35 Years of Beside the Wave

Left to right: Mike Hindle, Richard Tuff, Amanda Hoskin, Benjamin Warner, Andrew Tozer.

“Directing a gallery is an incredible job, I feel immensely privileged to get to do so. The admiration I have for our artists and what they do remains the driving force behind Beside The Wave. Being an artist can be an immensely lonely and challenging profession, and it is our duty as gallerists to provide encouragement and resolution through these times. 

The journey of a work of art goes through multiple stages, I’ve been thinking about how a painting ends up on our walls. The artist is inspired, more often than not by something in their present, combined with the artists they admire from the past, has the idea for the composition,  makes their preparations, paints the piece, thinks of a title, decides on a frame and then delivers it to us. After all of that we are the lucky custodians that get to live with these pieces until we find their homes. 

Original art is such a luxury and we know that when times are challenging, it may be the last thing people feel like buying. However, time and time again, someone will walk into the gallery not looking to fall in love with a painting, but they leave with one. There’s something about the ‘wow’ moment that someone experiences when seeng a work of art they love that never ever gets old. 

An integral part of the gallery has always been the people who work here. Over the years we have employed some of the most passionate, talented and dependable individuals I have ever met. The gallery has faced many challenges over the years and I can say with confidence that we would not be here today if it weren’t for our team, in all its variations over all the years. 

It feels like a real privilege to be at the helm of the gallery for such an exciting milestone. I have been involved with BTW for over half my life, starting in the summer of 2007, just after finishing my GCSE’s. Some of my favourite memories have to be the London art fairs working with Mum, where I learnt lessons I still implement today. Soon, I will be leaving the management of the gallery to Luke whilst I welcome by first baby, and who knows, perhaps one day my son and I might be working together. 

This collection features 5 artists who between them have well over a century of years experience exhibiting on our four walls. These individuals represent the absolute best of what contemporary artists in the south west have to offer. They are the very foundations that Beside The Wave stands on today and it is a privilege to know and represent them.” – Flo Lowry, Gallery Director, May 2024