Wilkes Street September 2011 Exhibition
9-11 September 2011
4 Wilkes Street
E1 6QF
Exhibiting Artists
Leah Michellé
Leah Michellé's paintings seek to capture the abstract form of human emotions through mixed media and acrylic paint, specifically the feelings of contentment and happiness. Her technique of layering multiple coats of paint, paper and polyurethane on the surface of the canvas focuses on finding comfort in the visual relationship between the sensuality of form and the beauty of colour. The combination of vibrant warm colours with golds and beautiful patterns, and sometimes human forms, aims to stimulate an intimate feeling of happiness and contentment that only a product of beauty can initiate within the viewers. Predominately inspired by the Abstract Expressionists Mark Rothko and Hans Hoffman, Leah's paintings combine the intricacy of Modernism with the impulsiveness of Abstract Expressionism creating a contemporary genre of abstract painting that seeks to begin a dialogue of how viewers emotionally react to the relationships between colour and form.
Websites http://www.leahmichelleart.com/    |
Peter Norris
As a ceramic artist I am concerned with producing beautiful form, decoration which is an intrinsic part and “at one” with the form, and flawless shell-like surfaces.
I started my working life as a precision engineer, later graduating to industrial designer and it is this background which has given me the love of producing finely finished work. My working method as a ceramic artist is that I only work when I feel good about it, and have done a lot of experimentation with form & decoration to achieve the results I now get. I have a B.A. Ceramics degree from The Anglia Ruskin University and won 3D awards at the Beecroft Gallery, Westcliff on Sea. The Beecroft Art Gallery, Westcliffe on Sea, have purchased 2 of my pieces for their permanent collection I have exhibited at galleries in Llandudno and Conway, (North Wales); Maldon; Ingatestone; Chelmsford; Westcliff, and Anglia Ruskin University (Chelmsford). Influences include Lucie Rie; Alison Britton; spiral forms found in nature; smooth mat surfaces as in some plastics; eggshells; and fruit.    |
Sandra Jordan
Two of my great passions in life are travel and photography.
I bought my first camera in my late teens from the local paper, £50 with three lenses, and from then on I was hooked. My day job for the past 15 years has been working in production in the film industry but my passion for photography has never died. I have been lucky enough to work with some of the film industry’s best cinematographers who have helped me with tips along the way and also kept my enthusiasm for the medium alive, translating their advice and techniques into stills photography. From a very early age I traveled around the world with my family, sparking a huge interest for me in foreign countries and foreign cultures and in 2007 a three-month train trip from London To Turkey re-awakened my love of travel photography. I like simple photographs, line, texture, and form and, although I enjoy shooting colour, am often more drawn to black and white. Photography enables me to, for short periods of time, immerse myself in different cultures. It has made me more aware of my surroundings and allows me to view the world and the people in it in a different way. Website www.sandrajordanphotography.co.uk    |
Ruth Joyce
Ruth is obsessed with bodies. And hair. And light. Basically, if you happen to be a person with interesting hair and you walk past her when the light is just right, she'll probably try and draw you.
Ruth has always been influenced by things she loves; music, extreme sports, tattoos, youth culture, freedom and vitality. Her work is often fierce and passionate, and it can be quite dark, but there is always a sense of energy and life in the figures she paints. She has recently been working on a series of alternative female portraits, looking at the modern ideals of beauty. Her girls are expressive and curvaceous, bold and strong. Just because you may have tattoos or wobbly bits doesn't mean you aren't beautiful. Websites Ruth also has her own quirky cartoon characters Wuss 'n Boots©, who appear weekly in their own strip at www.awordwithyoupress.com. www.ruthjoyce.co.uk    |
Jerry Hancock
Jerry Hancock became a professional artist in September 2009 after a lifetime of painting.
