British Tree, staged at St Barbe Museum & Art Gallery, Lymington.

    The movement has members from Wales and the borders to East Anglia and London and every southern county from Kent to Cornwall.

    Outposts include Yorkshire, France and Ireland and has already staged 18 exhibitions to acclaim in the UK and Museums in France where Philippa Beale was the curator, more are planned for the future. Philippa Beale also contributed 3 illustrated publications to compliment the exhibitions.

    The Arborealists and Guests at The Young Gallery will be open every day during the exhibition, 10am to 5pm.

    It runs from Saturday until August 24.

    Entrance is free and the works will also be for sale.



    www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/news/1781304…

  • ‘If we opened people up we’d find landscapes’ A group exhibition of contemporary female landscape artists.

    ‘If we opened people up we’d find landscapes’  A group exhibition of contemporary female landscape artists.


    "If we opened people up we'd find landscapes” (Agnés Varda)

    Ruth Bunnewell / Lara Cobden / Katarzyna Coleman / Alex Egan Katie Falcon / Emilie Houssart / Malca Shotten

    4th June – 27th July 2019

    Fairhurst Gallery is proud to present a group show of all female landscape artists. With shifting political landscapes happening around the world, galleries and museums are re-assessing the underrepresentation of women artists. Highlighting this last year was Tacita Dean’s unprecedented triple exhibition across the Royal Academy, National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery. The forthcoming exhibi- tion at The Fairhurst Gallery seeks to specifically examine the genre of landscape art from the perspective of 7 contemporary artists working in and around Norfolk today.
    As a genre, landscape art has particularly strong roots in the past as well as being an acknowledged source of inspiration and a guiding force in contemporary think- ing. Paving the way in the Victorian era, female landscape artists actively helped shape the art scene, despite the odds stacked against them in comparison to their male counterparts. “To my mind, the most fascinating and under-researched examples of dissenting landscapes derive from women; kicking against the white, landed, male observer’s supremacy. Women were excluded from the chief con- texts of mid-eighteenth-century landscape representation: effectively locked out of land-ownership, the military, the Royal Academy and Royal Society, and the male aristocrat’s political experience and power. Women were discouraged from accessing sublime elevated viewpoints, leaving their coaches, or getting their boots muddy.” Rachel Hewitt. (Lecturer in Creative Writing and Deputy Director of the New- castle Centre for Literary Arts, Newcastle University)
    The modern day explorers represented in the Fairhurst exhibition all approach the practice in different ways, some braving all weathers to work ‘en plein air’ or in- vestigating the early morning with a flashlight, some rendering scenes from their memory/imagination or documenting the eroding coastline and urban scenes. They are all connected by a single thread - the ever-changing landscape - their daring curiosity and technical virtuosity leading to artworks of great depth and beauty. The invitation into these works might be a lonely tree, a sunlit beach, a broken lamppost, an industrial warehouse, an illuminated greenhouse, a fire on the shore of a lake. It might be “... a particular arrangement of lines or forms that speak an unexpectedly familiar language. There’s no need to have been there to feel someone else’s place.” Fiona Stafford (Fellow & Tutor in English Literature, Somerville Col- lege, University of Oxford)
    Nina Fowler, assistant Director at the Fairhurst Gallery says: “The title of the ex- hibition "If we opened people up we'd find landscapes” is a quote from the film- maker Agnés Varda (1928-2019) a French film director, photographer and artist. Varda, whose recent death has been deeply mourned, made films with a distinctive experimental style focused on achieving documentary realism while addressing feminist issues. We chose this quote on which to base the exhibition, for it’s emotive, poetic provocations which lead us to think about a more unconventional perception of landscape, what it means to us and how we respond to it.”

