FBA Futures 2016

FBA

Futures

Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours * Royal Society of British Artists * Royal Society of Marine Artists * Royal Society of Portrait Painters * Royal Institute of Oil Painters * New English Art Club * Pastel Society * Society of Wildlife Artists * of Portrait Painters * Royal Institute of Oil Painters * New English Art Club * Pastel Society * Society of Wildlife Artists * Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours * Royal Society of British Artists * Royal Society of Marine Artists * Royal Society of Portrait Painters * Royal Institute of Oil Painters * New English Art Club * Pastel Society * Society of Wildlife Artists * of Portrait Painters * Royal Institute of Oil Painters * New English Art Club * Pastel Society * Society of Wildlife Artists * Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours * Royal Society of British Artists * Royal Society of Marine Artists * Royal Society of Portrait Painters * Royal Institute of Oil Painters * New English Art Club * Pastel Society * Society of Wildlife Artists * of Portrait Painters * Royal Institute of Oil Painters * New English Art Club * Pastel Society * Society of Wildlife Artists * Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours * Royal Society of British Artists * Royal Society of Marine Artists * Royal Society of Portrait Painters * Royal Institute of Oil Painters * New English Art Club * Pastel Society * Society of Wildlife Artists * of Portrait Painters * Royal Institute of Oil Painters * New English Art Club * Pastel Society * Society of Wildlife Artists * Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours * Royal Society of British Artists * Royal Society of Marine Artists * Royal Society of Portrait Painters * Royal Institute of Oil Painters * New English Art Club * Pastel Society * Society of Wildlife Artists * of Portrait Painters * Royal Institute of Oil Painters * New English Art Club * Pastel Society * Society of Wildlife Artists * Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours * Royal Society of British Artists * Royal Society of Marine Artists * Royal Society of Portrait Painters * Royal Institute of Oil Painters * New English Art Club * Pastel Society * Society of Wildlife Artists * of Portrait Painters * Royal Institute of Oil Painters * New English Art Club * Pastel Society * Society of Wildlife Artists * Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours * Royal Society of British Artists * Royal Society of Marine Artists * Royal Society of Portrait Painters * Royal Institute of Oil Painters * New English Art Club * Pastel Society * Society of Wildlife Artists *

FBA

Futures

19 to 30 January 2016 Mall Galleries, The Mall London SW1 20 February to 23 April 2016 Beverley Art Gallery, Treasure House Champney Road, Beverley HU17 8HE

FBA Futures is proudly sponsored by

‘One to Watch’ prizes sponsored by

ART SUPPLIES

Catalogue sponsored by

Each year in mid-May, an exciting ritual of visiting art degree shows begins. A chance to discover new talent and to gain access to the settings and spaces that emerging artists have been working in for the past few years, developing their practice and taking their initial steps into the art world.

But the transition into becoming a professional artist is not always a linear process and the period after graduation can be a daunting time. FBA Futures aims to offer recent arts graduates more than just the opportunity to showcase their work. The exhibition gives promising artists the chance to meet their contemporaries from universities and colleges from all over the UK, in order to share their experiences of going to art school and their ideas for the future. It also enables them to meet established artists who are members of the Federation of British Artists.

The Federation of British Artists at Mall Galleries comprises over 500 member artists across nine art Societies, all of whom are encouraged to scour the country’s graduate shows for emerging talent. A selected group of artists, as voted by the Presidents of each Society, are invited to exhibit at the Federation’s annual FBA Futures exhibition.

FBA Futures maps new practices from British Art Schools, inviting audiences to experience exciting approaches to representational art. For this year’s exhibition, members of the Federation have selected a wide range of artists exploring the links between figuration and abstraction as different means to representing the world around them. The dialogue is not necessarily one of exploring or expanding the boundaries between figuration and abstraction anymore but focusing on the connections between them. Participating artists possess a wide range of skills, from painting and printmaking to woodcarving and gilding, sculpture and photography, which are either directly visible in their work or inform their overall art-making process.

