Gina Bold and Stuckism

Gina Bold was born in London, 28 July 1959. She attended Hampstead Comprehensive School and Kilburn Polytechnic (Fashion B.Tech). She learnt techniques of stain glass in evening classes at the Mary Ward Centre.

Gina Bold started painting seriously in June 2002 at the Stuckism International Gallery, London, when she did the painting, Charlie with Wine Glass (dated 8 June 2002), tutored by Charles Thomson in his studio there. He said:
"She told me she had wanted to paint for twenty years, but had a block and couldn't do it, so she had taken up stained glass as a less demanding way of being creative. Painting had a tremendous emotional charge for her. She was quite terrified of doing it, and, to get her started, I had to take hold of her hand and move it so the brush went into the paint and then move it again, so the paint was applied onto the canvas. Some of that first painting was a collaborative effort. Then she got continued on it by herself. She certainly regarded it at the time as her "first painting" and referred to it as such. (I later did a painting [see image on the left] which recorded that event.) She then did some more paintings both at the gallery and at her home."

Three months later, in September 2002, she began part-time art classes run by Louise Kelly at Barnet College.

She was exhibited with two paintings in The Real Turner Prize Show 2002 (web archive 16.2.03 and web archive 23.4.03). One of them, Purple Duvet, is the top left hand painting in the photo on the left), which opened at the Stuckism International Gallery, 9 December 2002, agreeing to do so as a member of the Students for Stuckism group. She sold a painting for the first time in this show. Charles Thomson said, "I told her that I would like to put her work in the show, but that it was for Stuckist artists, so (as she was on the Barnet College course at the time), if she wanted to join the Students for Stuckism group, she could be in the show, and she agreed to this. This is recorded on the web archive (18.6.03), where she is listed, like S.P Howarth, as "Student" to show membership of the Students for Stuckism group (not, as with Mandy McCartin "Guest Artist"). The description indicates the relevant Stuckist group: S.P. Howarth had ceased being a student a year previously, but still continued to be a member of the Students for Stuckism group. Gina Bold did not choose to continue to be so, when she was no longer on the Barnet course, and was subsequently listed as a "Guest Artist", as shown on the web archive (1.8.03).

She subsequently became a major exhibitor in Stuckist shows 2002-3 at Stuckism International, including Stuckist Paintings (photo left) (web archive 18.6.03) and The Stuckist Summer Show 2003 (web archive 3.5.06) (photo right), as well as the first Stuckist show in a public museum at Wednesbury Museum and Art Gallery (2003) and a Kith and Kids charity show (web archive 29.9.03), which was displayed at the Stuckism International Gallery for a week and then auctioned at The Princes Foundation.

She was very involved with Stuckist activities, familiar with Stuckist paintings during this time and gained a great deal of support.

She emailed Paul Harvey (11.3.03), "I love your work," and "I'm lucky to be getting Charlies constant encouragement all the time, he never lets up and I also need the feed back." On the same day she emailed Charles Thomson about his painting, Thassos Harbour in the Rain: "I love you[r] painting", and said, "thanks for all you've said, it feels rare to be understood." In an email (17.9.03) to him about her painting, How Low Will You Go, she said, "i signed it 'stuckist rock artist' ".

On 10.2.03 (web archive 16.2.03), she wrote on the Stuckist web site about The Place of Conceptualism, saying "The problem is that they ever tagged this stuff with the title 'art' " - advocating that it should be called conceptual "design" and that such ideas "move people in a different way to the emotional creativity that we can appreciate in a painting."

Her paintings were used with her approval as background images on this site's home page: Self in Dylan Cap (web archive 10.6.03) and Revolution (web archive 18.6.03 and web archive 22.6.08). (NB see text at bottom of pages on the web archive, as it may incorrectly show a later tiled image from a Michael Dickinson collage with the word "banned").

In September 2003, there was a dispute with other artists, including Charles Thomson and Paul Harvey, over how the Stuckists should be promoted. In particular she took issue with an image of Emily Mann wearing black pvc in a photo by Charles Thomson subsequently used by Paul Harvey in a painting (which later promoted The Stuckists Punk Victorian show). The consequent difficulties led to the cancellation of a scheduled exhibition, The Real Turner Prize Show 2003. Following this dispute, she disassociated herself from the Stuckists.

In March 2004, due to a longer-standing commitment, she provided work as one of six artists exhibited on the Stuckism International stall at the Affordable Art Fair, where several of her paintings were sold. She has since billed herself as an "independent London artist". She started her own web site www.ginabold.com in February 2004, but has not mentioned being exhibited in Stuckist shows or starting to paint with Charles Thomson, although in May 2004 she made statements about the classes at the Mary Ward Centre and Barnet College (this material is no longer on her site), and said, "Guidance and encouragement from a good art teacher are important." In April 2006, she stated in her page on the Saatchi Gallery website, "I'm a self taught painter".

The first solo show (web archive 12.8.04) of Gina Bold's work was in July 2004 at Stuckism International, London. The show of twelve paintings, titled Hysterical Shock (after the title of one of her paintings being exhibited), was curated by Louise Urwin and Tom Cowley. Some of the paintings had been shown previously at the gallery in other Stuckist exhibitions which she had contributed to. The paintings, all from private collections, showed a range of Gina Bold's work from the previous two years and charted what she has described as an emotional communication and "a passion that has taken me on a journey that is starting to unlock the great mysteries of life." The artist was sent an invitation by Louise Urwin to participate in arranging the show, but did not respond, and did not attend the show.

