Insideout
Contemporary
Art
A group of artists is setting up shop - quite
literally! When
Lupe Cunha was approached by Dee Clayton, the new owner of vacant shop premises
in Cowbridge, to see if she would like to make use of
the space for exhibition purposes for a
period of up to two months, she seized
the opportunity with gusto. Lupe, who
graduated with a BA (Hons) Degree in Fine Art in 2006
and a Masters Degree in 2007 from the University of Hertfordshire, immediately contacted a network of artists, showed
them the premises, and within a few days a group was formed, with
exciting ideas for an exhibition already
being made.
The group, most of whom
are graduates from the
The premises, with
large, double fronted windows placed either side of a wide entrance door,
provides the ideal exhibition space. The
main shop area, which will form a gallery, leads out into a large barn, which
will provide space for installation and performance art, in addition to more
traditional art forms.
Dee
and her husband, who will be setting up in Hertford, Agility PR, a company
dealing with IT and financial services PR right next door to the gallery, are
delighted that the group is making such an innovative use of the space.
The exhibition will open
at the same time as the Bridge Arts
Festival which also involves the Hertford Arts Society Annual exhibition and
the Courtyard Arts Open exhibition, and
the group hopes to provide a third and more avant-garde event to show between
those two events, with work more
resembling the kind of art you might find in London's east end galleries. The artists are interested in the response
from art visitors to both these established events in the Hertfordshire arts
diary to something a little more out of the ordinary. In addition, the group hopes to attract
visitors who might not normally go into galleries: its informal and relaxed approach to
exhibiting will hopefully appeal to those who are interested in seeing
something different. The group’s ages
range from mid-20s to mid-60s, and there will be at least two artists present
every day, who will be happy for you to wander around the exhibition at your
leisure, and who will answer any of your questions about the art on display.
The exhibition, entitled Insideout, will
run from Wednesday 7 May until Sunday 22
June at 39 Cowbridge, Hertford SG14 1PN, from 10:30 a.m. until
Limited
access to wheel chairs. Parking available
in the Port Vale Car Park.
Note
to Editors:
Please contact Jan Reichmann for images and further info on the group.
jfv.reichmann@ntlworld.com or 07984 934555
Participating artists
sees colour as memory. It is by using the combination of colour, in
line and form, together with fragments of black & white photographic images
which creates the abstract (essence) of a location which she invites the viewer
then to experience. This idea of whole
body experience is the essence of Lupe’s art installations.
Austrian-born, studied Fine Art as a mature student
at the University of Hertfordshire. She graduated in 2002 and has since shown
her work both in the
is a performance based
sculptor who presents work in digital media such as photography or video.
Most of his work is an exploration of sculpture taking inspiration from
Gilbert and George's idea of living sculpture. His work also references
Christo and his use of materials to intervene in
space and outside environments.
Anne Houghton
is a painter and printmaker as well
as a maker of hanging works in fabrics. Texture and the written word interest
her. There is a recurring motif of ceramic vessels. The simple lines of a
utilitarian object appeals to her not only for its beauty but also because of
the symbolism it evokes.
Victoria Matuszczyk
, 22 years old, will be graduating this year with a BA Honours in
Fine Art from the University of Hertfordshire. She mostly uses her own life and
current affairs as inspiration for her work. She makes work ranging from
drawing, video and installation, to photography and sound. Her work explores
complex personal states and ideas of self-representation, blurring fact and
fiction. She creates characters and portrays the world as a stage. Her
Installations especially blur the lines between performer and audience,
performance and reality.
works with light and cast shadows,
whether physically (within photography, film or light projection) or as the
causal subject for painting and drawing. She explores the visual and physical
perception of space and its psychological effects.
Jan Reichmann
works mostly as an abstract artist,
her inspiration deriving from land and seascapes, which enable her to embrace
her love of colour and mark making. Life drawing and portraiture are other
disciplines she works with, believing that the contours of both face and figure
present their own challenging and exciting landscapes. She has just been offered a Fellowship at the Digswell Arts Trust and a studio at The Forge, Digswell, from
work is a collection of organic forms made in plaster. It has a
life and presence of its own, drawing you to touch it. The medium of plaster
has taken her on a tactile and amazing journey, where the work shows the viewer
something new as the environment changes around it.
Carol Wenham
loves being a glass artists...she is fascinated by glass - the way light
plays on its glossy tactile surface, the way it reflects or transmits colour.
In her work she uses vibrant or subtle ranges of colour,
and her designs
are kiln formed giving luxurious textures. Recent pieces include
printed elements.
Joseph Woolf 's
work is an exploration in the
juxtaposition of aesthetics. He explores the unlikely relationships between the
high renaissance compositions of Caravaggio and the cult that is modern day
stencil graffiti. He does so by mocking up his canvas with dramatic scenes that appear to be
stencilled upon dilapidated walls, each composition a modern reworking of a
painting by Caravaggio. He subtly blurs the lines between traditional painting
and suburban street art, exploring the issues of legality that surrounded
Caravaggio and still to this day surround contemporary graffiti artists.