Frank Styles pieces among original art available to buy at Bridges gallery

Because Frederick Street Gallery is a commercial gallery it’s been able to reopen its doors within Bridges Shopping Centre as a retail operation, giving shoppers the chance to give the gift of original art this Christmas.

Named after its sister gallery in Sunniside, which is also back open for business, the gallery has work from more than 50 artists on display for people to browse or buy.

There’s a range of mediums on show, from collage to watercolour, covering a broad range of subjects, from abstract to large-scale pieces inspired by Sunderland’s lost shipbuilding industry.

Among the highlights are abstract pieces by Frank Styles. He’s more known for his huge murals across the city, such as his piece celebrating 1973 FA Cup hero Jimmy Montgomery in Southwick and the Raich Carter mural on the Blue House pub in Hendon.

However, the commercial gallery gives people the chance to own an original piece of Frank’s art for their home, with prices starting from £35.

Speaking about the pieces, which are a mixture of acrylic and spray paint, Frank said: “It’s great to do these smaller pieces as I can be more free without a commission or brief to follow.

"The hardest part is focusing on just one thing from the countless ideas I have in my head.”

In between pieces created indoors, Frank is still working on commissioned outdoor pieces, weather permitting, including a mural of Black Hat hero Kevin Phillips on the side of the Times Inn pub in Southwick.

Frank said: “People really need to support galleries like this, it’s one of the only places local artists can show their work."

The gallery is also giving people the chance to view in person the huge Marilyn Monroe artwork, created by Sunderland artist Darren Timby using 26,304 screws.

Weighing 14.5 stone, the striking piece has been hitting the headlines, but this is the first time people can view it in a gallery setting.

Darren said: “I’ve been blown away by the support for this piece and it’s great to see it in a gallery. Even my mum, who has seen it a dozen times in my workshop, said it was great to see it in this setting, it really adds vibrancy. It’s fantastic for Sunderland to have a gallery like this on its doorstep.”

Other pieces on show include work by Woz Oliver from his Heroes & Villains exhibition, which is on show in full at the sister Frederick Street Gallery in Sunniside, as well as work by Robert Andler Lipski, resident artist Graham Hodgson and more.

Gallery owner Ken Devine said: “We have some great pieces on show for people to see and buy. The arts have really suffered due to the pandemic, but this is fantastic for local artists. If it was a funded exhibition, the artists wouldn’t be the beneficiaries of that, but this gives them block exposure, while also being able to sell their art.”

*FSG in the Bridges is open 10am- 4pm Monday to Saturday. Frederick Street Gallery, on the corner of Frederick Street in Sunniside, is open 10am-4pm Tuesday to Thursday.

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