S H I F T I N G
S A N D
D R A W I N G
S I M O N
A L L E N
W I T H
L I G H T
To the Master’s honour all must turn, each in its track, without a sound, forever tracing Newton’s ground. Albert Einstein
I am fascinated by the ephemeral, things that are in a state of flux from one form to another. Recently the shimmering surface of wet sand has been of particular interest to me. The linear ridges left in the sand, as the tide recedes, seem to perfectly embody wider rhythmic patterns in nature. The coming together of a solid and a liquid, where light can dissolve form, and the reflection of the sky in the land, induces a feeling of weightlessness. The quality of light enveloping, and sometimes obliterating form, is at the heart of the work. I hope to achieve a quiet tension between the static form and an ever changing, living surface. When creating sculpture I am constantly aware of how its forms will interact with the light, how a reflection can sometimes create shadow, sometimes dissolve line. This linear graphic quality runs through the works in this respect I regard these pieces as drawing with light.
Simon Allen. 2011
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Shifting Sand I
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silver leaf on carved wood . 50 x 50 cm 3
Shifting Sand II 4
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silver leaf on carved wood . 50 x 50 cm
Shifting Sand III
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silver leaf on carved wood . 50 x 50 cm 5
Shifting Sand IV 6
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silver leaf on carved wood . 50 x 50 cm
Shifting Sand V
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silver leaf on carved wood . 50 x 50 cm 7
Shifting Sand VI 8
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silver leaf on carved wood . 50 x 50 cm
Shifting Sand VII
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silver leaf on carved wood . 50 x 50 cm 9
Shifting Sand VIII 10
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silver leaf on carved wood . 50 x 50 cm
Shifting Sand IX
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silver leaf on carved wood . 50 x 50 cm 11
Shifting Sand X 12
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silver leaf on carved wood . 50 x 50 cm
Shifting Sand XI
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silver leaf on carved wood . 50 x 50 cm 13
Black Sand I . pigment and gesso on carved wood . 82 x 82 cm
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Black Sand II . pigment and gesso on carved wood . 82 x 82 cm
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Black Sand III . pigment and gesso on carved wood . 82 x 82 cm
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Shifting Sand XII
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silver leaf on carved wood . 110 x 110 cm
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Shifting Sand XIII
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silver leaf on carved wood . 110 x 110 cm
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Shifting Sand XIV
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silver leaf on carved wood . 110 x 110 cm
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Shifting Sand XV
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silver leaf on carved wood . 110 x 110 cm
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Black Sand IV . pigment and gesso on carved wood . 50 x 50 cm 28
Black Sand V . pigment and gesso on carved wood . 50 x 50 cm 29
Black Sand VI . pigment and gesso on carved wood . 50 x 50 cm 30
Black Sand VII . pigment and gesso on carved wood . 50 x 50 cm 31
SIMON ALLEN
Born 1967, Bristol. Currently living in Cornwall EDUCATION 1986 – 1988
BA fine art Falmouth school of Art 1986 -88
SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2006 2001
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Shifting Sand / Drawing with Light, Millennium Beaux Arts, Bath Silent Rhythms, Millennium Beaux Arts, Bath Goldfish Fine Art, Penzance Beaux Arts, Bath Goldfish Fine Art, Penzance National Maritime Museum, Falmouth Galerie Pelar, Long Island, New York Transitions 2, Newlyn Art Gallery
2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002
MOVE, Goldfish at Vyner Street, London Artists of Fame and Promise, Beaux Arts, Bath Art London, Chelsea London Art Fair, Business Design Centre, Islington Mixed Exhibition, Beaux Arts, Bath NSA, Goldfish Fine Art, Penzance London Art Fair, Business Design Centre, Islington NSA, Thompson’s Gallery, London NSA, Norbert Lynton Critic’s choice, Lemon St, Truro NSA new members, Newlyn Art Gallery Lynne Stover Gallery, Cambridge Messums, Cork St, Art London, Islington Mixed Exhibiton, Goldfish Fine Art, Penzance NSA Christmas Show, Newlyn Art Gallery Messums, Cork St, London London Art Fair, Business Design Centre, Islington Messums, Cork St, London Galerie Pelar, Long Island, NY
SELECTED MIXED EXHIBITIONS
COLLECTIONS
2011 2010 2009 2008 2007
The British Embassy, Madrid BC Partners Schroders Coutts & Co Royal Bank of Scotland The Forbury Hotel, Reading Les Ambassadeurs Casino The St. Regis, Atlanta, USA Hellbay Hotel Sovereign Capital Kelly Hoppen Travelex The Connaught Hotel Adam Lay Terence Disdale Bannenberg & Rowell Princess Firyal of Jordan The Corinthia Hotel The Ritz Carlton, Hong Kong
London Art Fair, Business Design Centre, Islington Millennium Mixed Winter Mixed Exhibition, Clerkenwell, London The Lancasters, Hyde Park, London Art London, Chelsea London Art Fair, Business Design Centre, Islington Millennium Mixed Winter Full Circle Art Consultancy Art London, Chelsea London Art Fair, Business Design Centre, Islington Millennium Mixed Winter Depth of Vision, Coutts, Full Circle Art Consultancy Millennium Mixed Winter NSA, The Drawing Room, The Exchange, Penzance Art London, Chelsea 20/21, Royal College of Art, London Mixed Easter, Goldfish Fine Art, Penzance Mixed Winter, Goldfish Fine Art, Penzance London Art Fair, Business Design Centre, Islington London Art Fair, Business Design Centre, Islington Form, Olympia Accenture Exhibition, Accenture Offices, London Tempest Radford Art Consultants Art Now Cornwall?, Goldfish Fine Art, Penzance
All work in this exhibition 2010 - 2011
Published by Millennium to coincide with the exhibition ‘Shifting Sand / Drawing with Light’ by Simon Allen All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publishers
Printed by Active Colour (www.activecolour.co.uk)
ISBN 978-1-905772-45-2
MILLENNIUM Str eet-an-Pol St. Ives Cornwall 01736 793121 m a i l @ m i l l e n n i u m g a l l e r y. c o . u k w w w . m i l l e n n i u m g a l l e r y. c o . u k