    Private View – Saturday 1st June 2019, 12 - 4pm
    The gallery, on Bedford Street, is open Tuesday to Saturday, 9.30am to 5.30pm with additional viewings available by appointment. For more information visit gallery.fairhurstgallery.co.uk/upcoming…

  • Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2019

    Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2019

    ..........................................................UPDATE...........................................
    Stunned and delighted to have been awarded 2nd Prize in the Lynn Painter Stainers Prize
    www.lynnpainterstainersprize.org.uk/exh…

    Making a Mark: article commenting on LPS Prize
    | https://makingamark.blogspot.com/2019/03/review-lynn-painter-stainers-prize-2019.html?m=1|

    Second Prize (£4,000)
    Lara Cobden, The Winterkeeper's Cabin (2018), £2,500

    I kept getting a feeling before I saw it that is was somewhere heading into Peter Doig territory in terms of enigma and mystery - but not quite in terms of painterliness - although it's very well painted. The painting certainly did not disappoint on viewing and I can well imagine that it was one of those which stuck in the brains of judges - which is what I always think a prizewinning painting should do.



    Congratulations to all the prize winners:

    1st Prize
    Jennifer McRae
    Past, present, future: tracing the female line (2018)
    Second Prize
    Lara Cobden
    The Winterkeeper's Cabin (2018)
    Young Artist Award
    Ewan White
    No.7 (2018)
    Brian Botting Prize
    Charlie Schaffer
    Preston (2018)
    ..........................................................UPDATE...........................................




    Very happy that my painting ‘The Winterkeeper’s Cabin’ has been selected for the 2019 Lynn Painter Stainers Prize exhibition - PV 5th March at Mall Galleries with Parker Harris

    'Lara’s atmospheric painting is a magical response to the natural world around her and the memory of sense of place. Her use of a limited colour palette gives the piece fluidity, making us connect to this moment of stillness. Laura says of her work that ‘the thread pulling her work together is about coming home, belonging or a sense of unbelongong.’

    The Exhibition
    The Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize was created in 2005 by the Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers and the Lynn Foundation to encourage the very best creative representational painting and promote the skill of draftsmanship. With prize money of £35,000 the Prize is one of the most prestigious awards to artists in the UK.

    The Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize welcomes outstanding creative examples of representational painting from both amateur and professional artists in the UK. Created in 2005 by The Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers and The Lynn Foundation, the open competition continues to champion the skill of draughtsmanship and figurative painting. The exhibition aims to reflect the breadth of approaches and materials from across the artistic spectrum.

    The Judges for 2019 are:

    Christopher Green, artist and former prize winner
    Tom Hewlett, Portland Gallery
    Robin Lee-Hall PPRP, artist
    Jennifer Scott, Dulwich Picture Gallery
    Ben Sulivan RP, NEAC, artist

    Prizes include an increased First Prize of £20,000; Second Prize of £4,000; Young Artist Prize of £4,000; The Daphne Todd Prize of £2,000; and the Brian Botting Prize of £5,000.

    www.lynnpainterstainersprize.org.uk/


  • The Arborealist Movement at The Musee Collégiale Sainte-Croix de Loudun France.

    The Arborealist Movement at The Musee Collégiale Sainte-Croix de Loudun France.

    March-April 2019 The Arborealist Movement at The Musee Collégiale Sainte-Croix de Loudun France.

  • Wells Art Contemporary

    Wells Art Contemporary

    Delighted to be selected for the Wells Art Contemporary Shortlist!

    Update: Very happy to be the lucky recipient of the Parker Harris Mentoring Award!

    www.edp24.co.uk/news/norwich-artist-bea…

    Wells Art Contemporary, a leading open exhibition for international contemporary art, is proud to announce the artists selected for the 2018 exhibition. Following an international open call, 123 works by 118 artists were selected from a total of 1,397 submissions from 26 different countries, the highest number of entries in the history of the Awards. The selection was made by a panel of leading figures from the art world including Caroline Walker, artist; Harry Borden, artist; Donald Smith, Director of Exhibitions, Chelsea Space; Julian Wild, artist; Peter Randall-Page, artist, and Tali Lennox, artist.

    www.wellsartcontemporary.co.uk/2018-wac…

    www.artrabbit.com/events/wells-art-cont…

  • The Art of the Tree by the Arborealists-East - Flatford Mill, East Bergholt

    The Art of the Tree by the Arborealists-East - Flatford Mill, East Bergholt

    The Art of the Tree by the Arborealists-East - Flatford Mill, East Bergholt
    Exhibition artists Lara Cobden, Jelly Green, Tom Deakins, Paul Finn, Alex Egan, Emma Buckmaster & Janet French, Waj Mirecki, Claire Cansick
    Exhibition title- The Art of the Tree by the Arborealists-East.


