I’m going to be very sad at 6pm on Tuesday 30 April 2013, as that marks the end of our fabulous Sukita David Bowie exhibition. I just can’t believe it has flown by so quickly. It has been one of the most popular and most enjoyable exhibitions we have ever had the pleasure of hosting at the gallery. Sukita-san flew in from Japan with his team for the launch of the show, and it hasn’t stopped.
During the hanging, we had a visit from Kansai Yamamoto, received bouquets of flowers for Sukita from his friends in London and Tokyo, Sukita was well and truly mobbed (in a nice way) by well-wishers on the opening weekend, we had a brilliant impromptu live acoustic performance from Paul and Rob from tribute band Pop-Up Bowie (they are definitely available for weddings and parties!), and the gallery has been buzzing for the last few weeks as Bowie fans from all round the world have been in to see us, usually in conjunction with their visits to the V&A exhibition and Heddon Street.
We have met some really great people and it has been an absolute blast. Sukita loved meeting everyone at the opening of the show, and had a smile on his face whenever he was here. But, the time has come, the end is nigh, and I have a few final announcements to make in connection with the show:
1. Extended opening next week. Usually we are closed on Mondays, but next Monday, 29 April we will be open from 11-6pm. So if you are at the V&A that day, or just in London, come and see us. Next Tuesday we are open 11-6pm, and then the exhibition ends.
2. Special offer 8×10 inch photographs. The three 8×10 inch photographs that Sukita selected to offer at a special price of £195 will only be able to purchase individually until close of play on 30 April 2013. At the time of writing there are still some of each left, but sales of these individual photographs will stop at 6pm on 30 April 2013, even if there are some left in the edition. The 1972 portrait has been the most popular, with 1977 and 2002 evenly matched. Act by 30 April if you want one !
3. Prices on all Sukita’s photographs frozen until 30 April 2013. The 30 main photographs in the exhibition will continue to be available until the editions sell out, so there is no time limit on those. Although prices will increase after 30 April 2013, prices for all photographs are frozen for the duration of the exhibition. So, if you have been chewing over whether to make a purchase, please note that you have until 6pm on 30 April to lock into the entry level prices. "Heroes" has been the most popular piece in the show, and at the time of writing we have just one large Heroes left.
4. Orders in progress. Finally let me quickly update you on timings if you have purchased a photograph in the show. We will be contacting all purchasers individually, but I thought you would appreciate an overview.
4.1 Framed photographs on the gallery wall. If you have purchased one of the framed number 1s from the gallery wall, then from 6pm Tuesday the wait is over, and we will be in touch shortly to sort out the logistics with you, as your photographs are good to go once the show has ended.
4.2 Orders for unframed photographs placed by mid April: you will be pleased to know that everything has arrived from Japan and we will be shipping those to you over the next few days. We will be shipping unframed photograph orders placed in the second half of April in approximately 3 weeks time, and we will be in touch with everyone individually to co-ordinate things.
4.3 Orders for framed photographs If you placed an order by mid April for a framed piece, then please bear with us for a couple more weeks. Every order placed by mid April for a framed photograph has arrived from Japan and is now at the framers, and we will let you know as soon as your framed pieces are ready. If you placed an order for a framed photograph in the second half of April, Sukita is sending us those orders in early May and we will get those straight to the framers for you.
As always, please do get in touch if you have any questions on any of this.
