Exhibition of artist painstakingly chronicling Shrewsbury in Streetscape Project opens
An exhibition of the meticulous work of an artist and award-winning architect has opened in Shropshire.
It marks the work of James St Clair Wade, who is five years into a unique project to record Shrewsbury’s historic streetscape in a series of architectural views.
Halls Fine Art is hosting the Shrewsbury Streetscape Project exhibition in the Darwin Gallery at the company’s Battlefield headquarters until January 19.
The exhibition, which is open from 10am to 4pm on weekdays, offers an exclusive opportunity to view a curated selection of James' remarkable work, as well as paintings of the local area.
James’ finely executed work allows the whole length of each street to be seen simultaneously, capturing the buildings for posterity. Several orders for limited edition signed prints were taken at the open evening.
To date, Wyle Cop, High Street, Mardol, Quarry Place, St John's Hill, Shoplatch, Pride Hill, Castle Street, Castle Foregate, St. Mary's Place, St. Mary's Street, Windsor Place, Dogpole, the south side of Town Walls, Milk Street, and Belmont have been completed.
James estimates that he has completed two thirds of the main streets in the historical town centre, within the River Severn loop.
Further work will be published at streetscapeproject.com as the project progresses.
The website and exhibition also feature a documentary made by Andrew Spicer of Fairholme Films, which gives an insight into the process of producing a Streetscape drawing and some background to the project.
Abigail Molenaar, Halls Fine Art’s art specialist, said: “We are delighted to be able to showcase and celebrate the history of our town and support the work of James St Clair Wade. The open evening was very well attended and the exhibition has generated great interest.
“The Streetscape Project is an amazing time capsule of present day Shrewsbury and we are delighted to be able to offer a dedicated exhibition space to show off the incredible talent of our local artists.
“Halls’ history is very much entwined with Shrewsbury town since our founding in 1845 and we are committed to helping it to flourish in the future through our various departments.”
