The Royal Standard: Gary Sollars: One Way

Gary is holding his first solo exhibition at The Royal Standard Gallery during the city’s international arts festival, the Liverpool Biennial. The exhibition will feature over 30 works curated by Gary from his catalogue from 1994 onwards.

Sollars says: “These are mainly autobiographical works about life, love, relationships, politics and humour. I’m a common voice in a middle class, la di d’art world and so it’s time I put that voice in front of the public to shake things up a bit!”

The short films include his popular stand-up comedy routines, poems, regrets and reflective rants on love and life. His paintings are large scale, dealing with personal and political themes and his sculptures are strangely disconcerting using horsehair, toy cars and fun fur.

Sollars is forthright and unapologetic for his queer stance and his work pulls no punches.

More than just space, TRS is a community that makes a career as an artist in Liverpool a viable and accessible option through access to a support network and development opportunities through our local and national networks.

We aim to support outstanding emerging and mid-career artists by providing the highest quality, affordable studio spaces within a supportive community. Our programme includes public exhibitions, residencies, exchanges, critiques, research, events, training and community activities. We currently support over 40 artists through our studio membership and residency scheme. Our mission is to support artists to create sustainable and viable careers in the North West.

Founded in 2006 in a small pub in Dingle, The Royal Standard originally emerged from the need for a middle ground in Liverpool — somewhere in between smaller DIY grassroots arts incentives and larger institutions. In 2008, The Royal Standard undertook an ambitious relocation and expansion into a larger industrial space on the Northern periphery of the City Centre to a site on Vauxhall Road, relaunching to acclaim for the Liverpool Biennial 2008, which coincided with the city’s year as European Capital of Culture. Read more about our history.

Since then, we have thrived on account of the hard work of our team and local artists, and are now situated in our third, most ambitious location in the Baltic Triangle. Over the years, we have delivered a multitude of exhibitions and events spanning 322 days open to the public, working with 429 different artists and creatives, and welcoming over 10,000 audience members through our doors.