    Opening reception Saturday 1st September 6-8pm

    National Trust
    Bridge Cottage, Flatford CO7 6UL
    01206 297206 or 07971 955 862
    twitter.com/FlatfordNT
    www.nationaltrust.org.uk/flatford/lists…

  • The Artist Magazine Article - August 2018

    The Artist Magazine Article - August 2018

    The Artist Magazine Article - August 2018

    Delighted to be featured in The Artist magazine, August 2018 issue, out 13th July - so exciting, and slightly strange, to read an interview I had with Susie Hodges after winning an award with the Society of Women Artists last year.



  • The Holt Festival – Sir John Hurt Art Prize Sunday 22nd – Sunday 29th July 2018

    The Holt Festival – Sir John Hurt Art Prize Sunday 22nd – Sunday 29th July 2018


    The Holt Festival – Sir John Hurt Art Prize
    Holt Festival is again delighted to announce a prize of £1,750 for the winner of this years’ Holt Festival - Sir John Hurt Art Prize. In addition, the winning work will go on to be exhibited in the autumn at the prestigious Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts in Norwich. This is a great opportunity to buy a work by an emerging or established artist.

    Details of the Holt Festival Sir John Hurt Art Prize - Shortlisted Works will be showing here very soon.

    Announcement of the Winner
    The winner will be announced at a private view of the Exhibition of Shortlisted Works on the evening of Sunday 22nd July at the Auden Foyer, Auden Theatre, Gresham's School, Cromer Road, Holt.

    Exhibition of Shortlisted Works
    An exhibition of between 25 and 30 shortlisted works will be held in the foyer of The Auden Theatre, Gresham's School, Cromer Road, Holt - 11.00am – 5.00pm Sunday 22nd – Sunday 29th July and evenings when there are Festival events on in The Auden Theatre.

    The Judges
    The panel of judges for 2018 is: Eileen Cooper RA, Robert Upstone and Lady Hurt.

    www.holtfestival.org/whats-on/art-prize/

  • Black Swan Arts Arborealists and Guests – featuring Paul Nash 21 July – 2 September

    Black Swan Arts  Arborealists and Guests – featuring Paul Nash  21 July – 2 September

    Black Swan Arts
    Arborealists and Guests – featuring Paul Nash
    Date: 21 July – 2 September
    Preview: 20 July, 6-8pm – all welcome
    Artists talk: Mon 9 July, 6-7pm
    Artists Q&A: Sun 5 August, 3-4pm
    A major new exhibition of trees in contemporary art at Black Swan Arts in Frome will feature work by forty-three Arborealists, some of international reputation, and six guest artists, as well as the painter Paul Nash.

    The Arborealists were founded by artist and curator Tim Craven in 2013. Following the exhibition ‘Under the Greenwood: Picturing the British Tree’. The exhibition was staged at St Barbe Museum & Art Gallery, Lymington, in the heart of the New Forest.

    The Arborealists are a loose association of some 60 artists of diverse art practice who share the subject of the tree. The group is far flung with members from Wales and the borders to East Anglia and London and every southern county from Kent to Cornwall. Outposts include Yorkshire, France, Italy and Ireland.

    The Arborealists enjoy a national profile and have already staged 8 exhibitions to acclaim in the UK and France. With many more planned for the future. They have also produced 2 illustrated publications to complement the exhibitions.

    This exhibition takes place around the building, including the Long Gallery and the Round Tower Gallery.

    www.blackswanarts.org.uk/whats-on/long-…

  • CONNECTION : OPEN 2018 - 27th June to 30th September

    CONNECTION : OPEN 2018 - 27th June to 30th September

    CONNECTION : OPEN 2018
    Events, Latest news
    27th June to 30th September
    CONNECTION: OPEN 2018 is the inaugural exhibition in the Handa Gallery at Wells Maltings celebrating the best in current East Anglian art from an open submission. Following a Private View on Tuesday 26th June, the exhibition will run from Wednesday 27th June to Sunday 30th September 2018; open from 10am to 6pm daily, entry free.

