Confluence returns to Sheffield, opening tomorrow at Bloc Projects. I will be showing two pieces- 'Dogs' and 'Blue and Tree Lights'. 'Dogs' hasn't been shown yet and its great it will be seen in Sheffield with Owlerton stadium featuring. It's a building I love to see lighting up at dusk and it burns against the dark shadow of the hills. In 'Dogs' , in contrast it fades in daylight, its lights half lit and covered in overgrowth, the ground dense with moss.
CONFLUENCE : SHEFFIELD
PRESS RELEASE 23//11//2018
Bloc Projects, 4 Sylvester St, Sheffield S1 4RN
Exhibition dates: Wednesday 19th – Saturday 22nd December 2018
Opening Times: 12-6pm (except Saturday 22nd – 12-4pm).
Opening Event: Thursday 20thth December 6-8pm
CONFLUENCE: a group exhibition of new paintings and sculpture by ten Sheffield-based contemporary artists: Richard Bartle, Anthony Bennett, Al Daw, Paul Evans, Seiko Kinoshita, Mandy Payne, Sarah Villeneau, Joanna Whittle, Myfanwy Williams and Sean Williams.
CONFLUENCE : SHEFFIELD celebrates the return of work from the recent exhibition of Sheffield-based contemporary artists that took place at Herrick Gallery, in Mayfair, London in October.
"This excellent ‘compilation album’ samples some of the best and most interesting contemporary painting and sculpture that is currently being produced in Sheffield."
FAD Magazine
Returning to Sheffield after a short but successful run in Mayfair, London, this group show of sculpture and painting is not to be missed.
The artists, who represent three of the city’s thriving studio groups: Bloc, Yorkshire Artspace and KIAC, share a commitment to their disciplines and have each spent an extended period of development within their individual practices.
They each share a dedication and integrity that reflects the heritage of Sheffield as a city of makers.
The group was formed in response to discussions by the Making Ways Artists’ Panel about continuing professional development for artists and has evolved alongside advice sessions by Matt Roberts Arts, Syson Gallery (Nottingham), Craftspace (Birmingham) and three leading London galleries: BEARSPACE, Eagle Gallery and Transition Gallery.
CONFLUENCE is supported by The University of Sheffield Partnerships and Regional Engagement team and forms part of Making Ways, a programme is supported by Sheffield Culture Consortium through Arts Council England to showcase, celebrate and develop the exceptional contemporary visual art produced in the city.
For further information please contact Paul Evans or Sean Williams
Paul Evans - Mobile: 07584 082404 :: E-mail: pkevans1@sky.com
Sean Williams - Mobile: 07711 365221 :: E-mail: swseanwilliams@gmail.com
Info. Re. the CONFLUENCE Artists, Matt Roberts and Making Ways follows on next page.
CONFLUENCE Artists
Richard Bartle is a multi-media artist living and working between Sheffield and Istanbul. He has exhibited widely including significant solo exhibitions at museum level galleries, non-profit art spaces, and commercial galleries in London. He has attended several international artists residencies, exhibited at a number of regional and international biennials, and received significant Arts Council funding throughout his career. Bartle has also screened work at Copenhagen and Jhilava documentary film festivals. He is currently on residency in Istanbul continuing on from a solo exhibition there earlier this year.
Anthony Bennett is a multidisciplinary artist, noted for his sculptural works and creative collaborations. In 2011, he co-conceived the acclaimed ‘Festival of the Mind’ with Professor Vanessa Toulmin, founder of The National Fairground and Circus Archive, at The University of Sheffield, the fourth exposition of which took place September 2018. In 2013, his exhibition ‘Swarfhorse’, www.swarfhorse.co.uk , was presented at The Millennium Galleries Sheffield. Ongoing projects include: ‘Gaiamycota’ – www.gaiamycota.org,
‘The Gene Genie’, ‘Deadkidsfingers’ - www.anthonybennettsculpture.co.uk/deadkidsfingers, and ‘Metamycota’.
