Elements; Close to the Edge extended till 29th September
Playing on the natural elements and the elements of art the artists in this exhibition show their respect for the sanctity of our fragile natural environment.
Playing on the natural elements and the elements of art the artists in this exhibition show their respect for the sanctity of our fragile natural environment.
Simon Carter is an artist and curator, born in Chelmsford, Essex. He studied at Colchester Institute and then North East London Polytechnic. For Simon, landscape is his main concern, or rather, how it allows him to think about the processes of painting. He asks how peripheral vision encroaches on what is shown in a painting and about the layers that go into making a painted surface. Traditionally these methodologies are hidden but, as with brush marks, Simon wants to make them all visible, and see how they might work even if the layers are reordered.
In 2013 Simon collaborated with artist Robert Priseman to form the artist led group Contemporary British Painting and then the ‘East Contemporary Art Collection’, the first dedicated collection of contemporary art for the East of England which is housed at the University of Suffolk, Ipswich. Simon Carter is President of Colchester Art Society and has been Artist-in-residence at the University of Essex and Firstsite, Colchester.
In 2013 Simon collaborated with artist Robert Priseman to form the artist led group Contemporary British Painting and then the ‘East Contemporary Art Collection’, the first dedicated collection of contemporary art for the East of England which is housed at the University of Suffolk, Ipswich. Simon Carter is President of Colchester Art Society and has been Artist-in-residence at the University of Essex and Firstsite, Colchester.
Michelle Cobbin is an artist living and working in Brighton with strong links to East Anglia. She grew up in Suffolk and spent childhood holidays in the fens of Norfolk. The Gaia series of acrylic paintings, made in 2019, are an abstract painterly response to the profound beauty of the Earth and the devastation that is being wrought upon it by the climate crisis. Quiet, colourfield contemplations and urban-inspired mark-making reflect human traces in the landscape.
Michelle studied visual culture and fine art at the University of Brighton and exhibits widely in solo and group shows around the South East and London including the 35 North gallery and Phoenix studios in Brighton, the Foundry gallery in Lewes, the Towner gallery in Eastbourne and the Affordable Art Fair in Battersea, London.
Michelle studied visual culture and fine art at the University of Brighton and exhibits widely in solo and group shows around the South East and London including the 35 North gallery and Phoenix studios in Brighton, the Foundry gallery in Lewes, the Towner gallery in Eastbourne and the Affordable Art Fair in Battersea, London.
Gus Farnes sculpts figures that explore the human condition, responding to geopolitics and the concerns of our times. His work delves into our connection to one another and our relationship to the environments and landscapes we inhabit. He sculpts using materials selected from his local situation – remnants from a landscape, found objects collaged, bound together, and fixed with wax on both an intimate and monumental scale and, by casting these combustible sculptures directly to bronze, creates a body of unique work.
Gus cast his first bronze sculpture at the age of 16 which led him to Norwich School of Art in 2000 where he was mentored by Chris Summerfield (Ma Rca Moore scholarship) and Laurence Edwards (Ma Rca Moore scholarship). His sculptures have been acquired for private collections throughout Europe, the US, Asia and Australasia.
Gus cast his first bronze sculpture at the age of 16 which led him to Norwich School of Art in 2000 where he was mentored by Chris Summerfield (Ma Rca Moore scholarship) and Laurence Edwards (Ma Rca Moore scholarship). His sculptures have been acquired for private collections throughout Europe, the US, Asia and Australasia.
Jane Human is a painter and printmaker with strong links and attachments to the East Anglian fens. After living in London she is now back living in Suffolk with her studio on the Norfolk border. Her work is characterised by a strong sense of place, and exploration of colour, texture and space. Jane captures the soul of the landscape, with open spaces and trees anchored by the horizon.
She has a unique working process, the essence of which is the use of her 1940's offset litho press which enables her to build multi layers of painted and monoprinted marks over many weeks in series until the image resolves and a textural richness in the painting develops. Jane exhibits widely throughout the UK and her work is in public and private collections worldwide.
She has a unique working process, the essence of which is the use of her 1940's offset litho press which enables her to build multi layers of painted and monoprinted marks over many weeks in series until the image resolves and a textural richness in the painting develops. Jane exhibits widely throughout the UK and her work is in public and private collections worldwide.
Caroline Poole is an oil painter living and working in Suffolk and London. Caroline paints from observation and works outside whatever the weather, settling her easel in a particular spot to paint in the landscape, returning regularly to capture the subtle changes resulting from the seasons and coastal erosion. Caroline finds a composition which inspires her, draws the subject in paint whilst being careful not to alter what she sees. She aims to record the tones and colours and often returns to the same place at the same time of day until she feels she has captured the real likeness. Caroline trained with London based artist Nahem Shoa. Since then she has exhibited in shows throughout Suffolk and London, including the Mall Galleries in London. One of her paintings will be showcased in Landscape Rebels an exhibition of work including Constable, Turner and Monet at Christchurch Mansion, Ipswich, Suffolk from 22 October 2022 to 16 April 2023.