‘Reawakening’ Exhibition – Preview
You are cordially invited to our first post-Lockdown exhibition preview: “Reawakening” with:
SoTArt Contemporary Artists
Please book a space at sotart@yahoo.co.uk
Limited places just so we can keep you Covid 19 Safe.
SoT Art is a Stoke on Trent based multi-disciplinary arts collective, collaborating on exhibitions in traditional and non traditional arts environments. Work is often, but not exclusively, site specific and created in response to the location of the exhibition.
We are a mixed group of contemporary artists having met through Staffordshire University and the local ‘Artists’ network. We have many skills and artistic interests between us and the work here is a reflection of this diversity.
Our return to The Foxlowe Arts Centre Gallery has been long awaited and anticipated by us all. The exhibition has an open theme but aimed at individual artists showing key work and the exhibition title ‘Reawakening’ is aimed at kick-starting our artistic life after lockdown. We did not want the whole exhibition to be a reflection of Covid 19’s devastating effect on individuals, and the world as a whole, but equally some of the themes presented in the exhibition tackle issues that have affected many over the past year.
Meet the Artists
Find out more about the artists and the work exhibited,
Saturdays 1 – 4pm throughout the duration of the exhibition.
A quick overview into some of the work within the exhibition.
Karen Boulton ‘Reawakening of the Phoenix’ Under the lockdowns imposed on our lives by Covid 19, the creation of thephoenix gave a small glimmer of hope at a time when we thought we should be free but were grounded through no fault of our own….‘Blink and We Are Gone’ The work here is an exploration of extinct, endangered and threatened animals and our help or hindrance of their survival.
Carole Rowland ‘Looking into the Abyss’ The work is inspired by personal loss and the Emily Dickenson poem ‘Griefs’, and attempts to convey the emotional experience of loss through words, colour and the medium of fabric.
Frank Foy ‘Bird Count’ This work is influenced by walking with the dog for exercise during lockdown and becoming more interested in bird watching and getting involved in the annual RSPB British bird count. Shown here is a selection of sketches of garden birds.
Rie Suto ‘Wonder land’ A map of Japanese spiritual creatures and legendary monsters. ‘Mystery of DNA (code)’ Figurerine from the panceon of Egyptian gods and their land. ‘Ancient Hybrid Back to Future’ Greek mythological creatures. Exploring gene science; gene editing and genetic modification in art forms.
Russell Willet ‘The Seven Sisters’ In 1956 the Clean Air Act was passed, which changed the industrial landscape forever. I have been influenced by the abundance of trees in the area that surrounds my home! An area that was once dotted with coal mines, potbanks and steel works.
Barrie Felton ‘One day I looked up to the sky and saw….1 & 2’ 2D sculptural laminated ‘constructions’ depicting the same ‘Worm’s Eye’ view of a sky-line framed by skyscraper buildings, the two working in tandem to explore the visual effects on the viewer of “concretizing” the negative space between the buildings.
‘Torso 1 & 2’ Two 3D sculptures informed by the work of the American photographer Edward Weston whose B&W photographs of the human body and the geological aspects of the American landscape, helped to establish photography as an art form.
Peter R Smith ‘Birds-Words’ A pair of contemporary mixed media bookends.
Allison Dias ‘The Dark Peak’ My work has followed the landscape tradition for a number of years; It has evolved from my recording of local landscapes and geological forms. The self-created landscapes employ the creative processes inherent in nature. The resulting crystalline forms emerge from the solutions, creating evocative patterns that replicate the original source of inspiration
Julie Gould ‘My Father’s Time’ Over lockdown my practice has been reawakened in a new direction, portraiture. Referencing an old photograph of a group of miners, the work here looks at the heritage of my father’s working life as a miner. This painting portrays the bond between the men who spent their working life underground.
James Dudley-Ward ‘Defined’ examines the how we define a rectilinear form, we see the planes defining it in the solid, we outline it’s form with lines in defining it’s complete structure. ‘Boxes’ Sixteen open topped boxes exploring and experimenting with combinations of tone and colour on the outside and the internal volumes.
Just two of a small selection of this artists work, shown as a tribute to James, who died suddenly after a short illness and before he saw this exhibition come to its fruition…
An artist, friend and gentleman.
The exhibition runs from Saturday 22nd May – Saturday 26th June. Wednesday to Saturday, 10:00am to 4:00pm.
SoTArt Contemporary Artists
sotart@yahoo.co.uk
07881960305