FRESH FOR 2024
Jolene and Kim have been super busy during our January closure getting everything ready for 2024!
As part of our 2023 Winter Open we decided to give the artists a chance to win a spot in our first exhibition of the year, ‘FRESH’. We were so thrilled to have received so many applications for our Winter Open (the most we’ve ever had!) and always find the selection process and the opportunity to look over so much incredible art a very enjoyable experience! However with so many entrants, it did make it very difficult to narrow down our final selection. We got there in the end though.
All of our staff paid very close attention to the feedback of all our visitors to be able to pick three Winter Open artists for the ‘FRESH’ exhibition. Without a shadow of a doubt the three favourites were…
Delphine Barney
A Glastonbury based artist with a very recognisable and popular style, creating landscapes of our most favourite locations in and around Glastonbury using thick expressive brushstrokes and a bright and exciting pallet.
“Often I will work on two paintings simultaneously. One in oil paint, one in acrylics, as I just can’t decide which one I love the best! I work from sketches and photographs taken from my walks. When I am back in my Studio I am able to exaggerate and emphasise particular features or colours to create the mood and depict the emotional connection I have with the landscape. Having a completely accurate depiction of a particular scene is actually not too important for me. Rather, I very much want to convey the feelings, emotions, smells and sounds I get whilst out in the landscape.”
Graham Hawkins
Creator of what Graham likes to call Steel Quirks. Thought provoking, accessible 3D sculpture using wood, concrete and metal and sometimes textiles. Exquisitely presented and very popular.
Graham spent much of his youth around art and more specifically sculpture, helping his Father who worked at Bath Academy of Art. After a career in IT, he returned to art as a purely personal pastime, creating unique metal sculptures using skills learned over 30 years ago. As the sculptures filled his home and garden he was encouraged to share his work with a wider audience.
Having had no formal art education beyond A level, Graham feels no restrictions as to what or how he should make things and does not feel the need to pursue a single direction. Hearts, both anatomical and more symbolic are a recurring theme in Graham’s work, but inspiration springs from many sources. Quirky ideas pop into and percolate in his over-active brain just begging to be brought to life before he can move on. Mild steel is his material of choice, usually accompanied by recycled wood in some shape or form. Continued exploration has included the use of copper, velvet and even concrete, to create unique sculptures.
Michelle Dash
This will satisfy anyone who loves the weird, wonderful, mythical and perhaps darker side of art! Michelle creates both 3D and 2D works that will take you away to whole other realms.
Michelle works from her home studio in Old Sodbury, South Gloucestershire.
She makes two and three dimensional work in a variety of media, which has a strong figurative and narrative element, often evoking mystery, the uncanny and dark humour. She is influenced by the aesthetic of medieval religious art and the visual and dramatic potential of myths and fairy tales with their magical beings, hybrid creatures and themes of transformation. She is also drawn to the uncanny logic of dreams, and the way certain ordinary human-made objects and spaces can be imbued with atmosphere and mystery…perhaps haunted.
We are continuing this theme of ‘FRESH” with new work from all of our core artists too, including Ruary Allan, Len Green, Ian Jame Birkett, Frank Harwood, Rowena Draper and many more.
Join us for a drink (alcoholic or non alcoholic) on February 3rd at our open view for a chance to get the first look and a chance to meet all of the artists.