Collaborating with artists that are currently producing work and reflecting on the world around us is the essence of what makes many galleries and art spaces such unique creative environments. The Federation of British Artists aims to be an open space for young talent, where the on-going presence of artists from all backgrounds fosters a discursive creative community that can help collapse the gap between already established artists and emerging talent.

Elli Koumousi Head of Education and Cultural Strategy, Mall Galleries

The Artists Michelle Alcock William Allen Alex Beswetherick Emma Burns Lizet Dingemans Christopher Gray Rebecca Hathaway Joanna Hulin

Edinburgh College of Art Glasgow School of Art Leeds College of Art Central Saint Martins London Atelier of Representational Art Lavender Hill Studios Heatherley’s School of Fine Art Falmouth Art College

James Johns

University for the Creative Arts - Farnham

Matt Morris

Slade School of Fine Art

Alice McVicker

City and Guilds

Joseph Murphy

City and Guilds

Isaac Nugent Lea Sautin Zsofia Schweger Bernadett Timko

Edinburgh College of Art Glasgow School of Art Slade School of Fine Art Heatherley’s School of Fine Art

Michelle Alcock Hidden in Plain Sight Oil on panel, 120 x 160 cm “Concerned with the idea of making the ordinary into the extraordinary, my paintings present images derived from familiar and often overlooked sources.

It is easy to take our surroundings for granted and miss the unobtrusive beauty around us that is hidden in plain sight. Through my paintings, I want to challenge a viewer’s perception of mundane items and encourage them to see their hidden potential.”

William Allen Untitled Play: Morocco Oil on canvas, 76 x 101 cm “The imagery I use draws inspiration from theatre and set design. I take photos (both found and my own) and manipulate them with the aim of making sense of a number of these images at once and on a single canvas.

I try to unify the shapes and colours within an imagined space through oil paint, often toying with the relationship of inside and outside. In some instances this manipulation of imagery creates a confusion of depth. Scrapes and washes of colour bring the eye back to the painting’s physical surface creating a tiered perspective.”

Alex Beswetherick Untitled I (Graham), 2015 OSB board (chipboard), 290 x 60 cm “The form in my sculpture has no identity. It appears robotic or alien, however, it was inspired by the constant flow of people passing me in a city with their blank stares and hollow smiles all around me. I felt I was one of many within the crowd of people, feeling lost and isolated from those around me.

I aim to construct sculptures that manipulate the way we view the urban environment. Architecture is important to the creation of my work and I typically use methods and materials common in the construction of buildings and man made structures in my sculptures. This enforces the connection between humans and the built objects that surrounds them in society.�

Emma Burns Best of British Needle felted dogs & post box (mixed materials: cardboard, tinfoil, cling film, duct tape, wool) Various sizes “The other day, as I walked Billybob, my Scottish terrier, in the dog park, an Italian Mastiff cheekily attempted to mount him without so much as a howdy doody. Needless to say, it did not end amicably. Despite the fact that Gino (the mastiff) was five times heftier, my little terrier put up quite the fight, causing his would-be lover to retreat with his tail dangling between his legs.

Gino’s owner and I coyly nodded at one another from across the field, as Billybob cocked his leg up against a shrub and kicked at the dirt behind him. This is one of the things I love most about dogs: they make no apologies for their bad behaviour.”

Lizet Dingemans Crab Oil, 30 x 20 cm “I endeavour to express the beauty in everyday objects, leaving the experience of the artwork to the viewers themselves.

I grew up in Helmond, the Netherlands. After studying Art and Illustration in the Netherlands I went to Florence in the summer of 2011 to study Fine Art at Angel Academy which gave me the inspiration to continue my studies in London as a student at the London Atelier of Representational Art (LARA). In 2015 I was awarded the Arts Club Charitable Trust Award for my still life in the Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition 2015. My work has been exhibited all over Europe including in the Modern European Art Museum, Barcelona, Spain.�

Christopher Gray Gold on Blue Oil on wood, 140 x 80 cm “My piece Gold on Blue combines both abstract and representational themes, playing on how our minds constantly seek pictorial images even in obscure settings. Klimt epitomises this approach fantastically, luring in the viewer with brilliant abstract gold patterns while showing a clear representational image. I don’t seek a conceptual narrative but a purely visual one, using mark making that engages immediately with the viewer.�

Rebecca Hathaway Victoria Oil on canvas, 80 x 100 cm “My landscape paintings are driven by emotional responses to change and urban contemporary architecture. By integrating themes of landscapes and memories personal to me, I hope to develop a way of expressing thought and imagination in my painting.

