Family-run business based in Heskin Hall celebrate reclaiming the title they last won in 2016.
Hepplestone Fine Art is celebrating another national award. The family-run business has just been named the UK Retail Art Gallery of the Year Award, a title they last won in 2016.
Speaking about the recent award, Giles Hepplestone said: ‘We are very proud to have reclaimed this award as it gives us national recognition and reflects our passion for art and shows how much we value the level of service we offer our customers.’
Since its opening in 2005, the gallery at the Heskin Hall Farmers’ Market & Craft Centre near Chorley has grown into one of the leading retail art galleries for original paintings and collectable limited edition prints.
The gallery was set up by father and son team Clive and Giles Hepplestone who turned their passion for art into a successful independent gallery with clients from across the world.
With the recent sale of an original Lowry and a large collection of Geoffrey Key pieces in its inventory, the gallery has established itself as one of the leading sellers of work by prominent northern artists.
However, it is not just the famous local artists that the gallery supports - the team at Hepplestone Art is passionate about giving exposure to artists who do not usually have a platform to show their work to the public.
This is illustrated in their sponsorship of the Lancashire Life Landscape Artist of the Year Award since its inauguration. The event is hosted in their gallery every year and they have just sold the winning piece of the 2018 competition, an urban landscape called All The Lights Green, on behalf the Lancaster based artist, Chris Rigby.
As autumn approaches, the team is busy preparing for a number of special exhibitions featuring well respected artists who are based in the United States.
September sees the return of Tim Cotterill, who is often referred to as the ‘The Frogman’ for his colourful bronze frog sculptures. To mark his sixth exhibition at Hepplestone, he has produced a special owl bronze named ‘Josephine’. This is a limited run of just 15 pieces that are exclusive to the gallery and will be personally engraved by the artist.
Another world-renowned artist who will be returning to Lancashire is California-based Fabian Perez, an artist who can claim superstars such as Rihanna among his clientele. The previous exhibition launches have been extremely popular events and this year is shaping up to be the same as the Buenos Aires born artist will return to display a new series of limited edition prints as well as up to 20 original pieces of art. Any works that are bought at the opening event on November 13 will be signed by Perez.
Work is also underway in planning a special exhibition later on in 2018. George Aird, one of the leading lights in the north-west art scene, has recently retired after closing his famous Grove Leigh Galleries in Manchester. Aird once served as Lowry’s agent and as an accomplished painter himself, produced many paintings in the style of his famous friend.
The Hepplestone Art gallery are currently organising a special exhibition of Aird’s Lowry tributes before the end of 2018.
For more details about the art on sale or upcoming exhibitions, go to www.hepplestonefineart.com
