Exhibitions
Alkemi
In search of re-enchantment this is exhibition of work by four members of the Newlyn Society of Artists
In the wake of a second national lockdown, is it realistic to return to the way we are accustomed to living? While imminent threats such as climate change are pressing from all sides, do we allow our governments to divert us with promises of a new ‘normal', or should we be looking back, to learn lessons from the past? These are the questions shared by four artists who launch their exhibition of experimental work at Jupiter Gallery in Newlyn, on 15th June.
‘Perhaps we should embrace the darkness?’ suggests Pete Ward, whose work involves intimate contact with the earth as an animate force. Pete works instinctively using natural materials and primitive processes to express his relationship with his environment. Painter Sara Bor, who explores landscape in its many forms, has been using earth pigments in recent paintings, and has begun tracing the history of land use on the farmland where she has lived for 25 years. Feargal Shiels mines meaning from the repetition of quiet acts of drawing and painting. His meditative work recalls a simpler, monastic tradition. Patricia Wilson Smith, who curates the exhibition, uses clay to explore the power of the primitive. She believes we have gone too far in our destruction of the natural world. ‘So my work is about mourning: my cups and bowls are empty, blackened, damaged. We have lost ourselves and lost the earth and it seems we don’t have the will or the power to reclaim it.’
Alkemi is a dark exhibition, but not without hope. The artists will also explore the possibilities for optimism, and invite visitors to join their discussion ‘In search of re-Enchantment’ on Saturday 26th June at 3pm.
The artists are members of the Newlyn Society of Artists, and Alkemi is a satellite show to the Society’s spring exhibition ‘Looking Forward’ which will run concurrently at the Tremenheere gallery.
‘Perhaps we should embrace the darkness?’ suggests Pete Ward, whose work involves intimate contact with the earth as an animate force. Pete works instinctively using natural materials and primitive processes to express his relationship with his environment. Painter Sara Bor, who explores landscape in its many forms, has been using earth pigments in recent paintings, and has begun tracing the history of land use on the farmland where she has lived for 25 years. Feargal Shiels mines meaning from the repetition of quiet acts of drawing and painting. His meditative work recalls a simpler, monastic tradition. Patricia Wilson Smith, who curates the exhibition, uses clay to explore the power of the primitive. She believes we have gone too far in our destruction of the natural world. ‘So my work is about mourning: my cups and bowls are empty, blackened, damaged. We have lost ourselves and lost the earth and it seems we don’t have the will or the power to reclaim it.’
Alkemi is a dark exhibition, but not without hope. The artists will also explore the possibilities for optimism, and invite visitors to join their discussion ‘In search of re-Enchantment’ on Saturday 26th June at 3pm.
The artists are members of the Newlyn Society of Artists, and Alkemi is a satellite show to the Society’s spring exhibition ‘Looking Forward’ which will run concurrently at the Tremenheere gallery.
CREDIT