    CONNECTION: OPEN 2018 brings together artists with an affinity to East Anglia to showcase the new Handa Gallery within the new landmark £5m Wells Maltings building on Staithe Street in Wells-next-the-Sea.

    Featuring two-dimensional work in all media, CONNECTION: OPEN 2018 offers a unique opportunity to view and purchase work by artists at every level of their career, from emerging talent to established figures. Taking inspiration from the world-famous Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition, this show demonstrates the wealth of talent to be found in the East of England and features a wide variety of paintings, drawings, prints, mixed-media work and wall-mounted textiles. From over 900 entries, 265 artists were selected via an anonymous entry process.

    The CONNECTION: OPEN 2018 selectors and organisers are Catherine Mason, art historian and author; Veronica Sekules, Groundworks Gallery, King’s Lynn; Tracey Ross, artist and art tutor; and Simon Daykin, director, Wells Maltings.

    www.wellsmaltings.org.uk/connection-ope…

  • THE ARBOREALISTS & OTHER PAINTERS 7 JULY - 4 AUGUST 2018

    THE ARBOREALISTS & OTHER PAINTERS 7 JULY - 4 AUGUST 2018

    THE ARBOREALISTS & OTHER PAINTERS
    7 JULY - 4 AUGUST 2018
    The John Davies Gallery

    Tree Studies and Landscapes seen through the Eyes of 30 fine Artists.This exhibition features twenty-one of the sixty or so Arborealists and nine artists introduced to the group by The John Davies Gallery. This collection consists of over 100 exhibits in a wide variety of materials and sizes.


    www.johndaviesgallery.com/exhibitions/5…

    issuu.com/johndaviesgallery/docs/john_d…

    issuu.com/johndaviesgallery/docs/john_d…

    www.johndaviesgallery.com/exhibitions/5…

  • Fairhurst Gallery - Fairground Exhibition

    Fairhurst Gallery - Fairground Exhibition

    Fairhurst Gallery
    Fairground - An Exhibition of Fine Art, Photography and Design
    9th – 27th January 2018

    gallery.fairhurstgallery.co.uk/previous…

    An exhibition showcasing local and international talent in the fields of Fine Art, Design and Photography. We are delighted to introduce the paintings of Norfolk-based artist Lara Cobden who has recently been short-listed for the ING Discerning Eye and Threadneedle Prizes. Also on show are photographs by David Gwinnutt, from his series documenting 1980’s gay London, which were recently exhibited at London’s National Portrait Gallery.

  • The Arborealists

    The Arborealists

    Delighted to say that I have recently become a member of The Arborealists - an artists group, formed and curated by artist Tim Craven.

    The Arborealists
    The Arborealists were formed in 2013, the brain-child of curator and artist Tim Craven after the critical success of  Under the Green Wood : Picturing the British Tree, an exhibition he co-curated with Steve Marshall and Professor Anne Anderson at St Barbe Museum and Art Gallery, Lymington, Hampshire. This exhibition was formed of two distinct parts. Part one was an historical review of artists who had occupied themselves drawing and painting trees and tree-landscapes and included, John Constable, Paul Nash and Paul Sanby amongst other nineteenth and twentieth century celebrated artists. Part two featured 32 contemporary artists, represented by one work each, and included a Turner Prize short-listee and two Royal Academicians but also less well-known artists who had given trees, forests and woods a special value and who had developed new perceptions of painting and language while painting trees. The exhibition showcased a great diversity of art practice, including scale, medium, style and philosophy, centered around the unifying subject of the tree.

    www.arborealists.com/p/home.html

    I look forward to participating in several exhibitions around the UK and Europe with The Arborealists in 2018/2019, details of which are below:

    www.arborealists.com/search/label/Lara%…

    Future Arborealist Exhibitions

    2019-20 Exmoor & Dartmoor, National Park Authorities
    2019-03 Collégiale Sainte-Croix de Loudun Loudun, France
    2018-10 Regional Arborealists show, Flatford Mill, National Trust
    2018-09 St Ives Society of Artists Gallery, Mariners Gallery St Ives, Cornwall
    2018-07 Black Swan Arts Frome, Somerset
    2018-07 John Davies Gallery Moreton–in-Marsh, Gloucestershire

  • ING Discerning Eye

    ING Discerning Eye

    Excited to hear that I have had this painting selected for the 2017 ING Discerning Eye exhibition, held in London's Mall Galleries this November.

