London’s most inspiring art exhibition: Inside Discerning Eye 2026

“On behalf of the selectors, it was a lot of fun but hard work looking at 7000 works of art over two days,” says Hugh Bonneville, delivering his speech at the packed private view of Discerning Eye 2026, “You get slightly snowblind but also very passionate and quickly detect each other’s characters. We were quick to christen Martin, ‘The Prince of Doom’…”With the witches, skulls, goat heads, and dead birds that characterised my choices – along with a Jesus catapult – it was a title I couldn’t dispute. But this is all part of the beauty of Discerning Eye, which - for the uninitiated - is a long-running London exhibition at the Mall Galleries in which six guest selectors (King Charles was once one) choose around 120 works each from an open call for submissions. Artists from around the UK submit their works – paintings, drawings, sculptures, whatever their specialism – and its then up to the selectors to choose their favourites. The big thing is that each work has to be no longer than 50cm in any dimension, with the original idea being that this is art which visitors can buy and then carry home. Chair Sarah Hall told the guests, “Discerning Eye is a charity that both supports artists by introducing them to buyers at the exhibition, and we also provide educational and other initiatives to support artist. It’s a selling exhibition and my understanding is Discerning Eye was timed just before Christmas in part to help artists with their income. So I like to think of this as an opportunity to do your Christmas shopping. Discerning Eye 2026R LazovyThe unique founding concept is each selector chooses for themselves. There’s no committee coming to a consensus, each selector picks what they like from the open submission, so In effect there are six mini-exhibitions here. It means it keeps it fresh and quite different each year.” This year there were 7000 entries to choose from, which meant the Standard was locked in a room with Hugh Bonneville and the other selectors, artists Jasmine Pradissitto and Kelvin Okafor, art lawyer Jon Sharples, and art critic Melanie Gurlis, along with the Discerning Eye team. Many cups of coffee and packets of biscuits were consumed, everyone lost their minds at one stage or another, and each of us leaned into certain quirks of our individual tastes (dogs for Jon, industrial for Jasmine, doorways for Hugh, food for Mel, hyperreal for Kelvin and evil for me). But the odd thing was, the process was not a slog. It was in fact, a joy and a privilege to see such a high standard of skill and ambition, with every artist following their own unique vision. It made selection difficult, but also like a fun race through a chocolate factory, where you try to grab as many, and of wide a variety, of goodies as you can.Put simply: we were spoilt rotten for choice. Discerning Eye 2026R LazovnyFast forward to this week and finally the selectors could see the works they had selected on the walls. Personally speaking, it was a delight to not simply see pieces up close – with exciting revelations in size, texture and relief – but also to see how they all worked with one another. Themes and clashes and unity suddenly brought new meanings and moods. This is why getting off screens and into galleries is absolutely vital. Hugh Bonneville was similarly delighted, “I feel very personally attached to all of them and I want them to go to nice homes,” he said, “We only saw them in two dimensions on screens during selection – which is the simplest way of getting a shortlist – but to see them in three dimensions has been really fun. And also the size. Some that looked large are miniature and more powerful for being so. Showing the Standard his impressive wall of selections, he added, “I’ve got a nice variety I think. I’ve gone for close ups of hands and then solo shots, duos, moving out into animals and landscapes. I’m really moved by the variety of styles. I hope it’s a bit of optimism and fun, it’s amazing to think of all these individual artists off doing their own thing in their own world. It’s just the imagination and the different methods of communicating their ideas. I’m excited about meeting the artists and having, everyone is genuinely excited about it and the opportunity to come together and experience each other’s art. Yes it’s a competitive world but we’re not in competition here, it’s about celebrating the imagination and the release of energy.”Discerning Eye 2026R LazovyHugh had his eye on a couple he wanted to buy – “I’m selfishly thinking about the way we’re going to do our new hall and I want dark frames” – and while it’s not about competition, there is a judges prize for who sells the most art. All of us selectors think Hugh will win this, and he does too: “Oh yes, I will sell the most. Our selections were about how art is completely subjective and what moves you as an individual. But at the same time, there is going to be a bottle of champagne or something for the person who sells the most, so every so often I’d think, that one’s bound to sell!”Over in another section of the Mall Galleries, Jasmine Pradissitto insisted that with her choices, “I had no thought about it being a competition, that was not in my mind with anything I chose,” and indeed her artist’s instincts had enabled here to create a beautifully distinctive hang: “To actually see them all come together is important, how one piece of work speaks to another. It has to be a story. There’s always an industrial theme in my work, the industry versus nature push and pull. I was a scientist before I was an artist so it makes sense that I’m going to look for things that push against each other.”The other artist selector, Kelvin Okafor, famed for his hyper-real drawings, was a little more concentrated in his sublime section. “My heart is in black and white because of the drawing, and I would say my selection is about 70 per cent monochromatic. But then again it’s lovely to see it infused with different colour palettes as well, it’s not all hyper-real...”Discerning Eye 2026R LazovyAs with all the selectors, Kelvin is deeply protective of his choices - “My babies,” he says - and as a working artist can see the difference Discerning Eye makes, “It’s a nonprofit organisation and I like what they do for artists, giving them that platform to showcase their work.”Read MoreIndeed, as the artists prepare to head to the galleries to meet the selectors in the coming days - “I’m looking forward to meeting everyone,” says Hugh, “When they arrive it’s going to be like matching a dog to its owner!” - it’s their chance sell but also to be seen, in every sense. Certainly, all of my spooky maniacs will be lavishly welcomed in my pit of doom. Discerning Eye 2026 is free to visit at the Mall Galleries from 13 to 21 Nov, and you can also check out and buy the works here: www.discerningeye.org