Collas Crill partnering with Art for Guernsey

Collas Crill is pleased to be embarking on a cultural journey into the literary and visual arts with Art for Guernsey, as the headline sponsor of the forthcoming exhibition ‘A Renaissance of Victor Hugo’.

Art for Guernsey and Collas Crill will work together to showcase the works of the charity’s most recent artists in residence, the internationally acclaimed Daniel Hosego and Oleg Mikhailov, in March 2023.

Both artists are incredibly versatile and contemporary in their approach, while still strongly influenced by the Renaissance and its myriad symbols and metaphors. They have been tasked with the daunting mission of revisiting the legacy of the ultimate ‘Renaissance Man’ in Guernsey, Victor Hugo, and specifically his novel Toilers of the Sea.

Both artists have produced jaw-dropping, museum-quality artworks that will undoubtedly inspire our community and constitute a tier-one artistic legacy for the island.

The association between Collas Crill and Art for Guernsey will be marked at the first public exhibition in the new gallery, scheduled to open in Spring 2023.

Jock Pettitt of Art for Guernsey said: 'We are delighted to be working with the team at Collas Crill in the delivery of this exhibition. They have already shown great passion and enthusiasm for the content and they are eager to work with us in bringing this to the wider community.'

Ahead of the exhibition and whilst it is open, Collas Crill staff will be getting involved in the creative process themselves, joining the artists for a workshop. Their children will also be invited to take part in their own workshop with the artists.

Christian Hay, Guernsey Managing Partner and Head of Dispute Resolution at Collas Crill, said: 'We are excited to be partnering with Art for Guernsey for A Renaissance of Victor Hugo. Collas Crill is an offshore law firm with clients across the world and we hope that the exhibition will attract global interest, given Victor Hugo’s literary legacy and the astounding international artists involved. We are proud to celebrate Guernsey’s cultural heritage with the local community and beyond.'

Oleg Mikhailov

Internationally acclaimed artist and printmaker Oleg Mikhailov is obsessed with the sea, his abiding subject and the source of his dreams and inspiration: ‘I am a water man. I take a fishing grod or mask and flippers and strive to find depth in a mysterious world.’

Oleg studied painting and printmaking at the renowned St Petersburg Academy of Arts, where he discovered his love of lithography. He is simply one of the best stone lithographers in the world and it is an absolute honour and privilege to have an artist of such calibre collaborating with Art for Guernsey.

Daniel Hosego

Daniel is an incredibly versatile, ultra-contemporary and yet classically inspired artist. He is one of the rising stars of the contemporary art scene and a true ‘Renaissance Man’.

His colour-print artworks in particular are found very inspiring by the new generation, placing him as an artist at the inflexion npoint between a mathematically driven street artist and a Renaissance old master. His drawing skills and the robustness of his narratives are second to none and we expect that this show will have a revealing impact on Daniel’s international career