Al Daw Merging the high with the low, the everyday with the exceptional, Daw creates paintings that explore the condition of contemporary visual culture. His work has been exhibited extensively in exhibitions such as 'The Impossible Heap' Galerie8 London, The Santorini Bienalle, 2012, 'Paper' at PAG gallery, 2011 among others. Daw also co-founded Bethlehem Boys Club with fellow Artist Pete Bennett in December 2013, which features prominent outsider, and established Artists such as Billy Childish & Jimmy Cauty, with exhibitions at F Gallery, Stoke Newington and Core Arts, Hackney. Daw’s work has been featured in publications such as Cut & Paste: 21st Century Collage and 100 Ideas that Changed Art (Lawrence King Publishing) and numerous online publications such as Dazed and Confused, Creative Review, Vice and Spindle & Pop.
Paul Evans is based at Yorkshire Artspace in Sheffield. He is the recipient of a number of prestigious awards include the Eyestorm Gallery Award for painting. His work has featured in a number of publications including 'Nature Morte: Contemporary Artists Reinvigorate the Still-Life Tradition' by Michael Petry, published by Thames and Hudson 2013.
Seiko Kinoshita is a Japanese artist based at Yorkshire Artspace. She has exhibited her installations widely at Galleries & Museums and produced public art for Sheffield Central Library, Sheffield NHS Hospitals, Redwoods Centre- Shrewsbury NHS, and The Silk Mill, Derby. She has recently been awarded an Arts Council Grant to tour her collaborative work with scientist Dr Nate Adams over the next 2 years.
Mandy Payne is a painter/ printmaker. She has been selected for the John Moores Painting Prize twice and was a prizewinner in 2014. She has regularly shown in the RA Summer Exhibition and in 2016 and 2017 exhibited in China. She recently completed a 2-year Fellowship in Stone Lithography at Leicester Print Workshop, receiving awards from the Arts Council and the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation.
Sarah Villeneau is a ceramic artist based at Yorkshire Artspace in Sheffield. A member of the Royal Society of Sculptors and Design Nation, Sarah has received numerous awards from Arts Council England and AN the Artist Information Company, not least of which is the competitive new “Developing Your Creative Practice” award to create new work. She completed an MA in Studio Ceramics in 2014 and exhibits her work across the UK.
Joanna Whittle is a painter who has shown nationally and internationally in both solo and group exhibitions including: Exit Art (New York); Agnews, Clapham Art Gallery, Keith Talent and Collyer Bristow Galleries (London); Jerwood Dance House and The Jugg Art Foundation (Suffolk). She has undertaken a number of public commissions, most recently for Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust and is currently exhibiting at the Walker Art Gallery as a selected artist for the John Moores Painting Prize 2018.
Myfanwy Williams is an abstract artist who has exhibited nationally and internationally in London (Discerning Eye, 2013, 2014, and the Menier Gallery, 2017); Birmingham (at the RBSA Gallery where she received an Award this year); Athens (Municipal Gallery of Piraeus, 2016, 2018 and Platforms, 2017, 2018) and Paris (Galerie Metanoia 2014, 2015, 2017, where she was awarded the Monte Dei Fiori Prize in 2016). She exhibits her paintings in Sheffield galleries and elsewhere in Yorkshire.
Sean Williams is based at Bloc Studios in Sheffield. He has been a member of the Contemporary Painting Group for three years. Recent exhibitions include ‘Contemporary Masters from Britain’ at Tianjin Academy of Fine Art, China, and ‘Testcard P’ at The Crypt, St Marylebone Parish Church, London. His painting ‘Our Bloody Hell’ has been selected for exhibition at the Yale Center for British Art in Connecticut next year.
About Matt Roberts
Matt Roberts is a curator and art consultant with over 14 year’s experience of artists’ professional development support and exhibition management. He has worked in India, Israel, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, as well as lecturing at various universities and institutions across the UK. Having founded both the Matt Roberts Arts project space and the Salon Art Prize, he has mentored or offered one-to-one support to over 1000 artists, and has contributed critical writing to a-n, Axis, and Guardian Cultural Professionals on a regular basis.
About Making Ways
Making Ways is an ambitious three-year project that will demonstrate, celebrate and develop exceptional contemporary visual art produced in Sheffield. Between 2016 and 2019, the Sheffield Culture Consortium will coordinate a visual art programme that forms a legacy of Sheffield’s Year of Making, revealing artistic talent in year one and taking talented individual artists to the next level in years two and three. Making Ways will stimulate and support the development of artistic talent and leadership by building the profile of the artistic community, brokering relationships with business and industry and developing a living economy that will stimulate and support growth.
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