From marketing, to photography, through to opening an Art Gallery – Karl Sproat, owner of Capital Art Gallery, is holding his 81st exhibition this month. His focus is always on artists, helping and promoting them while having fun.
‘Let’s take some of the snobbery out of Art, and keep it fun.’
LSA: Karl, thank you so much for your time. Can you please tell us more about yourself?
KS: My initial occupational background had always been in the marketing industry, promoting many large corporations. In 2004, I saw a gap in the market for opening my own photography studios, which I successfully operated until 2015.
James Willis
LSA: What made you transfer your very successful business into an Art Gallery?
KS: In early 2015, I was approached by two local artists who asked me if I would mind exhibiting a few pieces of their art amongst my family portraits displayed on my reception walls. I asked them, “why come to my studios and not approach a local Art Gallery?” Their reply was, “there isn’t a local Art Gallery”. So, after photographing many thousands of family portraits over an eleven year period, I thought converting my photography studios into an art gallery could be fun! and in April 2015, Capital Art Gallery was formed.
Elisabeth Grant
LSA: And it goes really well, you had 80 exhibitions… That’s a lot. What is happening in the gallery now?
KS: We are currently on our 81st exhibition. Over the past 7 years, I am proud to say that we have exhibited over 15,000 pieces of art, from artists all over the world.
LSA: And who are the artists?
KS: The artists exhibiting in Capital Art Gallery are both professional and amateur. Who am I to judge what is good or bad in the world of art? It is a very subjective thing. I let the customers decide, and I try very hard to get the customers to feel the passion and desire that the artists are feeling while they are producing their artwork.
LSA: What kind of work can we see in your Gallery?
KS: Just like my customers, the art exhibited in my Gallery is so diverse: Oil paintings, watercolours, sculpture, glassware, jewellery, textiles, wood turning, eco art, pastels, hand painted silk scarves, the list goes on, it’s all been exhibited here.
LSA: What are your priorities and future plans?
KS: The main priority for me is to keep the gallery evolving, never stand still. If I can feel the passion and desire from the artist for their artwork, I will promote them to the best of my ability. I always welcome new artists to the gallery, and I like to think that I am approachable and will always listen. Let’s take some of the snobbery out of art, and keep it fun.
If you would like to know more about the Gallery here in London please go to the website for more information.
Elizabeth Grant – Elizabeth is a self-taught artist and has been painting for many years. “I am a self-confessed colour addict and I work with a variety of techniques to capture the essence or feeling of my subject. I like to connect to the soul of whatever I am working on”.
James Willis – B.A. Hons. Degree in Fine Art and Music and an M.A. in the History of Art from Birkbeck, London. ‘I enjoy sharing my knowledge through Lecturing in a range of art historical subjects; teaching painting and travelling with groups abroad’
Joy Hawkridge – Joy is a self-taught abstract artist whose passion for art started at an early age. “I love using texture and colour to bring emotion and feeling to my work. I’m an adventurer at heart and I’m always experimenting with different media. I find exploring the artistic world so fulfilling. My dream of exhibiting and sharing my art around the world is coming true.”
Agnieszka Sova – self-taught artist based in London ‘ I believe we are creator of our lives, we can be the art and the artist… I follow my heart and intuition and catch fleeting moment on canvas and since 2019 on silk’.
Artist currently exhibiting in the gallery
James Willis
Elizabeth Grant
Joy Hawkridge
Agnieszka Kowalczewska
Monika Ziobrowska
Justyna Jankowska
Joel Clark
Tatiana Radko
Victoria Lucas Roberts
Drazen Eissenbeiser
Branimir Dolonec
Aivis Provejs
Bozena Koj
Kinia-Kik
Attilio Fiorillo
David Walsh
Rose Bryan
Iren Turcanas
Agnes Asselin
James Callaghan
