Rena Gardiner at MMU
Manchester Metropolitan University's Special Collections are currently hosting an exhibition dedicated to the work of Rena Gardiner.
Rena Gardiner (1929-1999) spent her life entirely devoted to her art, creating books, prints and paintings. She is best known for a series of guidebooks to historic places, buildings and the countryside, each of which she wrote, printed and illustrated herself. This exhibition will include some of these guidebooks alongside paintings, pastels, linocuts and sketch-books and a display of work by some of the artists who influenced Rena including Eric Ravilious, John Piper and Edward Bawden.
The exhibition is based upon the book Rena Gardiner: Artist and Printmaker by Julian Francis and Martin Andrew, published by Little Toller Books in association with the Dovecote Press, 2015.
Rena Gardiner: Artist and Printmaker at MMU Special Collections runs until 18th November 2016. Visit their website for full details
Michael Kirkman
'Time Was Away', an exhibition by painter and printmaker Michael Kirkman, opened in Inverness last week and continues until 29th October 2016. The exhibition features a body of new paintings, drawings and limited edition prints. Michael explains...
"The work is an ongoing exploration into how the figure in art can suggest and communicate thoughts we all have. They can appear dreamlike at times, but I strive for the old meaning of surreal rather that the confusing and often over stylised interpretation that became fashionable in the post war years. I always work from memory, so often the images come from a real moment. I try to illustrate and make that feeling or sense of time and place available to look at in my pictures. I am very interested in the new Glasgow boys and in particular, the work of Steven Campbell, and also the general tradition of figurative work in Scotland with greats including Robin Philipson, the two Roberts, John Bellany and Joan Eardley.”
Having studied at Edinburgh College of Art, Michael Kirkman graduated from an MA course at the Royal College of Art, London in 2010. His inspiration comes from a need to communicate moments in time that seem strange or extraordinary, to capture what goes unnoticed. Some important influences include Eduardo Paolozzi, Mimmo Paladino, Balthus, Edward Burra and Jonathan Gibbs.
'Time Was Away' continues at The Castle Gallery, 43 Castle Street, Inverness IV2 3DU until 29th October 2016. View the online catalogue
We have a selection of Michael Kirkman's limited edition prints available over at our online gallery and Michael will join us in London from 23rd November until 4th December 2016 for our latest St Jude's In The City exhibition at The Bankside Gallery.
Michael Kirkman 'Icarus's Wing' oil on board (48cm x 60cm)
Michael Kirkman 'Rest from the Sea' pencil drawing (57cm x 69cm)
Michael Kirkman 'On The Wrong Way' oil on board (48cm x 49.5cm)
Michael Kirkman 'Weekday' linocut (41cm x 50cm)
Michael Kirkman 'Propeller Boy' pencil and oil pastel (40cm x 30cm)
Michael Kirkman 'Pablo's Cat' oil on board (48cm x 64cm)
Mark Hearld in Edinburgh
Opening in Edinburgh on the 5th of October is Collage, Pigeons and Platters, Mark Hearld’s first solo exhibition of new work following his critically acclaimed curated exhibition The Lumber Room: Unimagined Treasures which opened the recently refurbished York Art Gallery in 2015.
The exhibition continues to explore his love of the British countryside, a recent trip to Shetland and Orkney and his continuing curiosity for objects with a magpie approach to collecting in this new collection of collages, limited edition prints and hand-painted ceramics.
Talking of his collages, Mark explains…
“Collage as an approach is at the core of my work. It enables me to pull together a whole range of surfaces and textures to dynamic effect. It is inherently abstract; each bird silhouette is also a cut out piece of paper and the paper profile is very important to the overall effect.”
Visitors to the exhibition will also have the chance to see a selection of Mark’s fabrics and wallpapers for St Jude’s.
The digital catalogue for the exhibition can be viewed online now.
Collage, Pigeons and Platters runs from 5th-29th October 2016 at The Scottish Gallery, 16 Dundas Street. Edinburgh EH3 6HZ.
We're currently working on a Random Spectacular journal dedicated to Mark's The Lumber Room: Unimagined Treasures exhibition in York. To find out more nearer to publication, subscribe to our St Jude's Prints newsletter.
The Shetland Times, 2016, mixed media with collage on paper, 56 x 75 cms
Grey Partridge, mixed media with collage on paper, 40 x 40 cms
Mark Hearld working in the studio
The Shetland Ewe, 2016, mixed media with collage on paper, 56 x 75 cms
Heron, 2016, mixed media with collage on paper, 56 x 75 cms
Flight Platter, hand-painted ceramic, D:38 cms
Clive Hicks-Jenkins
Artist Clive Hicks-Jenkins is currently exhibiting a series of new works at the Martin Tinney Gallery in Cardiff.
Perhaps best know as a painter, Clive has recently been creating a series of limited edition screen prints, working with Dan Bugg of The Penfold Press.
The duo are currently working on a series of prints based on the theme of Gawain and the Green Knight, which was vividly translated for the 21st century by Simon Armitage.
The exhibition features the prints created to date alongside paintings and drawings.
Looking at 'The Green Knight Arrives' author James Russell explains...
"Clive looks beyond the poetry to explore the character and cultural implications of Gawain’s nemesis, in an intense portrait of mingled power and vulnerability. The upper body of the Green Knight fills the frame, his statuesque head and massive arm suggesting the might of an ancient god – but in a sensitive pose reminiscent of Rodin. That flowing beard hints at the graphic gravitas of a playing card king; look again and it is a river flowing through a tattooed forest. Our 21st century Green Knight is a modern primitive, whose identity is etched into his skin."
