Goldmark Gallery — Attraction in England

We visited Uppingham on Monday, September 8th, as my son wanted to go to an art gallery for his birthday. We took a chance, as this was our first time in Uppingham and I didn't know what to expect. Having parked the car, we passed several lovely independent shops, where we chatted with the staff and mentioned our mission. All of them said the same thing: Go to the Goldmark Gallery! It was described as the best in the region, maybe the best in the country. So, we approached with high expectations, and we were not disappointed! The building itself is packed with character, making it a fantastic venue for some amazing art. The art is absolutely brilliant, with some eminent names present (such as David Hockney!). All of the artwork is displayed perfectly, and the entire premises exudes a calm, welcoming and peaceful air. This was, perhaps, helped by the fact that we as a family of four were outnumbered by the staff, but I suspect this is the norm here. Without exception, the staff we encountered were friendly, helpful and seemed like genuinely lovely people. Having been in several galleries around the country (before the children came along), I'm acutely aware that some can be rather snobbish, especially if the visitor is dressed casually (and especially in London!). We were in fairly casual attire (jeans and t-shirts, mostly), but I didn't feel that anyone looked down their nose at us at any stage - far from it, in fact! I believe we also met the owner, who made us feel very welcome. He seemed a fascinating character, one of those genuine people with many stories to tell, and a wealth of wisdom to offer. We were offered tea or coffee (which we eventually accepted, and enjoyed very much), which was another nice touch. All of this added up to a thoroughly enjoyable visit, not just for the birthday boy, but for us all. Thank you to Goldmark Gallery for a brilliant visit! We shall be returning some time, and when we finally manage to move house, we'll maybe even have room for some of your...

I have been a regular and returning visitor to this gallery for at least two decades. In that time I have purchased several of my favourite art pieces including prints paintings and ceramics. The gallery space itself is set on two floors and comprises several walk-through room spaces and an upstairs gallery with a central open space looking down on the main gallery space below. The gallery has a very strong online site with a wide varied and interesting selection of work definitely worth a visit. My interest has been mainly British 20th century art and this is well represented; John Piper, Michael Rothenstein, Rigby Graham to name a few. The staff are pleasant and welcoming. Several of the key staff have worked in the gallery over many years and they are very knowledgeable. There is a separate building with a single room space for ceramics alone with large street facing windows which makes the space well lit and perfect to show off the work. My other keen interest is in studio pottery. Over the years the gallery has regularly put on Solo ceramic exhibitions of living well established mainly British Potters and these have been excellently curated with exhibition guides that are informative and beautifully crafted with fantastic photography, collectible in their own right. The gallery have also produced accompanying DVDs as well for some of these shows. Latterly the gallery has become interested in Japanese/ Korean pottery and I have purchased some wonderful work by Ken Matsuzaki and Lee Kang-hyo. I have kept returning to this Gallery because over the years I have developed good relationships with the Gallery staff, I feel comfortable there and the quality of work is...

This is the best of galleries – although I confess my bias, I’ve been calling in for over twenty years, to the extent that we now ‘go to Goldmark rather than go to Uppingham’ (although the village is a delight). It’s certainly ‘a shop like no other’. The gallery is bigger than one might expect, and the displays sit on a huge range of paintings, engravings, posters and ceramics the scale of which can be glimpsed by searching the excellent website. There are always surprises. The gallery holds regular exhibitions and it’s worth coinciding a first visit with one of them. Everything is extremely well supported, exhibition catalogues are beautifully produced and definitive (the gallery is a printing house in its own right), underpinned by excellent research and knowledgeable authors. If more help and advice is needed staff will always help – calmly and knowledgeably and with no hint of heavy salesmanship. The gallery feels busy and exciting – serious things are going on with staff flitting about but then always having time for you (and willing to produce coffee too!). It's very hard to avoid buying. That experience is obligingly handled – do you want it framed like this – or that? The price range is very wide – as you’d expect with work that ranges from that produced by historically important and international artists – to new artists, local artists (and that includes music), and those that Goldmark Gallery (quietly) supports. This is a place of international importance in a market town, clearly evident in the ceramic work in the Gallery’s own shop. But as I said at the start...