T H E C H A I R

Keith Ashcroft / Richard Baker / Alexandra Baraitser / Jake Clark / Mandy Hudson

Curated by Alexandra Baraitser

G2 | 22 March - 5 April

As props for human subjects, from thrones to humble stools, chairs support us providing respite after long periods standing. For human beings, they are both a psychological and physical support.

For many centuries, chairs have been a feature in our lives. Some believe the first chair was invented in Egypt and was perhaps a stool. In China, before the sixth century, the practice of sitting in chairs was rare, with the first seat only appearing much later on.

Twentieth century modernism was so revolutionary that it had a lasting and profound affect on consumer choices, to the extent that fifty years on it still informs us and guides how we live today. Our choice of designs are a reflection on who we are and dictates what is in fashion. Today modernist pieces such as the Lounge Chair by Charles and Ray Eames are a best seller. Empty chairs (from design icons to garden furniture), suggest absence, allowing the viewer to imagine potential sitters and audiences.

The artists in this exhibition pay homage to the chair as their subject. Like an actor on stage, it gets the biggest part – a full frontal display to grab our attention

Please email The Lido Stores at thelidostores@gmail.com for a copy of the exhibition catalogue.

S A L O N 03.25 | G1

The Lido Stores

Open Wednesday to Saturday

Described by one visitor as a curation ‘steeped in tradition but with an anarchic edge’, Gallery 1 features painting, prints, works on paper and sculpture by a carefully selected group of emerging and established artists. Selected and curated by gallery owner Kristen Healy, the work displayed changes frequently and reflects her passion for contemporary painting.

Expect a wide selection of contemporary art by over 30 resident artists, including Emily Stevens, Susan Montgomery, Lee Johnson, Lisa Ivory, and Charles Williams, to name a few.

We feel strongly that art has the capacity to enrich and reward, and, with this in mind, we are passionate about democratising contemporary art. We welcome questions, laughter and conversation around the work- no false solemnity or elitism here.

Exhibition Programme

Spring 2025

  • Two Singers One Song

    Jackie Askew & Sheila Vollmer

    24 April - 10 May

    Two Singers One Song is an exhibition celebrating the work of sculptor Sheila Vollmer and painter Jackie Askew: two artists who live and work in different countries, Ireland and England. 

    This exhibition features small sculpture, painting and drawing; exploring line, space, colour, surface, energy and rhythm, each artist responding to the transformative nature of their materials. 

    The concept of this exhibition derives from their shared language of abstraction combined with their shared energy and passion for the physicality of creating, highlighting how abstract sculpture and painting speaks to many through its visual language, use of material and space, and how it reflects our ever changing world and personal experiences.

  • In the Middle Somewhat Elevated

    Julia Warr

    15 - 31 May

    Inspired by 20 year old Erin McNeice climb for GB at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the young athletes breakaway young talent became the embodiment of both the arc of determination, agility and sheer grit needed for extreme sport and the struggle to escape an otherwise average life. Julia Warr is painting a feeling.

    The coloured pieces of canvas hang in conspiratorial proximity to each other. Steps and hand holds providing a means of escape. Bulbous blocks of colour gives them a solidity and a presence, much like building a lego wall from a bucket of bricks. Falling, failing, getting up and reaching the summit is an allegory for the act of painting itself.

  • The Sunset Speaks Loudly of Days

    Jack Shearing - Lido Open 2025 Winner

    5 - 28 June

    ‘The silence on the floor of my house

    Is all the questions and all the answers that have been known in the world
    The sentimental furniture threatens the peace
    The reflection of a sunset speaks loudly of days’ - Agnes Martin

    Jack Shearing presents a new body of work at Lido Stores in his first solo exhibition, The Sunset Speaks Loudly of Days.Working from observation and memory, Shearing’s paintings capture the atmosphere of his immediate surroundings, often revisiting windows, interior spaces, and landscapes as recurring motifs. Drawn to the gloaming hours—the fleeting time between day and night—his work meditates on the transient and cyclical nature of experience. His paintings evoke the subtle interplay of light and space, capturing moments of quiet contemplation.