    Crossroads - 30cmx30cm

    The ING Discerning Eye Exhibition is a show of small works independently selected by six prominent figures from different areas of the art world: two artist, two collectors and two critics. Work is selected from open submission and with works by artists invited by the individual selectors. Each section is hung separately to give each its own distinctive identity. The impression emerges of six small exhibitions within the whole. It provides an unusual opportunity for works by lesser-known artists to be hung alongside contributions from internationally-recognised names.

    The exhibition will be open from 16 - 26 November 2017 at the Mall Galleries, London, with an Artists' Private View on Thursday 16 November.

    Parker Harris Partnership

    www.discerningeye.org/exhibition/intro/…

  • The Columbia Threadneedle Prize 2018

    The Columbia Threadneedle Prize 2018

    'She fell and landed somewhere between awareness and surrender' 60cm Diameter Oil on Canvas

    Delighted that this painting reached pre-selection for The Columbia Threadneedle Prize 2018.

    Figurative art is more than ever at the forefront of contemporary art practice and is always a subject of debate.  With many high profile art prizes tending towards conceptual and abstract works, The Columbia Threadneedle Prize deliberately sets out to examine figurative art today producing a comprehensive current survey.

    A first prize of £20,000 and a solo exhibition is awarded for the best new work of figurative and representational art.
    A further prize of £10,000 is awarded by visitors to the exhibition, which takes place at Mall Galleries in central London from 31 January to 17 February 2018. Five Shortlisted Artists each receive £1,000​

    This year’s Selectors include Pippa Stockdale, Managing Director of The Fine Art Society, London; Jennifer McRae, award winning portrait artist; and Helen Pheby, Senior Curator at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. The Chairman of the panel is Lewis McNaught, Director of Mall Galleries.

    www.threadneedleprize.com/page/1/Home

  • Royal West Academy 165th Open Exhibition

    Royal West Academy 165th Open Exhibition

    I found out today that two of my paintings had been selected for exhibition in the 165th Royal West Academy Open Exhibition, one selected, not hung and this piece 'House of Solanum' selected and hung, I am over the moon!

    165 Annual Open Exhibition
    01 Oct 17 - 03 Dec 17

    The renowned RWA Annual Open Exhibition returns for its 165th year with a stunning variety of work from emerging and established artists.

    This dynamic and varied exhibition invites painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, sculpture, illustration and mixed media submissions and is a showcase of some of the most exciting artists from across the country and beyond. All work is for sale, making the Annual Open a perfect opportunity to discover new artists or invest in well-known names.

    We are very pleased to announce that 2017's Invited Artists will be Royal Academy President and prolific painter, printmaker and sculptor Christopher Le Brun, and photographic artist Tom Hunter, primarily known for his work documenting everyday life in Hackney, London.

    This year's of panel of selectors will include Marie-Anne McQuay, Head of Programme at Bluecoat, Liverpool, writer, curator and lecturer James Russell and Joseph Clarke, director of Anima-Mundi, alongside RWA President Stewart Geddes and Academicians Stephen Jacobson, John Maine, Rachel Ara and Sara Dudman.

    www.rwa.org.uk/whats-on/165-annual-open…

  • Society of Women Artists 156th Annual Exhibition

    Society of Women Artists 156th Annual Exhibition

    Very honoured and excited to have won The Artist Editor's Choice Award for this painting at the Society of Women Artists 156th Annual Summer Exhibition 2017
    on show at The Mall Galleries SW1London 4th - 9th July 2017

    www.society-women-artists.org.uk/galler…

    www.society-women-artists.org.uk/

    SOCIETY OF WOMEN ARTISTS 156th ANNUAL LONDON EXHIBITION 2017

    MALL GALLERIES (Near Admiralty Arch) London SW1

    www.facebook.com/laracobdenartist/posts…

  • ING Discerning Eye

    ING Discerning Eye



    Excited to hear that I have had two paintings selected for the ING Discerning Eye exhibition, held in London's Mall Galleries this November.