I feel that my best work is often unfinished or more expressive in its unfinished state which reflects my own dilemmas about the choice of outcomes at any time.�

Joanna Hulin Sundered Oil on linen, 46 x 38 cm “My recent paintings have been created in an effort to produce a shared experience with those who have suffered grievances, traumas and bereavements. I place an importance on using photographs, images of people from news sources, starting from a blank slate and coming to know them over time, through their stories and the way they are depicted. The work I create intends to restore a lost dignity, a respect towards people who have experienced extreme suffering, and whose stories are crudely simplified through the lens of a news reporter.�

James Johns Arterial London Pencil on primed board, 90 x 120 cm “My work explores the subjects of architecture, maps and organic structures, with particular interest in the structural complexities within them. Whether organic or manmade, an appreciation for the structural form is depicted through obsessive and at times maniacal methods of working.

Arterial London depicts this relationship between the manmade and the organic.

With the city’s network resembling an organ-like structure, with an arterial network of lines that feeds the city to sustain its urban activity and allows its continued growth and expansion into surrounding space.�

Alice McVicker Girl in a Constructed Room Oil on canvas, 110 x 150 cm “​My paintings explore the difference and disconnect between the physical environments and emotions, illustrated by the dialogue between the figure and the constructed space in which it stands. I combine images and scenes from literature, photographs, video-games and exhibitions. aiming to establish a stage upon which fictional and found players can be set.

In my current work I have been interested in how painting can render the cinematic image, making both unfamiliar and strange. I am intrigued by the way cinema creates narrative through visual images and scene-construction, and how painting can reflect, re-position and reinterpret.”

Matt Morris Tool Box Oil on canvas, 120 x 100 cm “In my paintings I directly observe the tools that I use regularly within my work as though they are resting between jobs, about to be picked up.

The background is a space both shallow and interior, that is in keeping within a genre of still life that elicits complete attention on the objects themselves, whilst avoiding distractions from the outside world. By separating the handle of the tool from its head, my paintings reflect on the relationship between the hand and the eye and how this is akin to gesture in painting and line in drawing.�

Joseph Murphy Tree Frog Bronze with oak base, 12 x 15 x 12 cm (edition of 6) “I am a figurative and ornamental sculptor working in wood and bronze. I am inspired by Baroque wood carving and natural forms and I look to convey emotion and character in my work by combining the drama of the baroque and the subtleties of nature.

In my sculptures of animals I try to capture a fleeting glimpse or perhaps some transient qualities that are for me the essence or spirit of the subject at a particular moment in time. I use a very broad range of materials and techniques and I am always looking at the way different materials can affect the feel of the work and emotions conveyed. I particularly enjoy paring back a form to the most simple of ingredients observed so that it conveys both factual and emotional qualities.�

Isaac Nugent Vital Air I Oil on board, 60 x 50 cm “At a time when images can be limitlessly reproduced on the computer, I want to consider painting as a primitive method of reproduction. My paintings are like crude copying machines, imperfectly replicating the same image.

Vital Air I samples a figure from John Linnell’s Shepherd Boy Playing the Flute, which is then repeated across the surface of the picture plane like a bad computer screensaver or Photoshop copy/paste disaster.“

Lea Sautin O ddrwg i ddrwg y cafwyd y crib ganddo. (But after one difficulty and another, the comb was taken from him.)

