ABSTRACT ART, 23rd October – 5th November
ABSTRACT ART
24th – 4th November 2018
Preview: Wednesday 24th October 18:00 – 20:30
The Brick Lane Gallery, 216 Brick Lane, London, E1 6SA.
Lorraine Willis | Mark Baker | Andy Jouan | Ruud Lening | Neville Cooper | Andreas Bohlin | Rachel Villari | Elisa Martinelli | Nadia Cardinale | David Childerhouse | Sabrina Kiswaka
Lorraine Willis works from her home studio in Winchester, Hampshire and in Sancerre, France. The inspiration for her work comes from her interest in words and their meaning: the lyrics to certain songs, poetry, prose and even random words placed together, have all evoked strong emotions and visual images for her. She seeks to understand how we make visual and emotional connections with words. To see how words can evoke strong intuitive abstract images, show how marks and colour combinations reflect written and spoken words and understand how the viewer makes their own connections and puts them into their own words. She likes to paint in a series constrained to a limited palette. The first series was inspired by a poem by English poet, Ms Moem called ‘Stay Wild”. Lorraine went wild with a very different palette and is very pleased with the result. The Sea Interludes were inspired by the music from Peter Grimes by Benjamin Britton. The four very different movements resulted in four paintings with very different moods. She has used all medias and styles in her work, finally finding her métier in abstract intuitive works using acrylic, oils and mixed media.
https://www.instagram.com/Lorraine.Willis.art
Mark Baker is a British artist living and working in Hertfordshire, in the UK.
All of his works displayed are part of his ‘100 Days of Abstracts’ project in which he painted an abstract picture every day for 100 days. The only constraints being that each was oil on paper, portrait orientation with no brushes used. Other than that, he tried to avoid repetition and explore as many styles, techniques and colour combinations as possible.
https://www.instagram.com/mrkdrkbkr/
Andy Jouan after having a strong creative streak since a very young age and a “real feel for music”, it was whilst living in Battersea, London that he found an added string to his bow, spending time with artist Nick Malone and London Art Classes in Deptford.
As an abstract artist using acrylic on canvas he hopes to encourage the viewer to explore how the art makes them “Feel” rather than having a single point of focus.
Expressing his soul’s connection to the greater creative force around us, He hopes his authenticity, openness to creative technique and organic expression will attract a wide audience looking for expressive pieces.
https://www.instagram.com/andyjouan
Ruud Lening is a Dutch abstract artist working out of his studio in the village of Sommelsdijk., The Netherlands. Having experienced highs and lows in his life, he strives to create artwork that speaks to my audience about temperamental thought patterns, chaos and beauty. Although his artwork appears to be chaotic, they are born out of rhythmic, almost cathartic, mark-making.
By using a variety of one-use recycled materials as tools, Ruud endeavours to have an additional commentary on waste and re-use. He actively addressess this problem with his own personal use of plastics and one-use throw-aways. These are redeemed and given a new life as implements with which he creates his loose, organic artworks. Multi-layers of paint are applied to canvas or paper and take days to complete. His palette of primary colours enables him to create bold vibrant works while his paint application facilitates energy and spontaneity.
https://www.instagram.com/Ruudart
Neville Cooper is a British artist who attended the West Surrey college of Art and Design, Farnham, Surrey BA Hons, where he studied Fine Art (Painting) 1976- 1979 as well as the Art Institute Bournemouth. Fine Art. (Multi Media) 2004-2007.
Since leaving Art School, he has always worked in the abstract expressionist style, drawing inspiration from the work of Joan Mitchell, Cy Twombly and Albert Irvin.
“Much of my work has been influenced by the time I spent at sea, (Merchant Navy), traveling the world, and by British post war austerity. My family origins in Kent and Essex have also played a part in recent work. The use of colour, has always been important to me from the beginning of my artistic career, using it as a form of personal language.”
https://www.facebook.com/nevillecooper.arts/
Andreas Bohlin lives in the forests in the south west of Sweden. Andreas is educated as a blacksmith and an iron sculptor and still uses metal as one of his main materials although he has mainly been working in clay and stone in recent years. Andreas is fascinated by the ability of the subconscious and often inspired by dreams, misunderstandings, or things he sees that he interprets wrongly, like trees in the mist, or things moving in the corner of the eye.
The work is very intuitive often using pieces of scrap metal and he starts to bend and hammer on it without knowing what it will end up as, after a while he can see the direction and keep on processing it until some kind of personality and story appears within the piece. Through the process of his own work, Andreas is able to understand who he is and how the world around him is working. For this exhibition Andreas has made a series of birdlike characters hammered from sheet metal and copper sheet. The sculptures have been treated with household chemichals, vinegar and amonia to give them their colours.
”Maybe they are telling me that I am finding my wings and getting ready to fly. ”
https://www.instagram.com/Andreas Bohlin
Rachel Villari’s work communicates emotionally subjective experiences through her bold use of colour. While drawing inspiration from a variety of styles – ranging from Artemisia Gentilischi to Hilma af Klint – her abstract paintings explore ideas related to female representation in popular culture. Her work has been exhibited throughout New England, including Rhode Island School of Design’s Woods-Gerry Gallery, the Newport Art Museum and soon for TIA Gallery in Bologna, Italy. As an educator, she has taught studio and art history courses throughout her home state of Rhode Island, including RISD|CE and Johnson & Wales University. With formal training in studio art, art history and expressive therapies, Rachel holds a Master’s Degree in Art Education from Boston University. “Transcendental Flower” is one of 3 images to be published next year in “Curatorial Volume 1: Leaders in Contemporary Art” – to be released, July 2019.
www.instagram.com/rachelvillaristudio
Elisa Martinelli is 29 years old and lives in Italy.
She graduated in interior design at the academy of art in Brescia.
“Nowadays, I ‘m a personal designer, I work in a design studio in Italy and I love my job!
I’m also an artist, I love the abstract art and the infinite creativity that can derive from it. I wake up in the morning and I have to create, creativity is the key word for me!
My paintings are the expression of my life and my dreams, when I paint I fly in a positive dimension and I forget the reality around me.”
https://www.instagram.com/amarte_elisamartinelli
Dave Childerhouse is an artist living in Ringwood. All of his paintings are ”acrylic on canvas but occasionally supplemented with other mediums; oil, pen etc. Acrylic is a great medium as it dries quickly.’ Alongside his paintings, Dave also has mounted prints available. He is showcasing his abstract paintings but other themes he explores are silhouettes, stills and impressions.