He held his maiden art exhibition at Cornerstone gallery near Oxford in May 2011. In 1984 he moved from using oils and inks to acrylic aerosols. The messy process of painting with aerosols belies the end product, as what he produces are delicately executed pieces, with incredible detail that speaks rather more of watercolour than of spray can. Combined with Hancock’s scientific background — a degree in chemistry and 30 years as a science teacher — this leads to a body of work with a strong fascination with wind power and other natural sources of energy, and with puny and self-absorbed man’s interface with the wider world. Later work encompasses both the natural and the built environments: stark leafless trees, huge wind turbines, and the towering office blocks of Canary Wharf and New York City, the latter two from which Hancock admits to drawing much inspiration. Like Banksy, Hancock admits to occasionally liking to introduce humour and quirkiness into his art and like Dali he loves to paint with vivid colours and to leave the audience to interpret his art. Website www.jerryhancock.webs.com    |
Mark Allin
Originally trained in graphic design, Mark has spent over 17 years working in the advertising industry.
Being the founding director of HYPA.tv, an animation company he has worked with some of the worlds most famous brands including the BBC, Virgin Atlantic, MTV and Saatchi & Saatchi. With a love of strong graphic styles added with a desire to twist traditional techniques his artwork uses high-end 3D & post production blended with traditional printmaking methods. Inspiration comes from iconic imagery, counter culture movies and 3D technology culminating in a clever and unique visual style. Website http://www.MarkAllin.co.uk    |
Lisa Andrews
Lisa only returned to painting 18 months ago after a 13 year gap and she is therefore a totally new and emerging artist. She has already exhibited with a number of respected international artists, including Mark Demsteader and Paul Lemmon. Her work has been reviewed by the Daily Mirror Art critic Martin Newman and appeared in numerous magazines.
Lisa says: “My love of travel and my inspiration in the diversity of humankind that has led me to cover a range of fascinating studies from the media fuelled obsession with celebrity culture, to the calm reflective nature of the Dalai Lama. I love to use oil paint as the fluidity of the paint merges and flows to mirror my energy and emotions. I paint people and in particular their faces, as I find this both the most challenging and enjoyable. I paint to help me remember how beautiful life is, and to help others feel the same” Website www.lisajandrews.com Links to Articles http://bit.ly/ksqN3R http://bit.ly/m02SKz http://bit.ly/mg8dmZ    |
Mois J Bulko
The paintings of M.J. Bulko, comprising bold and semi-abstract compositions inspired by flowers, can be interpreted as both the artist’s search for beauty in the visual and expressive possibilities of paint combined with expansive organic spatial forms, but also as an expression of the artist’s more profound journey in life.
He was born in FYR under communism and deeply felt the effect this regime had on his country and its people. After the demise of communist rule in the 1990’s, he sought a new life in the West and moved to live in Britain in 1998. It was here, in a more democratic environment, that the artist’s oeuvre developed with a period of artistic experimentation, culminating in ‘The Flower Show’ exhibition at the Brixton Art Gallery in London (28 April – 13 May, 2005). In this body of work, the artist has concentrated on the subject of flowers, working with oil, acrilyc on canvas, and created large, partially abstract, evocative compositions with a vibrant use of colour. In some, rhythm and pattern results in a sense of movement across the surface of the canvases. Significantly, the flower has transcended its specificity to become a universal motif, a symbol of beauty and the irrepressible light of the inner human spirit. For the artist, colour also signifies life, freedom and vitality and, through its expressive potential, draws the viewer into an emotional engagement with the artist’s vision. Over many years, M.J.Bulko has drawn inspiration from, and been influenced by such artists as Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Georgia O’Keefe and the Albanian artist, Alush Shima, a prolific Colourist who achieved some renown for painting secretly in a modernist manner during the years of communist rule in Albania. He has drawn further inspiration from history, architecture, mosaic work and his own travels.    |
Andrew Walker
I am a London based illustrator and designer that originates from West Yorkshire. My career in art and design began with a BA in 3D design at Manchester Met University, where I specialized in innovative furniture based on simple construction and manufacture. Through design, drawing has become the backbone of my thinking and making. This has led me to focus my interests in Graphic Illustration.
My work now explores the everyday and mundane realities with wit and satire using imagery that others can relate to. My ideas come from my own experiences such as conversation, people perception, collected imagery and current events.I use a range of materials and techniques from pencil, watercolour, acrylic paint, spray paint and silk screen-printing. My creative interest have been inspired by the graphic pencil drawings of M.C Escher, the vibrant colors of pop art and the painted walls of the east end of London. I am currently working as a freelance illustrator and co-founder/designer for a bespoke hand-printed t-shirt label Homework Collective.    |
Aisling Fegan
Aisling Fegan was born in Ireland in 1985. She studied Model making and Design for Film and Theatre in The National Film School of Ireland.
