It’s a crazy busy time for seeing artwork!! As well as the solo exhibition which is now in it’s second week at Ink’d gallery in Brighton, this weekend sees the closing of the East17 arts Trail and the opening of the nearby Wanstead Arts Trail, and next week sees the opening of the Wing Assignment at Red Bull Studios featuring over 40 artists work and showing the new piece 2 for Joy.

Fragments

The exhibition at Ink’d is the biggest collection of work I have shown to date and also the most focused.  The workreflects on a hectic 2012 and is a reaction and contemplation of events that have had an effect on the early part of this year.  I won’t lie.. it’s been a tough time, emotionally it has been a roller coaster year with massive highs, and some really difficult times too.  The work reflects this quite openly. The shards of glass that are prominent in this collection of work developed from the falling thorns in the piece one for sorrow which hangs at the back of the gallery at Ink’d. The increased chaos and noise in the work is elevated too.

1 for sorrow reflected on the helplessness of a situation in my personal life at the time, it was an exorcism for this frustration and the process of creating the work was a huge help to me in dealing with the situation.  Talking about this type of work is difficult but I think it is important to understand the relationship between daily life, and what happens in the studio. Most of the work I create is emotionally driven, it is a response to specific situations and the beginning of a piece of work is almost always impulsive, as is it’s creation.  Some of the larger works however, span larger periods of time and their creation, although relying on these type of impulses also involve times of deliberate contemplation on the subject.

Of the works showing as part of the fragments exhibition, ‘1 for Sorrow’ and’ the Storm’ both underwent a similar process and this is reflected in the finished work.  They may not be as light or as clean as other works in the gallery, but the grit and grime of these pieces honestly represent the journey gone through to bring the piece to it’s conclusion. They are both real battles in terms of their creation and the emotional involvement in the work.

If you would like to see the work on show – the exhibition ‘Fragments’ is open daily at Ink’d gallery in Brighton and runs until the 6th October, alternately you can see and buy all work from the show including the newly released giclee prints Guilt, Comfort, Fragment, and the triptych, Mortal, Immortal and Eleven produced by Harwood King.

The Wing Assignment

Inspiration for 2 of the pieces created this year and a planned series of continued work comes from the wonderful wing assignment project devised and curated by Nina Farrel a former colleague at Maidstone College of Art.  As well as providing a platform and outlet for the piece 1 for sorrow, the project seemed intertwined with what was happening in daily life.  Following 1 for sorrow, the piece 2 for joy is again an intensely personal reflection of receiving the news that I am to be a father to twins this September. Amazingly as timing would have it – the opening of the exhibition coincides with our delivery date.  It will be a shame to miss the exhibition as it features a work that is a real contrast to other pieces created this year, it has a real softness and warmth and is purely concerned with our relationship with nature and if you look very carefully beyond the flower of life symbol…

   

The Wing Assignment opens on the 19th September – if you would like to attend the private view on the 20th September, please contact me via email, as I have a very limited number of guest tickets (including my own which I will be giving away as I will be busy elsewhere!)

For more information about the exhibition which contains the work of over 40 artists, visit the wing assignment homepage at http://thewingassignment.tumblr.com/

Age of East 17

This weekend is the last chance to see this great exhibition, brought together by Nadiya Tokarska, at Tokarska gallery Walthamstow.  Just a short walk from Blackhorse Road tube, along forest Road.  The exhibition features artwork from Carne Griffiths, paintings from Jason Hawkridge, a Mark Burton photography exhibition about the Olympic Torch in Waltham Forest, and paintings from Nadiya Pavliv-Tokarska. The Tokarska Gallery is one of the best permanent galleries in the local area, so it is well worth a visit if you’re exploring the E17 Art Trail (which we will blog about separately).

I am delighted to be showing a small series of floral works, amongst the newly released triptych of prints from Harwood King

 

 

 

Wanstead Arts Trail

I am delighted to be showing work again as part of this year’s Wanstead arts trail, at the Beautiful Blush Temples florist on the high street.  Opening today, the small collection of work on show represents the first steps to working as a artist full time.  Although they are tighter and show a stronger influence of embroidery design, the pieces show clearly the transition to finding a style of working and to breaking free from the constraints of floral embroidery design in different ways.

 

Following the busy month of september, I will be showing work at the following art fairs, with Eyestorm and Coates and Scarry.

MULTIPLIED ART FAIR CHRISTIES 12TH – 15TH OCTOBER  EYESTORM

AFFORDABLE ART FAIR BATTERSEA 25TH – 28TH OCTOBER 2012 COATES AND SCARRY

AFFORDABLE ART FAIR HAMPSTEAD 1st – 4th NOVEMBER 2012 EYESTORM