Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Robyn Vinter North of England correspondent

Owner ‘mortified’ Margate gallery was closed when Pedro Pascal turned up

Russell Tovey, Pedro Pascal and Robert Diament post a selfie outside the closed Rhodes Gallery in Margate.
Russell Tovey, Pedro Pascal and Robert Diament post a selfie outside the closed Rhodes Gallery in Margate. Photograph: Talk Art Podcast

The owner of an art gallery featuring an exhibition dedicated to Hollywood star Pedro Pascal said she was “mortified” the gallery was closed when the actor turned up for a visit.

Jessica Rhodes Robb, who owns and runs the venue with her partner, Gavin Blake, was bemused to discover Pascal, 48, had turned up to the Rhodes Gallery in Margate on Sunday to find the door closed.

The Last of Us star had been hoping to see an exhibition featuring 17 images of his face. He arrived with fellow actor Russell Tovey and Robert Diament, who runs another gallery in Margate. Tovey and Diament present a podcast called Talk Art.

The trio took a photograph outside, which they posted to Instagram.

One of the paintings of Pedro Pascal that the Hollywood star could have seen.
One of the paintings of Pedro Pascal that the Hollywood star could have seen. Photograph: Heidi Gentle Burrell/Rhodes Gallery

The exhibition, ADHD Hyper Fixation And Why It Looks Like I Love Pedro Pascal, was created by artist Heidi Gentle Burrell, who said it was a “lovely feeling” that her muse was aware of her work, and she did not blame Rhodes Robb for missing Pascal, saying she “deserves a day off”.

She said she would like to see the Chilean-born actor return, especially as she is adding a second part to the exhibition.

She told the PA news agency: “It would be very special. I have spent more than six months staring at his face so it would be great [to meet him]. I think every artist would feel the same. You don’t ever do something for validation but we’re only human, so to have someone appreciate what you’ve done is, of course, an absolutely lovely feeling.

“To have your actual subject look at themselves [in your artwork] – a person is so familiar with themselves in a mirror, they’re the only person that can really say whether you’ve got a likeness.

“It would be fantastic of course, if he came back and saw it and I’d love to be able to bore him all about ADHD and reassure him that I’m not obsessed, that it is just part of my fixation. It would be lovely to be able to show him around.”

Gentle Burrell maintained that she was not obsessed with the star. She said: “I understand why some people think it is an obsession, but from a drawing point of view, he’s got interesting characteristics to his face.”

The show runs until 1 September.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.