    Catching Venus in a Rock Pool - selected by Dan Coombs
    Returned - selected by Chris Orr RA


    The ING Discerning Eye Exhibition is a show of small works independently selected by six prominent figures from different areas of the art world: two artist, two collectors and two critics. Work is selected from open submission and with works by artists invited by the individual selectors. Each section is hung separately to give each its own distinctive identity. The impression emerges of six small exhibitions within the whole. It provides an unusual opportunity for works by lesser-known artists to be hung alongside contributions from internationally-recognised names.

    The exhibition will be open from 17 - 27 November 2016 at the Mall Galleries, London, with an Artists' Private View on Thursday 17 November. Invitations for the Private View will be sent to you shortly.

    Parker Harris Partnership

    www.discerningeye.org/exhibition/intro/…
    www.artrabbit.com/events/ing-discerning…

  • Holt Art Prize - The Holt Festival

    Holt Art Prize - The Holt Festival

    So happy to announce that this painting, Into the Enchanted Garden, won the Holt Art Prize!

    The winner was announced by Amanda Geitner of the East Anglian Art Fund at a private view of the Exhibition of Shortlisted Works on the evening of Sunday 24th July at the Auden Foyer, Auden Theatre, Gresham's School, Cromer Road, Holt.

    Exhibition of Shortlisted Works

    11.00am – 5.00pm The Foyer, Auden Theatre, Gresham's School, Cromer Road, Holt
    The exhibition of shortlisted works was open to the public from Saturday 23rd July and forms part of the Festival Art Trail. The exhibition ran throughout the festival until Sunday 31st July.

    www.holtfestival.org/whats-on/arts-priz…

  • Society of Women Artists Annual Exhibition

    Society of Women Artists Annual Exhibition

    Surprised and delighted that my painting Feathers; Flesh; Leaf; Bone has been accepted to the Society of Women Artists Annual Exhibition

    www.society-women-artists.org.uk/


    SOCIETY OF WOMEN ARTISTS 155TH ANNUAL LONDON EXHIBITION 2016

    Thursday 28 July – Sunday 7 August (close 3pm)

    MALL GALLERIES (Near Admiralty Arch) London SW1

  • Jackson's Open Art Prize

    Jackson's Open Art Prize

    Suspended Daydreams | Oil on Wood Panel | 100cmx70cm

    Very happy to have just found out that my painting 'Suspended Daydreams' has made the longlist for the Jackson’s Open Art Prize 2016.

    The link below shows the 410 entries long-listed from a total of 3100 entries. The judges short-list will be announced on 29th April 2016.


    www.jacksonsart.com/blog/2016/04/15/joa…

  • Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize | Mall Galleries, London | 7-13 March 2016.

    Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize | Mall Galleries, London | 7-13 March 2016.

    Alternative Eden | Oil on Wood Panel | 100cmx70cm

    Very happy that this painting has been shortlisted for Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize and will be exhibited at the Mall Galleries, London from 7-13 March 2016.

    This annual exhibition is held at the Mall Galleries, The Mall, London SW1. At the opening Private View of the exhibition, the winners are announced and awarded their prizes.

    The 2016 exhibition will be shown in the Mall Galleries from 7 – 13 March 2016 followed by a touring exhibition to Guildford House Gallery from 25 June – 17 July 2016.

    Approximately 100 paintings are selected for exhibition and all works are for sale.

    The Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize was created in 2005 by the Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers and the Lynn Foundation to encourage the very best creative representational painting and promote the skill of draftsmanship. With prize money of £30,000 the Prize is one of the most prestigious awards to artists in the UK.

    From 2005 the exhibition of selected paintings were shown at the magnificent home of the Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers, the Painters’ Hall, in the City of London. In 2012 the exhibition moved to the Mall Galleries, The Mall, London. During a reception at the exhibition the winners are awarded their prizes and the first prize-winner is also awarded a specially designed and engraved gold medal.

