Published: 24 August 2017

Here's a sneak peek into our lower level of the London gallery, where our photographer has spent the entire day photographing and colour proofing a new body of paintings from artist Tony de Wolf. Although the Belgian painter's exhibition isn't until mid-October, we begin preparations far in advance to ensure quality representation and promotion of the artwork leading up to the opening day.

Photographing solo exhibitions like Tony de Wolf's are typically more straightforward for the photographer to undertake, as the surfaces, finishing and framing tend to be connsistent throughout the group of paintings. When shooting a large group exhibition, the camera and lighting must be adjusted for each individual painting and its medium, size and framing. 

After the initial shoot, our Thompson's Gallery staff join the photographer to colour proof each individual image. The primary goal is to avoid misleading colouration in the printed catalogue and online renderings of the exhibition. For instance, if a green is deep and rich in real life, but reads as a loud lime on the screen, the levels must be adjusted to the digital file to remedy this. Once each image is verified as 'true to life' onscreen, the process is complete. Colour proofing is an arduous but crucial process, and multiple opinions are always useful as each naked eye will interpret colour slightly differently.

Once the images are singed off, a designer uploads them to be incorporated into the catalogue layout. The proofing of each catalogue design is akin to the aforementioned photography process. Gallery staff collaborate with the designer and printers to eradicate all typing, arrangement, and cataloguing errors.