For a number of years Aisling has been working full time as a product design model maker. She is now based in London where she continues to paint daily. Art is her passion. Recent work is described as illustrative, pop art with similarities to a graffiti style. Aislings current project is building toward her first solo exhibition later this year. The Project entitled “What Next” is based around the theme of Ireland’s young people in the past 6 months. During this project Aisling paints from photographs and is using solely acrylic paint and marker pens.    |
Nicholas Peart
Nicholas Peart (1983-) is an English artist living and working in London. His work explores the subconscious and the conveying of his emotions. Once when asked to describe his work he replied, ''I paint my feelings''. For him this is an integral part to understanding his work and its perpetual development.
When not painting, Nicholas writes poetry which he writes in the same way as he paints; subconsciously and spontaneously. Expressing what he currently feels. Nicholas has also travelled widely. He spent two years travelling across Latin America His influences include Jackson Pollock, Pablo Picasso, Edvard Munch, Willem De Kooning, Pierre Bonnard, the Boyle Family, Richard Long and the works of the Huichol people in Mexico. Website http://www.saatchionline.com/nicholaspeart    |
BJ Broekhuizen
Art and its visions were always part of Bj's life growing up in South Africa. As a teenager he set up a very successful, and highly awarded, pottery studio in Cape Town.
A growing desire to explore the intersection of art and science saw him shift his work into drawing and painting. A move to London followed. Working out of his South London studio Bj is exploring his passion for medical imagery and currently focusing on a series of cross medium pieces based on the life of human cells.    |
Umit Koseoglu
Umit Koseoglu is a conceptual fine art photographer and multimedia artist from London, UK. After recently graduating with a BA in Contemporary Media Practice from the University of Westminster, Umit has focused his work on ideas of identity, the body and the environment, creating large-scale photographic installations designed to raise awareness about contemporary issues. Umit is currently working on projects documenting the nature and society of Iceland.
‘Human/Nature’ explores the fragile relationship between humanity and the natural landscape. Inspired by current environmental issues occurring in Iceland regarding the sale of natural resources to foreign industries, and the destruction this has caused, these images merge the Icelandic landscape with the human body to promote nature as an important part of mankind, rather than a commodity to be exploited for financial gain. While this project is based on issues specific to Iceland, the underlying meaning is universal, and serves as a strong reminder to the rest of the world that even in modern society, nature is still an important force that should be preserved and respectedThe images are made up of small fragments of the Icelandic landscape, superimposed on to the human body to create the illusion of a person physically made out of parts of nature. Photographs were taken on location in the Snæfellsnes, Mývatn and Sólheimajökull areas of Iceland, and merged with high-resolution images of the body to create a surreal, layered effect. These locations were chosen for their dramatic and varied landscapes, which represent Iceland’s volcanic and seismic activity. The result is a series of large format photographic prints, which is intended to both criticise the destruction of the Icelandic landscape, and to remind us of our natural roots. Website www.umitk.com    |
Kim Alexander
Kim makes drawings... lots of small very detailed and often surreal drawings filled with images within images within images. She loves color and pattern, and takes lots of photos of textures and organic patterns that she uses to draw from, along with reference from stellar photography and anatomy textbooks of molecular biology, all mixed in with images from her inner library of memory and imagination. At the moment Kim's drawings are reflecting her recent absorption into beautiful wood grain and the Mayan weavings she photographed obsessively last year in Central America, which have had a huge impact on her work both in terms of color and use of flat narrative imagery.
