the square mile

I could tell it was a posh do by the filled triangular pyramids of champagne and wine glasses stacked up in the entrance area. And as for the geometrically structured canapés! Well...It slightly surprised the wine-waiter when I asked for 'something non-alcoholic' although he produced some chilled fresh orange juice from under the counter.

It was the opening of a new exhibition at The Ark and I was there meeting a couple of friends, one of whom was exhibiting.

My question was whether it felt like 'being on duty' when it was an event like this, but I was told 'it depends'. My own experience is that it's far more demanding to be an organiser and not even get to try the canapés.

It turned out that this show had been organised by others, so it was a question of turning up and being relaxed, rather than having to hover and orbit. My friend's last show had been at another gallery where she was an organiser and much more 'on duty' making sure everyone was greeted/spoken to/schmoozed with and so on.

Instead, we could move freely around admiring and critiquing the works on display.

It was mainly hung work rather than sculptures, and had a variety of mainly abstract themes.

As this was the private view, there were a fair few of the artists around, so a certain care was needed before making pronouncements. I'm not sure what the official distance is, but most artists would stand at least 10 metres from their own work, and often would have a varied but somehow tell-tale dress code that helped them be identifiable.

There were some fine pieces on show, and some good and interesting ideas.

I enjoyed the show, and must admit to even acquiring an artwork to eventually be hung in rashbre central. Of course, for the next seven weeks, it remains on display at the Ark, with a little red dot beside it.