Salty De Soufflé

New See Spray Gallery and Salty De Soufflé

See Spray Contemporary Art Gallery is a totally new venture which is hoping to establish itself  as a purveyor of unique contemporary art as well as stocking art supplies and providing community space for art projects, as curator Ella Matthews explains. The current exhibition features Brighton-based collage artist Salty De Soufflé.

We are displaying work never before seen in Hastings as well as art from recognised and lesser known local artists.

We believe that art is for everyone and as such, aim to be inclusive, affordable and community minded. We have art for everyone’s budget, starting at handmade badges for £1 by local artist, Peter Quinnell.

We also stock good quality art supplies such as stretched canvases, hardback sketchpads and Posca pens, and a variety of greetings cards and prints, including some from local artists.

Since opening four weeks ago we have people coming in every day to say that we are exactly what Hastings needs. Our opening night was a great success and we’ve had a lot of positive feedback since then, as well as surprisingly good sales considering how new we are.

We are working on building a strong social media presence and are hoping to exhibit at some art fairs next year once our reputation is more established.

I recognised a need for a contemporary art gallery as many of the local less traditional artists were under-represented, despite Hastings being full of artists and creatives.

Salty De Soufflé

I moved here three years ago and the other team members are also local. Tom Bartlett  has lived here for 15 years and has been integral to getting the project off the ground, offering his work for our first solo show as well as tirelessly working behind the scenes. We have local artist Sarah Mayhew helping on the shop floor and former studio manager Esther Johnson helping to coordinate events and promotions.

It’s a dream come true for me to run a gallery, especially in such a creative and vibrant town. To be able to host art lessons and events is a great opportunity for locals to meet up and try something creative that maybe they haven’t done before, and being in contact with so many talented artists, give them the chance to exhibit and sell their work, as well as give the public the opportunity to buy collectible pieces is extremely rewarding.

I have chosen the work based on style and genre, and I wanted to display art that isn’t widely available elsewhere. Around half the work is by local artists and we also have art from London, Brighton and Devon.

Our current solo show, running through to 17 August, features acclaimed Brighton-based collage artist, Salty De Soufflé.

Salty De Soufflé

Born in Edinburgh and brought up in Scotland, Salty De Soufflé studied graphics and illustration at art college in Cumbria followed by a multi-disciplinary design degree and finally post grad at Central St Martins in computer graphics. Now happily ensconced in her seaside emporium in sunny Brighton, Salty loves to trawl flea markets and car boot sales for unwanted family photographs, royal scrapbooks, ephemera, paintings and vintage prints; turning the unloved into the cherished. The day job as graphic designer helps Salty turn her vision into reality. Creating flamboyant, kitsch-pop humorous pieces, she loves the way that the mixed-media collage works with the often distressed frames so that its unclear to some which parts are new.

Website for Salty De Soufflé

Sea Spray Gallery is at 153-154 Queen’s Road, Hastings.

Salty De Soufflé

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