Kim's drawings are essentially intricate diaries, if you look closely into the details that make up her hybrid characters and landscapes you can find stories of her travels, dreams, fantasies and memories. Scenes or ideas from books Kim's been reading also appear amongst the images, at the moment reflecting an interest in Tom Brown and Carlos Castaneda's writing on pathways to the collective subconscious and Greg Madison and Milan Kundera's writing on identity. Kim's work as a 2D animator is symbiotic with her drawing and she loves the character design of Sylvain Chomet and Brian Froud, and the surreal animations Blu creates of creatures-within- creatures. Gina Intveen's paintings that hold images-within-images have also provided a lot of inspiration over recent months, as have the detailed organic images of Ernst Haekel. Kim holds a BA in Fine Art from Byam Shaw CSM and a Postgrad Diploma in Character Animation from LAS Central St. Martins. Website www.kimalexander.co.uk    |
Mark Powell
Since graduating from Huddersfield University, in which I accidentally enrolled onto the fine art course, I have had shows across the UK and the US with more showcasing my paintings in the near future.
My practice centers around my drawing and painting of whatever slips into my mind at any particular time and so may seem abstract and unrelated, though this is never the case. Website http://markpowellart.tumblr.com/    |
Lilamani de Silva
Lilamani is a New Zealander living in London. From an early age the passion to paint and create were part and parcel of Lilamani's life. Although she trained in the sciences, and has spent the last 10 years running her own business creating products for home, school, work and play, she has never the less always found time to dabble, initially in water colour and more recently in acrylics. "Painting gives me a sense of peace and calm. It is almost an obsession and one which brings me tremendous joy". Lilamani paints the world the way she see's it vibrant, full of life and colour". Her ideas, influences and inspiration come from the natural world, her travels, curiosity, beliefs, family and friendships as well the work of Masters like Van Gogh and Monet.
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Brooke Persich
I am not a loyal lover. After dedicating my youth and promising all my ages to my pen I found myself having an affair with a paint-set. What a mess I have made. Although I will not say sorry for my boundless passion. I do not excuse my desire which is the catalyst for my creations.
I have no artistic etiquette and why should I. I paint with my mouth full and I draw with pencils that are blunt with truth. I drink art until I am drunk with thought and I am a cheap drunk at best. I spill colour on your white suede shoes and in my paintings I apologize for nothing. There are two things I am loyal to.. Art and Contradiction. Website www.brookepersich.blogspot.com    |
Marinela Caldarus
I am a Romanian artist working and teaching in UK. In July 2010 I
finished Master degree ”Interior Architecture and Design” at the University of Architecture Bucharest and in 2008 I finished University of Art Bucharest. I have participated in many national and international art competitions including Essl award 2009 Austria, art festivals, Watumi International Festival and Fringe Brasov Romania, and art camps, Medieval art camp Sibiu Romania. I have worked as a mural artist for Orthodox churches from Romania mading mosaics and stained glasses for Romanian churches. I have also taught medieval art at the National Museum of Romanian History Bucharest. I work mainly in tempera, oil, watercolours, ink, mixed media and now I am focused on acrylic media. I work with strong colours because the act of painting is an expression of energy and excitment. A good painting should capture your attention for a long time and for me a good painting is one that expresses movement, that sends you visual messages and that fills your mind with excitment and that wow. I started a series of works with different themes like: music, religions, still life and I want to continue with a series of works inspired by the English villages and country life and to compare it with the way of living from my own country, Romania. Website www.cmartline.wordpress.com    |
Scribble
Scribble fuses graffiti styled wording with canvassed acrylic artwork, giving people the chance to hang the kind of art in their homes and offices which would usually only be found in the street. He gives the words in his art a double meaning, sometimes obvious and sometimes hidden. Scribble also produces commissioned work, where clients can chose their colours and their personalised wording which can be their name or any other word which has a meaning to them.
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Adrian Galpin
My working practise is a mediation between the dominant tendency of modern art practise (abstraction), and the enduring pre-modernist legacy of representational image making. In common with many contemporary painters and writers about art, I believe that the essence of all painting practise (regardless of "style and "content" or "form") lies primarily in understanding painting as a series of abstract gestures and procedures; and whatever "meaning" a painting may hold or communicate can only be approached from a close examination of its physical qualities.
My work freely references a number of visual, stylistic painterly codes, most notably minimalism, photo-realism and hard-edged abstraction, in an attempt to close in on just what makes painting such an enduring art activity - even in our digital, mass media saturated age. Adrian Galpin works in Dalston, east London.    |
