Su Bla c k w e ll Into the D a rk Woods
Su Bla c kw e l l I nto the D a r k Wo o d s
17 November – 17 December 2021
LONG & RYLE 4 John Islip Street, London SW1P 4PX t : +44 (0) 20 7834 1434 e: gallery@long-and-ryle.com • www.longandryle.com • tues – fri 10 - 5:30 sat 11- 2 opposite: T h e S i x G o l d S h i r t s 2 0 2 1
paper cut sculpture (detail)
The Castle 2021 paper cut sculpture 1 7 0 h × 11 0 w m m
Into the Dark Woods beckons us into the fantastic realms of Su Blackwell’s artistic imagination. Since graduating from the Royal College of Art in 2003, Blackwell has become widely known for her fragile and beguiling book sculptures that play on traditions of origami and shadow puppet theatre. Over time, she has perfected a form of rewriting through cutting to conjure a series of enchantments in paper. A dark undercurrent is often apparent in her choice of scenes depicted – she tends to delve into the more unsettling moments and spaces of our most cherished tales. Blackwell’s own story has a ring of fairy tale truth about it – from her Sheffield childhood and Bradford education all the way through to her London studio, one can easily imagine Blackwell whispering her worries, trials and tribulations to a paper doll of her own making. The emotional labour invested in her practice is immeasurable yet deeply constructive – paper-cutting offers a practice of resilience and displays a perseverance common to the heroines of the stories collected here. – Catriona McAra This 2021 exhibition ‘Into the Dark Woods’ features more than 30 of Blackwell’s works. Blackwell has chosen seven of the most popular fairy tales in the western world to focus on– “Vasilisa,” “Aschenputtel,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Donkeyskin,” “The Six Swans,” “The Red Shoes,” and “Bluebeard”. Scenes from these fairytales grow out of books that have been in her possession for a number of years, stories that she has revisited, mulledover and dissected.
B a b a Ya g a s H u t 2 0 2 1 paper cut sculpture 300w × 260d × 245h mm
The Church from The Red Shoes 2021 paper cut sculpture 160w × 85d × 100h mm
The Swan in Flight 2021 paper cut sculpture 130w × 50d × 90h mm
The Black Knight 2021 paper cut sculpture 400w × 290d × 280h mm
T h e C a s t l e i n t h e Wo o d s 2 0 2 1 paper cut sculpture 330w × 235d × 260h mm
T h e C o t t a g e i n t h e Wo o d s 2 0 2 1 paper cut sculpture 380w × 270d × 285h mm
Dance She Did and Dance She Must 2021 paper cut sculpture 390w × 280d × 325h mm
G i r l S w e e p i n g Wo r d s f ro m A s c h e n p u t t e l 2 0 2 1 paper cut sculpture 340w × 270d × 290h mm
The Locked Castle with Many Keys 2021 paper cut sculpture 360w × 270d × 300h mm
The Six Gold Shirts 2021 paper cut sculpture 275w × 205d × 230h mm
The Six Swans 2021 paper cut sculpture 325w × 260d × 360h mm
The Red Shoes 2021 paper cut sculpture 360w × 280d × 300h mm
Va s i l i s a w i t h B u r n i n g S k u l l I I 2 0 2 1 paper cut sculpture 168w × 73d × 240h mm
The White Knight 2021 paper cut sculpture 355w × 250d × 270h mm
SU BLACKWELL Qualifications & Training 2001-03 MA Textiles, Royal College of Art, London 1997-2000 BA (Hons) Art & Design, Bradford College of Art and Design Solo Exhibitions 2018 ‘Forests, Folk Tales and the Sea’, Long and Ryle Gallery, London 2015 ‘Dwelling’, Pola Museum Annex, Tokyo 2012 ‘Tales from The Enchanted Forest’, Long and Ryle Gallery, London 2012 ‘Pretty Maid Ibronka’, Faculty of Fine Arts, Montenegro 2011 Bishop Faculty Fellow 2011, ‘Selected Works’, The Center for Book Arts, New York 2010 ‘Happily Ever After’, Long and Ryle, London 2010 ‘Remnants’, The Bronte Parsonage Museum, Haworth, UK 2009 ‘All the Things I love are going to Disintegrate’ The Scottish Gallery’ Edinburgh Selected Group Exhibitions 2022 Virtuos, Gust§av-Lübcke-Museum, Hamm, Germany 2018 The Second Skin. Nature - Clothing, Museum Schloss Moyland, Bedburg-Hau, Germany 2017 Book Worlds, Museum Sinclair-Haus, Frankfurt, Germany 2014 ShowStudio, London 2013 Sotheby’s Presents, Chatsworth House, Derbyshire 2013 Victoriana – The Art of Revival, Guildhall Art Gallery, London 2012 The First Cut, Manchester Art Gallery, UK 2009 Can Art Save Us? Millennium Gallery, Sheffield 2009 Slash: Paper under the Knife, Museum of Modern Art and Design, New York Work in Public Collections National Art Gallery Cardiff Palgarve Macmillan Headquarters, London
Sir Kenneth Green Library, Manchester Metropolitan University The Bronte Parsonage Museum, Haworth, West Yorkshire Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield The Burns Museum, Alloway, National Trust Scotland Projects and Commissions 2019 Peckover House, Art Installation at the National Trust 2018 Art Installation, Spinocchia Freund London 2018 Art Installation, Hide Restaurant, Mayfair, London 2017 Art Installation, Christmas at Chatsworth, Chatsworth House, Derbyshire 2016-18 Plumlines,Art Installation at the National Trust, Croome Court, Worcester 2013 Curator, Beyond the Book Exhibition, Devon Guild of Craftsmen, Bovey Tracey 2013 Design for Liberty Art Fabrics, A/W14 Collection, Liberty London 2012 Illustrations for The Fairy Tale Princesses for ‘Thames and Hudson’ (Thames and Hudson Books, 2012) 2011 Set Design forThe Snow Queen, Rose Theatre, Kingston Upon Thames Awards 2012 The Fairy Tale Princesses ‘Thames and Hudson’, Crescer’s Best Children’s Book of 2012 2010 Window Display for Nicole Farhi, London Stores,Winner of VM & Display Awards, Best Christmas Window 2011 2008 Beringer “Vineyard” Commercial, Voted Best Ad on TV, 2007 Selected Publications 2013 Victoriana ‘A Miscellany’ by Sonia Solicari 2011 Anti-Tales ‘The Uses of Disenchantment’ by Catriona McAra 2011 Book Art ‘Iconic Sculptures Made from Books’ by Paul Sloman 2009 Slash ‘Paper Under the Knife’ by David Revere McFadden
above: T h e S i x t h S w a n 2 0 2 1 paper cut sculpture 1 3 0 w × 5 0 d × 9 0 h m m front cover: T h e L o c k e d C a s t l e w i t h M a n y K e y s 2 0 2 1 paper cut sculpture (detail) back cover: P a p e r B i r d s 2 0 2 1 paper cut sculpture (detail)