Photo polymer etching (edition of 6), 39.5 x 46 cm “My artistic practice explores the themes of language, translation and perpetual transformation within the storytelling tradition of Wales. I am fascinated by the evolution of a collection of ancient tales, The Mabinogion, from their fluid oral and performative origins to a fixed written manuscript.

The process of making is central to the work. Using the printmaking language of marks, I make woodcut prints of solid blocks of dots, lines, and dashes on paper, fabric and plastic. From this printed material, I construct three dimensional sculptures depicting my own interpretation of events from the tales. These sculptures are then assembled and staged. The scenes are photographed and are then taken back to a fixed flat two dimensional printmaking surface through photo polymer etching or undergo further process through printed lenses or embossment.�

Zsofia Schweger Sandorfalva, Hungary #11 Oil on canvas,152.4 x 121.9 cm “In my current paintings, I explore the motif of the house by returning to my first home in Sandorfalva, Hungary. Here my family lived for 20 years before permanently relocating to London. Now the house looks frozen in time, with most furniture and belongings still in place, waiting for eventual moving or disposal.

My personal narrative has engendered painterly thinking of absence and presence, stillness and duration, space and flatness, feeling and apathy, cosiness and dread, the private and the social.

I pair potentially pleasant domestic interiors with a sure sense of alienation expressed by reductive and non-hierarchical paint application. My methodological, controlled approach to technique lets up, however, through touch: my hand trembles where colour blocks meet forming gently wavering lines. I want always to make paintings that are effective and alive.�

Bernadett Timko Sunday Oil on canvas, 76 x 61 cm “For me, painting is a celebration of the present moment. It begins with a little glimpse of something, a shock of sensation and I have a strong desire to stay with it and dig deeper. I’m particularly interested in people, they are my main subject and I work from life.

I love that the paint becomes something much more than just paint. It transforms, and so do I.�

WORK / George Triggs IMAGE CREDT / Ben Wisely – Studio Seventeen

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Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours * Royal Society of British Artists * Royal Society of Marine Artists * Royal Society of Portrait Painters * Royal Institute of Oil Painters * New English Art Club * Pastel Society * Society of Wildlife Artists * of Portrait Painters * Royal Institute of Oil Painters * New English Art Club * Pastel Society * Society of Wildlife Artists * Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours * Royal Society of British Artists * Royal Society of Marine Artists * Royal Society of Portrait Painters * Royal Institute of Oil Painters * New English Art Club * Pastel Society * Society of Wildlife Artists * of Portrait Painters * Royal Institute of Oil Painters * New English Art Club * Pastel Society * Society of Wildlife Artists * Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours * Royal Society of British Artists * Royal Society of Marine Artists * Royal Society of Portrait Painters * Royal Institute of Oil Painters * New English Art Club * Pastel Society * Society of Wildlife Artists * of Portrait Painters * Royal Institute of Oil Painters * New English Art Club * Pastel Society * Society of Wildlife Artists * Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours * Royal Society of British Artists * Royal Society of Marine Artists * Royal Society of Portrait Painters * Royal Institute of Oil Painters * New English Art Club * Pastel Society * Society of Wildlife Artists * of Portrait Painters * Royal Institute of Oil Painters * New English Art Club * Pastel Society * Society of Wildlife Artists * Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours * Royal Society of British Artists * Royal Society of Marine Artists * Royal Society of Portrait Painters * Royal Institute of Oil Painters * New English Art Club * Pastel Society * Society of Wildlife Artists * of Portrait Painters * Royal Institute of Oil Painters * New English Art Club * Pastel Society * Society of Wildlife Artists * Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours * Royal Society of British Artists * Royal Society of Marine Artists * Royal Society of Portrait Painters * Royal Institute of Oil Painters * New English Art Club * Pastel Society * Society of Wildlife Artists * of Portrait Painters * Royal Institute of Oil Painters * New English Art Club * Pastel Society * Society of Wildlife Artists * Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours * Royal Society of British Artists * Royal Society of Marine Artists * Royal Society of Portrait Painters * Royal Institute of Oil Painters * New English Art Club * Pastel Society * Society of Wildlife Artists *