Work by Gina Bold was offered for exhibition by private collectors in an "Ex Stuckists" section at The Stuckists Punk Victorian show at the Walker Art Gallery during the 2004 Liverpool Biennial. Because of the artist's objection, the Gallery vetoed its inclusion. Charles Thomson, who was co-curating the show with the Walker, and an advisory team of Stuckist artists working with him, including this site's current editor, felt that it was not correct that work which had been bought by a collector, who wished to exhibit it, should be subject to the artist's veto. The same situation applied to another artist, Stella Vine, also previously one of the Stuckists and who similarly achieved a veto on the exhibition of work she had sold to a collector. The "Ex Stuckists" section was to have included a third artist, Billy Childish (who offered work for it), but, as a result of the vetos, this section of the show was abandoned altogether.

The matter was the subject of a fringe exhibition at the Rivington Gallery in Shoreditch, concurrent with the Walker show, under the title 'Stigmata' or 'Censorious': The Stuckists Punk Victorian. Gina Bold's vetoed paintings were shown, along with Philip Absolon's painting Charity Work, excluded by the Walker for its subject matter, and paintings by Charles Thomson of Gina Bold and Stella Vine. The gallery director, Harold Werner Rubin issued a statement on "censorship". Gina Bold also had a painting shown in the simultaneous Edinburgh fringe show, Stuckists Punk Victorian Lite if You Can't Be Bothered to Go to Liverpool.

On 21 November 2005, the content of this page was removed as a precaution, following two complaints by Gina Bold about it to the police, who contacted Charles Thomson. Following legal advice, the information was reinstated. The following notice was posted at the top of the page:

On 21 November 2005, the content of this page was removed as a precaution, following two complaints by Gina Bold to the police about it. Following legal advice, the material was reinstated. Gina Bold has chosen to promote herself in public exhibitions and on the internet, both with the Stuckist group and subsequently as an independent artist, as well as on third party websites, including publication of biographical information and photographs of herself. The information on this page has come from material previously posted on this site with her authorisation, from material posted on her own website and from other material which has been published and fair comment.

Gina Bold's work benefited during a crucial stage at the beginning of her artistic development from her association with the Stuckists, both from direct teaching and the example of Stuckist artists' work, with which she was fully acquainted. Her work contains and continues to explore an evident Stuckist aesthetic. This is not intended in any way to undermine Gina Bold's work or its validity, which has continued to receive praise from Charles Thomson and other Stuckists, but it is necessary to state its unavoidable context in order to protect our own aesthetic and commercial interests, as well as to place her work in an art historical setting.

This page has been posted in accordance with the stated site policy by the editor of this site, Peter McArdle. He would be pleased to correct any inadvertent inaccuracies, or to discuss any aspect of this page. Communications should be marked "Attn: Peter McArdle" and sent to stuckism@yahoo.co.uk

Gina Bold's web site first carried a biography in January 2007. The only entry for 2002-03, the period she was associated with Stuckism, is "2002 Attends Art classes at college and starts to paint with oils again." As mentioned above, she had started to paint three months before this at the Stuckism International Gallery.


									Born to Be Bold Gina Bold's first "authorised" solo show of work 9 February to 11 March 2007, Wed-Sun 11am-5pm The Arlington Gallery, 73 Parkway, Camden Tel: 020 7267 5641. Press release here (pdf).

Stuckism omitted from press report
An article appeared in the Camden New Journal on 22.2.07 about her solo show Born To Be Bold at the Arlington Gallery, Parkway Camden. She said she did an oil painting in 1985 and then "It was only in 2003, with the death of her father and her subsequent breakdown (or "breakthrough" as she calls it) that she decided to pick up the brushes again." That was the time the split with Stuckism occurred. She had started painting in June 2002.


From the Camden New Journal 22.7.07 Article online.									This photo of Gina Bold and Charles Thomson was taken at the Stuckism International Gallery on 1 December 2002, although she apparently didn't "pick up the brushes again" until the end of 2003.

Charles Thomson barred from Born to Be Bold
When Charles Thomson visited the Born to Be Bold show at the Arlington Gallery (now renamed the Novas Gallery), he was refused admission. No reason was given. He was admitted on a later occasion. See Novas and the Arlington Gallery Born to Be Bold for more details.

EASY LIVING

Gina Bold: The Stuckists Summer Show, Stuckism
International, 2003.

Gina Bold was featured on page 101 of the March 2007 issue of Easy Living magazine in an article titled "Depression Report: Emotional Intelligence". She talks about her painting Save the Last Dance for Me. She does not mention that it was painted at the Stuckism International Gallery in Shoreditch in August 2003 and exhibited in the Gallery at that time in The Stuckist Summer Show 2003 (top painting with yellow background on the left). The painting was substituted for another one during the course of the show: see earlier picture of the same wall higher up this page. There is no mention of Stuckism at all in the interview. As The Independent said of another ex Stuckist, "Perhaps she just forgot." (See 3rd story here.) As Gina, in the article, advocates - and, we are sure, practises - being non-judgemental, we shall join in the spirit and say no more. Those interested in aesthetic analysis might like to see the discussion which mentions the painting on heyokamagazine or check out the portrait of Gina Bold by Mark D, whose explanation of it is that it must be Charles (Thomson)'s fault if it starts raining fish.

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