    The range and quality of artists entering and exhibiting in the exhibition have grown each year and its reputation amongst artists is outstanding.


    www.mallgalleries.org.uk/whats-on/exhib…
    www.lynnpainterstainersprize.org.uk

  • The Columbia Threadneedle Prize - Pre-selection

    The Columbia Threadneedle Prize - Pre-selection

    I am pleased to announce that my painting 'Everything carries me to you' has been pre-selected for next stage of The Columbia Threadneedle Prize.

    Figurative art is more than ever at the forefront of contemporary art practice and is always a subject of debate.  With many high profile art prizes tending towards conceptual and abstract works, The Columbia Threadneedle Prize deliberately sets out to examine figurative art today producing a comprehensive current survey.

    The Threadneedle is viewed as one of the most prestigious art prizes in the UK today and this year its panel includes artist and writer David Dawson, Director General at Palazzo Strozzi Arturo Galansino, Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum Dr Tim Knox, Arts Journalist Emma Crichton-Miller and Director of Mall Galleries Lewis McNaught.

    The selection process is in two parts, initially a digital submission determines which artists are pre-selected, then the selection panel see the works in person to determine the final pieces for the 2015 exhibition.

    www.threadneedleprize.com/page/1/Home

  • PAiNT Exhibition - The Undercroft, Norwich 7th-29th November 2015

    PAiNT Exhibition - The Undercroft, Norwich 7th-29th November 2015

    Contemporary Art Exhibition

    PAiNT - paint-exhibition.co.uk/about-paint/

    We are privileged to be alive at a time when painting is not dominated by one single movement, at present we see the flourishing of many different styles, techniques, subjects, and themes. We have a wealth of artists of various backgrounds pushing at the boundaries of painting. Paint is an exhibition of over 22 artists all working in their own individual style, all very different but all producing interesting high quality and sometimes challenging work.

    The exhibition also features artist-led workshops and a series of talks on Art history by art historian Andrew Taylor hosted by Anteros Arts Foundation

    Brian Korteling Mari French Will Teather Peter Rodulfo Corrin Tulk William Black Ben Bell Lara Cobden Gena Ivanov Andy Reeve Lisa Almond Helen Shepherd John Sparks Claire Cansick Rachel Hannyngton Karen Burridge Ruth McCabe Nicholas Denney Anita Staff Lotta Walker Helen Wells David Sullivan Evie Janssens

    Private View Friday 6th November 7-9:30pm.

    Featuring classical guitarist Peter Turrell.

    The Undercroft is located below the War Memorial opposite City Hall, Norwich. Access is via the door on the right (opposite the Guildhall) at the top of the market.

  • National Open Art Competition Winter Exhibition 2015

    National Open Art Competition Winter Exhibition 2015

    Selection In NOA 15 At The Royal College Of Art, London 21 October - 1 November 2015

    I am so excited and happy to be exhibiting as a finalist in the National Open Art Competition Winter Exhibition 2015.

    Two of my paintings have been selected for this year's NOA 15 exhibition at the Royal College of Art in October. The National Open Art Competition is the largest open submission competition in the UK. The exhibition opens on the 21st of October until 1st of November at RCA, Kensington Gore.

    www.thenationalopenartcompetition.com

  • Paint Out Wells - Plein Air Painting Competition

    Paint Out Wells - Plein Air Painting Competition

    Paint Out Wells-next-the-Sea

    I was absolutely delighted and 'slightly gob-smacked' to win this Plein Air Painting Competition!

    21 artists descended on North Norfolk’s bustling coastal port of Wells-next-the-Sea during this new for 2015 satellite event. Paint Out Wells featured 2 days of competition sessions, a public beach sunrise ‘paint out’, evening gala, awards and auction, and a 2-3 day exhibition during the week of 9-13 September. The artists’ hub was the historic Dutch ship the Albatros, moored on the quay and the Wells Maltings Sackhouse. The Prize Winners were Lara Cobden (1st), Alfie Carpenter (2nd), Jack Godfrey (3rd) with judges commendations to Susan Mann, Jennifer Sendall, Candide Turner-Bridger.

    www.paintoutnorwich.org/wells-next-the-…

  • National Open Art Competition 2015

    I am so happy and excited that four of my paintings have been short-listed for the 2015 Stage 2 judging on Tuesday 1 September.

