Norwich artist wins prestigious commission for The Fire Station, Tooley Street, a new restaurant and social enterprise cook school at Southbank, London

Russian-born artist Gena Ivanov, 43, who recently graduated with an MA in Fine Art from the Norwich University College of the Arts (NUCA) has now completed a piece of work commissioned by The Fire Station in Tooley Street, which is due to open its doors to the public on Friday 23 September 2011.

Gena was invited to paint a mural for this former fire station in Tooley Street, near London Bridge station in central London and not far from the new City Hall on Southbank. It was originally built in 1879, and has been extensively restored and refurbished as part of PwC’s new office development at More London Riverside. The refurbishment has been carried out by London-based architects firm Anne Machin Architects and the Fire Station will be run as a social enterprise to support homeless people and other vulnerable or disadvantaged adults in London.

Gena was commissioned by Anne Machin who had previously bought some of his work for her home in St Remy in Provence and asked him to submit ideas. Gena said 'I stood outside the building, which is right by the Thames, surrounded by glass buildings and very close to the new City Hall building. As I stood there, the river and the buildings either side receded into the distance whilst the Fire Station remained clear. This gave me the vision for the painting, an abstracted panorama of the London riverside skyline. I returned to Norwich and immediately made the full-size preliminary sketch which I then presented to Anne and The Fire Station’s chef and founder Simon Boyle. They loved it and commissioned the final piece. I am very proud to be invited to do this work ’

 

Although the piece, ‘, was originally requested for a smaller room, the pair liked the full-size sketch so much that they insisted that is should be displayed in the main public space of the bistro restaurant. This meant that Gena had to re-work the proportions for a larger size piece, but the painting has now been completed on four 1.5 metre linen canvasses to fit the new space and will be installed in time for the opening on Friday 23^rd September, with a invitation list which is expected to include Boris Johnson and David Cameron. Anne Machin said " Gena had great vision to create the painting '', it's fabulous, I love it"

The Fire Station has hit the news recently as it is starting up as an exciting new social enterprise business support centre, helping to develop entrepreneurs and the social enterprise movement. The building will house private dining rooms, a bar and restaurant -  Brigade - as well as a social enterprise cooking school to teach homeless people top-notch skills that will equip them for a professional career in catering. The Fire Station venue is managed by De Vere Venues and  is backed by PwC, the Homes and Communities Agency, Big Issue Invest and the Beyond Food Foundation.  

Artist Gena has lived in Norwich for the last 8 years. Originally trained in Russia, he has adopted Norwich as his home although he visits his family in Belarus two or three times a year. He also runs a commercial gallery in Upper St Giles, Norwich where he sells a variety of styles of painting and drawings to tourists and members of the public. However, he said that the two years at NUCA has been very stimulating and has radically changed way he works and his ambitions. He is developing new directions in his painting style. He is available for commission and would welcome opportunities to exhibit his work.