Exhibitions & Events
The café is an ideal space for exhibiting art! It is also a great venue for events.
EXHIBITIONS
Work in progress on this page. Watch this space! (29 Feb 2012) Lots of lovely pictures coming in during week beginning Monday 5 March 2012.
We aim to have exhibitions of paintings by local artists changing every 4 - 6 weeks. All paintings are usually available for sale.
New Exhibition 12 March - 14 April
Janet Sainsbury 'My family & other people'
Janet Sainsbury is an Exeter based contemporary visual artist working in collage, paint & other media forms. This exhibition looks at the ambiguous relationships we have with animals & nature, through idiosyncratic pictures that are humorous, colourful & accessible. All the art is for sale.
Open Exhibition evening on Thursday 15 March 6-8pm
All welcome to come to meet the artist & view the artworks. A bar will be open for sale of soft & alcoholic drinks & snacks.
PICTURE OF JANET’S WORK HERE
Janet Sainsbury's new exhibition is a body of work that broadly looks at the ambiguous relationships we have with animals and nature.
These paintings are selected from the last couple of years; they draw on Janet's own personal experience and allow the audience in to view her perspective on family interactions and the role of pets and animals as characters and metaphors.
Janet is a contemporary visual artist working in collage, paint and other media forms. She creates idiosyncratic pictures that are humorous and accessible to her buyers.
Janet works from her home in Exeter. Originally from Sussex, Janet trained and worked in Brighton before embarking on a successful career here in the South West, where she’s well connected to the regional arts scene and community.
Previous Exhibitions
Festive Exhibition 28 November - 16 January 2012
Featuring the work of 2 contrasting local artists
Elizabeth Rashley, linocuts & Amy McCarthy, stained glass & mixed media
Rashley’s bold linocuts depict animals, birds and the feminine form in an expressive and imaginative pictorial style. A member of the Devon Guild of Craftsmen, Elizabeth, orginally born in Exeter, now has a studio in Newton Abbot where she produces her own colour reduction prints with a Victorian Albion printing press.
McCarthy, from Heavitree, produces a wide range of stained glass, from individual Christmas tree decorations to bright window panels, using a variety of methods, including acid etching and traditional kiln fired painting. Amy’s work celebrates the nature and landscape of the south west and she loves using sea washed glass found on Devon’s beaches or recycled glass where she can.
Katya Romankevich, a series of unique monoprints 24 October - 26 November 2011
My prints are influenced by natural forms and shapes and are all forms of monoprinting rather than editions of work making each piece unique. I like the way printing can be used as a medium to produce complex layers of texture and ink and each print evolves organically as it progresses. Colour is very important in the layering process and profoundly affects the finished piece.
Annabel Hanson, 'Colourful Nature' 13 September 2011 – 22 October
With a background in printing, Annabel uses vibrant colours and a bold technique to paint the landscape and farm animals in and around Whitestone (near Exeter) where she lives.
Alison Jacobs, 'Livestock 2011' 16 June – 27 July 2011
Original acrylic paintings by Somerset based painter, winner of the People's Choice at The Bath and West Show Open Exhibition in May 2011 for 'Herd on the Hill', featuring a trademark subject- cows, explored in brilliant colour and detail. www.alisonjacobs.com
Jane Cope 25 April - 14 June 2011
Original oils on canvas and prints by Exeter based illustrator and painter Jane Cope featuring animals & exploring life & landscape often with vibrancy and humour. www.janecope.com
Information
Information about the artist & their work is made available in the café. We also put information & images of the artist's work on the website (realfoodexeter.co.uk) usually on the 'ning' section of the website where you can view a short video of some of the artists talking about their work, in the café gallery.
Price Lists
All artworks are for sale unless marked otherwise and a list of works with prices will be available in the café. Please see a member of staff if you would like to buy a painting. Please make a cheque out to the artist. Alternatively you can pay cash. Unfortunately we cannot at present accept credit card payments for artworks. (There are a number of cash points nearby).
Local art
We exhibit high quality work by local artists- (Exeter, Devon & surrounding counties) with themes that relate in some way to people in the landscape, farming, the natural environment, sustainability & of course food.
If you are a local artist and you would like to exhibit your work in the Real Food Store café gallery please in the first instance write to with links to your website and/or examples of your work.
EVENTS
We can host your event and do it with a difference whether a business event or a purely social occasion. The café is a pleasant, spacious and versatile venue and is available for hire for fully catered evening events. Choose from a range of buffet & meal options, all featuring Real Food Store produce recipes. We have a bar licensed for alcoholic drinks (lovely local beers, wines and ciders). We can adapt our seasonal event menus to suit you.
Please enquire at