    PDF Catalogue of NOA 2015
    www.nationalopenart.org/catalogue2015/f…

    Crystalline Carriage I
    Honey Moon Illusion


  • Art Fair East

    artfaireast.com/about-art-fair-east/

    Art Fair East June 5th - 7th 2015 St Andrews Hall Norwich





    ART FAIR EAST | 5-7 June 2015
    St Andrews Hall Norwich
    Lara Cobden | Stand 34


    The first fair takes place in the spectacular setting of Saint Andrews Hall, at the heart of Norwich city centre. The Fair will be open the weekend of 5th – 7th June.

    Opening times and details of how to get there can be found on the Art Fair East website.

    Lara Cobden has been selected from international submissions to exhibit in Art Fair East, one of the major regional art fairs in the UK.

    Art Fair East’s co-founder Will Teather said:

    ‘‘“We are delighted to have Lara Cobden taking part in our 2015 event. We have had a fantastic range of submissions of high quality contemporary art, from across the UK and overseas. Art Fair East aims to showcase the best the art-world has to offer to a wide audience of collectors, art professionals and the general public.”

    Lara said:

    ‘‘I am excited to be selected from international submissions and to be showcasing my new body of work at the first Art Fair East. This annual event aims to be an important new art fair for the East of England and will be an exciting opportunity to show my paintings to both a local and international audience."

    Originally from London, Lara graduated with a BA Hons in Fine Art Painting at Brighton University in 1995. She moved to Norfolk several years ago after spending 11 years living on Valentia Island, Co Kerry, Ireland.

    She has recently exhibited in Espacio Gallery, London (Chelsea Fringe), Store Street Gallery, Bloomsbury, London, Affordable Art Fair in London and Stockholm, GoFigurative, London, The Wey Gallery, Surrey, Cambridge Contemporary Art, Red Dot Gallery, Holt, Norfolk, The Corte Real Gallery Paderne, Portugal.

    Art Fair East will be showcasing national and international galleries, dealers and artists to an Eastern region audience of art collectors and businesses. A wealth of knowledgeable and experienced dealers are being assembled to help visitors to the fair build a superb collection of visual art from the UK and overseas. Gallery specialists will be available to advise on collecting contemporary art including original paintings, drawings, photographs, prints, sculpture, new media and works made to commission.

    Opening times and details of how to get there can be found on the Art Fair East website


    For further information:

    Contact Lara Cobden:

    Email: laracobden@hotmail.com / Telephone: 07507 686466


    Contact Art Fair East:

    Email: info@artfaireast.com / Telephone: 07792 419898


    Invite- Art Fair East 2015.jpeg

  • Art Slant - Germination Exhibition | Espacio Gallery May 2015

    Exhibition Detail
    Group Show
    GERMINATION
    Curated by: Tania Beaumont, Laura Gompertz, Mireia Donat Melus, Renee Rilexie
    Espacio Gallery
    159 Bethnal Green Road
    London E2 7DG
    United Kingdom


    May 19th - May 31st
    Opening:
    May 21st 1:00 PM - 7:00 PM

    www.artslant.com/lon/events/show/380732…

  • Germination - Chelsea Fringe 19-31 May 2015

    Germination - Chelsea Fringe
    19-31 May 2015
    Private View: Thursday 21 May 6-9pm
    Espacio Gallery 3rd annual event on the Chelsea Fringe trail, comprising works in a variety of media giving a fresh look into some of the aspects relating to the natural world.

    www.espaciogallery.com/future-exhibitio…

  • Affordable Art Fair Stockholm October 2014

    Just sent new work down to the Store Street Gallery, London - excited about exhibiting with them at the Affordable Art Fair in Stockholm this October 2014

    affordableartfair.com/stockholm/?lang=en
    www.storestreetgallery.com/artists/



  • Norfolk and Norwich Open Studios 2014

    www.nnopenstudios.org.uk/artists/detail…

    My studio is open as part of Norfolk and Norwich Open Studios for visitors on the dates below:

    May | Sun 25 | Mon 26 | Fri 30 
    June | Sat 31 | Sun 1 | Fri 6 | Sat 7 | Sun 8

    11am - 5pm

    Visitors welcome throughout the year by appointment
    See link for details and directions.