We were delighted that Clive contributed a series of illustrations to our second Random Spectacular journal and we're currently working on an expanded version of his interpretation of the Hansel & Gretel fairy tale which we will publish in November. Sign up for our Random Spectacular newsletter for details of this.
We'll also exhibit a selection of Clive's prints, in association with The Penfold Press, at our next St Jude's In The City exhibition at the Bankside Gallery in November.
Gawain and The Green Night: Clive Hicks-Jenkins and The Penfold Press continues until 1st October 2016 at Martin Tinney Gallery, 18 St Andrew's Crescent, Cardiff, CF10 3DD. Find out more
'The Green Knight's Head Lives' by Clive Hicks-Jenkins
Gouache and pencil on board, 55cm x 55cm
'The Green Knight Arrives' by Clive Hicks-Jenkins
Screenprint, 55cm x 55cm
Albion – A Celebration of Britain in Print
We’re delighted to be returning to The Town House on Fournier Street in the heart of Spitalfields for an event co-curated with The Town House proprietor Fiona Atkins.
The building dates from 1720 where silk weavers originally worked and plied their trade.
In addition to a showcase of our artist-designed fabrics and wallpapers we’ll be presenting an exhibition entitled ‘Albion - A Celebration of Britain In Print’ featuring limited edition prints by St Jude’s co-founder Angie Lewin and printmaker Christopher Brown.
Christopher Brown was born in London in 1953. He attended the Royal College of Art where he was introduced to, and eventually assisted, Edward Bawden, the master of the linocut. It was Bawden who encouraged him to explore this medium.
Since then, Christopher has exhibited at the Michael Parkin Gallery, The Royal Academy, The Fry Gallery, The Fine Art Society and the Victoria & Albert Museum.
We’ll also be launching Christopher Brown’s ‘Albion’ wallpaper, his first for St Jude’s, along with Mark Hearld’s ‘Squirrel and Sunflower’ fabric and Sheila Robinson’s ‘Monkeys and Birds’ wallpaper.
‘Monkeys and Birds’ was designed in 1958 by printmaker Sheila Robinson (1925-1988) and was printed by hand to decorate the walls of Cage Cottage, the family home in Great Bardfield. The design originates from Sheila’s hand cut linocut blocks.
A chapter profiling Sheila's work features in 'Bawden, Ravilious and the Artists of Great Bardfield' published by the V&A.
As well as the original colour way, we've worked closely with Sheila’s daughter, the printmaker and painter Chloë Cheese, to create two additional colour ways.
Visit us at The Town House, 5 Fournier Street, London E1 6QE from Tuesday 20th until Sunday 25th September. Open Tuesday 11am-8pm, Wednesday-Friday 11am-6pm, Saturday and Sunday 11am-5pm.
Christopher Brown's 'Albion' linocut
Christopher Brown cutting his 'Albion' linocut
Angie Lewin's 'Sea Pinks' wood engraving
Mark Hearld's 'Squirrel and Sunflower' fabric
Sheila Robinson's 'Monkeys and Birds' wallpaper
Elizabeth Merriman’s paintings
My friend Elizabeth Merriman is currently exhibiting a series of new paintings at Salthouse Church on the North Norfolk coast in a show entitled 'The Orchard'.
Simon and I were pleased to show Elizabeth's paintings in the first solo exhibition we hosted at our former North Norfolk gallery ten years or so ago.
Elizabeth Merriman completed her BA (Hons) in Fine Art at Canterbury College of Art and followed this with a post-graduate higher diploma at the Slade School of Fine Art where her work was shortlisted for the Barclays Young Painter award. Her work has featured in several London galleries with work now in a number of private and corporate collections including Unilever’s.
Now living and working in East Anglia, Elizabeth’s work has also been shown at galleries in Norfolk, Suffolk and Yorkshire.
Elizabeth develops her ideas through a number of techniques, progressing from pencil to the creation of works in oil.
'The Orchard' is open until Sunday 7th August at Salthouse Church (from 11am until 5.30pm). If you'd like to know more about the paintings, please e-mail Simon via info@stjudes.co.uk
We're hoping to exhibit Elizabeth's paintings in an exhibition in Edinburgh in 2017 - sign up for the St Jude's newsletter to find out more.
Original works by Mark Hearld and Emily Sutton
As part of our Editions & Objects exhibition at Yorkshire Sculpture Park we have included a selection of original works by artists Mark Hearld and Emily Sutton which we're pleased to share below.
If you'd like to discuss the purchase of any of these framed originals, please contact Yorkshire Sculpture Park by telephone on 01924 832631.
Mark Hearld 'Swan Flight' original collage
Paper size: 75 x 56cm Framed size: 92 x 72cm £950.00 (see photographs below for framing style)
Emily Sutton 'Comptoir de la Gastronomie, Paris' original ink and watercolour
Paper size: 48 x 38cm Framed size: 65 x 56cm £725.00
Mark Hearld 'Hooded Crow, Hadrian's Villa' original collage
Paper size: 75 x 56cm Framed size: 92 x 72cm £950.00 (photographed here in situ at YSP)
Mark Hearld 'Le Meridiana Wild Boar' original collage
Paper size: 75 x 56cm Framed size: 92 x 72cm £950.00 (photographed here in situ at YSP)
Emily Sutton 'La Chapellerie, Paris' original watercolour
Paper size: 48 x 38cm Framed size: 65 x 56cm £725.00
