The Art of John Lennon @ Mandeville Hotel

This weekend Daisy and Faye headed to London’s trendy Mandeville Hotel for The Art of John Lennon Exhibition, presented by The Legende Celebrity Art www.legendcelebrityart.com.

Now we all know John Lennon for his musical career as a Beatle, his beautiful and celebrated lyrics and of course for his endless political activism with wife Yoko Ono, but how many of us would recognise him as an avid, and incredibly talented, artist?

This was our time to do just that. But what could we expect to find behind the doors of the Mandeville’s private Red Room? Quite simply, a collection of limited edition prints of Lennon’s original hand-drawn sketches (signed by Yoko Ono) celebrating John Lennon for what would have been his 70^th birthday. And boy was it impressive.

Descending the stunning staircase (we were especially delighted by the red velvet-covered floor and walls) we stepped into a small and modest room. With no distractions or diversions, just 39 framed pictures, sketches and prints lining the walls, it was clear that Mr Lennon was the only focus.

From large sketches of figures to tiny scribbles of poems and lyrics, each print provided a poetic and innocent insight into the mind and, some even suggested, the inner child of Lennon. My favourite of all were the lyrics of Instant Karma, purely but beautifully scribbled onto the page, written so rapidly that some were hard to decipher. Simple, poignant and striking. Another that caught our attention was entitled Imagine Peace (below). Depicting John, Yoko and their son, it is stunning through its purity and minimalism – my kind of art.

Come Together (below) was also a talking point amongst us spectators, as it was one of the few coloured prints on display and seemed detached from the rest of the collection. Strange but alluring I think you’d agree.

Now when I listen to my beloved Beatles albums, not only will I appreciate the words and sentiments of Lennon’s music, but also the poetic and captivating artistic talent of our favourite Nowhere Boy.

Through seeing and experiencing Lennon’s art his message becomes all the more clear, love communication, peace and the kind of freedom we only experience during childhood. However, priced between £500 and £6,400, I think I shall remain a happy spectator.

Faye