This Matter

Monday, 20 September 2010

Sovay Berriman

'A Dark Honeyed Matter' (2010)

Sovay's newly commissioned site specific artwork for This Matter, conjours up curious feelings of the strange and unfamiliar. The form and scale of this anonymous self contained object, sits seemingly lightly within its carefully orchestrated position. This artwork does not look like it has accidently landed on earth but placed directly to confront the viewer.

Sovay retains a strong reference and link to the landscape, most particularly those environments that seem to show a lack of human intervention, areas that can exist in the imagination as wild places. It is this possibility for landscape in the imagination that she plays upon, considering its potential for escapism, and acts of daring and resilience, as can be found in fable and lore. This will be brought together with the continuing exploration into the visibility of narrative in the work that she makes. Physically the work is concerned with mass and the dynamic of individual pieces within a space; materials are used to emphasize the lure of escapism, yet also draw attention to its façade, and insubstantial nature.

Robert Motherwell

'Automatism B' (1965/66)

Robert Motherwell is formally known as an Abstract Expressionist artist who explores theories of automatism (expressing the subconscious through artistic mediums). Experimenting with this technique, Motherwell developed a loose yet vigorous brushwork that resonated emotion. He explored positive and negative space in his paintings and prints.

In 1961, Motherwell began making limited edition prints of his work. He synthesised his unique abstract style with the technical characteristics of printmaking. What we see in Motherwell's print is an action and an imprint, or mapping of the artists' mind. This piece has an organic or even biological reference to the artists' position and view of the world.

Monday, 23 August 2010

Celia Hempton

'Tyre Piles' and 'River Mouth' (2008)

Celia’s landscape observations are influenced by visiting remote building sites, roadsides and disused canals, putting herself in potentially dangerous situations. These places have evidence of a human presence, however they seem uninhabitable and unpopulated, which evokes a sense of loneliness and absurdity in her paintings.

Drawings are made on site and brought into the studio, where in a more reflective environment she can become intuitively involved in making a painterly response to the psychological.