Two exhibitions with very different themes have just opened at The Ropewalk in Barton upon Humber.
Australian artist Alan Jones began a six month studio residency at The Ropewalk in April and began the process of collecting images he saw as relevant to his family’s British ancestry which he traced back to his convict ancestors Robert Forrester and his common law wife Isabella Ramsay.
On various road trips through England he collected photographs and drawings of places that were central in the story of their lives and convictions and it was these outdoor studies which became the groundwork for a new body of work that sought to read as a documentation of his family heritage.
His exhibition in the Artspace, The Mother Land, is the outcome of his research into his family history.
“Making this body of work was quite an experimental process. From the beginning I was interested in making something new as I wanted to push the works in a direction I had not seen before,” Alan explained. “Letting this body of work slowly evolve and define itself has been as much a part of the journey as researching the family history.”
In contrast, Grimsby artist Madeleine Vernau’s exhibition, New Paintings, works to capture transient moments, emotions, reflections of time and space and places for contemplation both within the artwork and within the viewer.
Her paintings begin with an image – maybe an old photograph, perhaps a model or sometimes a recollection.
“There’s something of the abstract impressionist about her painting, the ghost of each work’s inception held in the oil and brushwork,” said The Ropewalk’s Exhibition Officer Richard Hatfield. “In contrast Alan’s work was quite an experimental process, which grew and evolved organically with as few as possible pre-formed ideas about what direction the work will take. “
Alan’s exhibition continues until Sunday, October 14, while Madeleine’s ends a week later.
The Ropewalk is open between 10am and 5pm from Monday to Saturday and from 10am to 4pm on Sundays. Admission is free.
The annual exhibition by The Ropewalk Studio artists. Featuring work by:
David Alcock
Sally Beaumont
Emily Connor
Debbie Grice
Richard Hatfield
Gill Hobson
Judith Land
Darren Langton
Tim Needham
Julie Oxenforth
Michael Scrimshaw
Shirley Trumble
Keith Woodcock
The Ropewalk’s popular Christmas Art Market will showcase the work of more than 40 makers and artists.
Taking place over the weekend of Saturday December 7 and Sunday December 8 those makers and artists selected to take part will be selling original handmade gifts, cards and artwork (more…)
Helen Martino would describe her work as being ‘sometimes serious and sometimes playful’. For many years Helen worked as a functional potter, making batches of domestic pots on a wheel. Now she sees herself as more of a maker in clay, hand building each piece individually by using soft and flexible sheets of clay. These sheets of clay are freely cut, curved and sometimes twisted, this is how Helen is able to create different perspectives and distortion within her work. The surface is painted with slip, underglaze pigment and resists. Depending on the piece silver and gold lustre may also be incorporated.
Helen is fascinated by body language and how this can be communicated. She observes Mogul and Persian miniatures and admires how they are able to tell a story within one image. These artworks often show a significant event within the life span of a person or family. Helen’s sculptures are also intimate like the miniature and show a single event that can be applied to the past, future and present, allowing the viewer to determine the story of each artwork.
Working in Cambridge, Helen exhibits widely across the UK and is the founder member of Cambridge Open Studios. She will be exhibiting in the Box Gallery in November.
Yorkshire born and bred, Eleanor Tomlinson is a traditional artist and illustrator based in East Yorkshire. Inspired by the beautiful Yorkshire countryside she has grown up amongst, Eleanor predominantly works in ink and watercolour to specialise in capturing and celebrating UK wildlife and the local countryside. Eleanor’s distinctive style using ink and watercolour, combines traditional, well-loved subjects with a contemporary, illustrative twist. Her use and composition of contrasting white space brings a narrative and sense of movement and energy to her pieces. Eleanor’s artworks have also been developed into a wide range of cards, stationery, limited edition prints and homeware collections alongside her original pieces which are being sold in an array of independent shops and galleries across the UK.
LAND, SEA AND SKY
The theme for this exhibition ‘Land, Sea, and Sky’ was chosen because its wide-ranging associations might be interpreted in many different ways, and in part because the theme was seen to have some relevance to the location of The Ropewalk Gallery. No size limit was imposed and artists were invited to respond to the theme in as wide a way as possible, to be as traditional or as innovative as they wished both in process and format. The final selection includes three dimensional and large format pieces as well as more conventional prints.
Printmakers Council was founded in 1965 by a group of prominent printmakers to raise the profile of printmaking as an art form and to provide an exhibition society for members. For over fifty years PmC has continued to pursue these aims through a rolling programme of exhibitions, lectures and practical workshops.
Two new exhibitions with links to northern Lincolnshire are opening this Saturday (Sept 14) at The Ropewalk arts centre in Barton upon Humber.
In the Artspace is Re-Tellings, a solo exhibition by Grimsby based artist Sue Stone whose work is inspired by people, place and time. (more…)
