AKA Fine Art, which has been exhibiting paintings, sculptures and prints as well as hosting events and workshops at its purpose-built gallery just off Hills Road for three years, has announced its final schedule before closing at the end of April.
“We opened on 26 August, 2022 and before that we were online, and now we’re going back online, and we’ll do some pop-ups,” said Kevin Youngman, who co-founded AKA with Alison Porter. They initially took a three-year lease on the property, which has a first-floor loft office and mini-gallery.
“We’ve had a record range of shows since then – 10 exhibitions a year on average,” says Ali in the beautiful gallery, an architectural work of art in itself. “We had 110 paintings from all over the UK in our winter exhibition, which finished last Saturday – people loved it because of the variety.”
Currently on show at the 45 sq m venue until 21 March is Unusual Horizons, an exhibition of recent photographs by Marcy Cohen and paintings by Michael Amos.
Marcy’s busy, urban – she’s a New Yorker – photographic prints contrast well with Michael’s gentler, more open-ended focus on natural phenomena.
“All but one of these paintings were all painted in Cambridge in the last three weeks,” says Canadian-born Michael.
Two of the paintings are about his 40-year association with Michael Tanner, the Corpus Christi Wagner philosopher and opera critic who bedazzled more than one generation of philosophy students at the University of Cambridge. Dr Tanner died a year ago aged 88, as reported in the Cambridge Independent at the time.
“Celebration1 and Celebration2 are homages to Michael Tanner,” says Michael of his late partner.
He adds: “I’ve been painting all my life. I sold my first painting at 16. This is my tenth exhibition.”
Unusual Horizons emerged because Michael visited Oman earlier this year and “when you look at the sand you seem to see a white horizon but it’s just an illusion of some kind”.
What’s it like to see your work exhibited in Cambridge?
“I’m happy because it’s quite sparse,” Michael says. “It’s neat and tidy.
“It is one of the best galleries in Cambridge, it’s offered lots of local artists a chance to exhibit along with a busy events calendar, including life drawing.”
AKA Fine Art at 54a Cherry Hinton Road is open Wednesday to Saturday, from 11am to 4.30pm.