Issue #3, April / May, 2014
48:Eight
Welcome to Issue #3! And welcome to summer! Yes, the beautiful season has started to kick in and many of us have been blessed with (at least) one or two hints of summer, which will hopefully roll in with a roar this year, goodness knows we need it! So without further ado, please feel free to peruse this issue at your leisure and discover some great talents, and exciting things to see and do this sunny season. Enjoy! Michael
&c [dark matters]
48:Eight Gallery
@ The School Creative Centre
May 1st - 27th Preview April 30th 6 - 9pm
H N
enriette Hellstern-Kjøller athan Crothers
H N
ermione Allsopp ick Archer
J O
onathan Hills lga Titus - 04 -
The inaugural exhibition for 48:Eight Gallery at The School Creative Centre brings together 6 artists from 4 countries; Henriette Hellstern-Kjøller (DK), Hermione Allsopp (UK), Jonathan Hills (UK), Nathan Crothers (UK/FR), Nick Archer (UK) and Olga Titus (CH/IN). These 6 artists work across a number of disciplines including video, photography and painting. It is the first time they have been brought together in one space. &c [dark matters] deals with identity politics, power structures, stereotype, perception, social stigma all under a dark, cynical veil of humour. Facing a modern society of constant flux, of neo-liberal individualism, how can an artist operate? What are the challenges they face in contemporary society? And how do they maintain a voice? Charlie Dance, 2014
Your Committee:
Alex Gibbs
Alex is a painter and illustrator originally from Edinburgh but now living and working in Hangzhou, China. He has exhibited globally and been published in Time Magazine. Here we present a small selection of his latest works.
alex-gibbs.com
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
granite countertop (you have made it!) no. 2 turkey centerpiece what is hot and what is just not i am tired of sitz bath green garden infinite joy of life
(all acrylic on Berlin gallery handout, 30 x 21cm)
Cover Story
Who are you?
Paula MacArthur
What do you do? I’m a painter and occasional printmaker.
Where do you do it?
The School Creative Centre in Rye, East Sussex; an arts hub housing over 30 creative practitioners in an old school building. My studio is one of the old classrooms.
What are you currently working on?
My recent series of large scale canvases focuses on jewels. Nine of these form ‘Infinitely Precious Things’, a solo exhibition currently on show at 60 Threadneedle Street in London until 9th May.The exhibition title is from a quote by Oscar Wilde; “Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you.”
The presentation of these excessively large jewels in the context of a corporate space in London’s financial distric character judgements; I am the first to be lured, like a magpie, towards bright and shiny bling! It is this tension betwe
These paintings began as a personal celebration of love and over time have come to encompass more universal desi in scale, colour is exaggerated, the medium is stretched to its limits, at once impressive and bold but also apparently social and political climate.
ct, I hope, asks questions about where the real value lies in current society. This is not to say that I am making any een temptation and denial that draws me to use these gemstones as my subject.
ires and obsessions. Enlarged a thousand times these tiny stones transform into celestial entities, they are excessive ephemeral and fragile. I hope the paintings serve as a metaphor for our personal relationships alongside the broader
Working with viscous paint beside pools of barely tinted turpentine and using exaggerated intense colour I attempt to push the medium towards the extremes of its capabilities. Quickly and instinctively I place colour onto the canvas working with wet on wet glazes, merging oily translucent layers with the brush and dropping colour, allowing it to bleed and grow into the surface. From a distance brush marks and the trails of running paint are invisible, the paintings appear cohesive, even photographic, then as the viewer approaches the images disintegrate. The paint becomes as ephemeral as the jewel’s sparkle, the focus moves from the gemstone to the physicality of the paint and echoes the elusive ideals these minute treasures symbolise.
I’m currently exploring routes towards abstraction.
I had a very traditional academic painting training at The Royal Academy Schools, which (in the early 90’s) stressed the importance of observational drawing and using photography as a starting point was frowned upon. Of course, this didn’t dissuade me from starting to use photographic sources and over time it has become an increasingly important tool. Manipulating my own snapshots with Photoshop has led me along various paths to simplify and deconstruct images; reconstructing them in oils on large scale canvases or creating drawing systems which are layered into screen prints. The current paintings in the jewel series have become increasingly expressionistic and painterly. It seems the next logical step is to look inside the stones to allow me to just enjoy making marks and placing colour in a series of immersive abstract paintings. I am trying to let the jewel paintings evolve naturally by experimenting with smaller studies but retaining the same size or even larger brush marks and poured areas. This slightly unfamiliar way of working creates a challenge which is helping me to look beyond the subject and focus on observing the paint. Watching how it bleeds and drips and deciding what to allow and what to keep within my control becomes both playful and an intellectual exercise in formal composition.
My contempora artists’ networ information co an extremely s people is essen tweet (@PMac over coffee or
What or who inspires you? Colour is always the first thing that hooks me when beginning a new piece of work and I always saturate the given colour in my photographs. Colour communicates to me on a subconscious, instinctive level and I aim to clarify my experience of it through image making. Music and in particular love songs. You might be able to identify what I’ve been listening to in the studio if you recognise any lyrics in my painting titles.
aries inspire me too. I am part of several formal and informal rks and their support and willingness to share ideas and ontinues to energise and motivate my practice. Painting is solitary practice and I find communication with likeminded ntial for me to progress as an artist. Whether it’s a quick cArthur) an organised group crit or an animated debate a few beers it’s all extremely valuable and grounding for me.
Artists; Helen Frankenthaler and all the abstract expressionists for their freedom and boldness in creating an immersive experience for the viewer. Arshile Gorky and Ivon Hitchens for mark making and composition. Gillian Ayres and Jennifer Durrant for colour. Jenny was one of my tutors at the Academy, a wonderfully warm and kind woman who was always honest and supportive, a great inspiration. Andy Warhol for his non-judgemental social commentary, his playfulness and general weirdness.
paula-macarthur.com
We’re Literally F***ed!!! Showcase
by performance artist
Tim Redfern
Since November I have been working with the School Creative Centre to develop a showcase. The result is We’re Lit in, drawing on my own experiences escaping London and moving to Rye.
As a performance artist I wanted to develop my skill set and broaden my repertoire, but felt unsure about where Although I have achieved a pretty solid and successful track record, from creating shows and events in art galleries a London’s legendary Royal Vauxhall Tavern, I’ve always felt performer.
a bit of an outsider as a performer and never really
A successful Arts Council England funding bid to support a period of research and development has enable
Redfern.
As part of the research I’ve been working with director/dramaturg Christine Harmar-Brown to learn more a story through performance.
I now have a new showcase that I will be performing at The School Creative Centre on Thursday 17th A on Tuesday
22nd April at 7pm.
It’s an opportunity for me to present my first show and get some feedback pri
The performance will be filmed and you can find out more about the project here timredfern.blogspot.co.uk and contac Tim Redfern April 2014
terally
F***ed!!! A one man show about the state we’re
to start. I fell into performing in drag 10 years ago. and museums, to hosting a weekly, frenetic Bingo Show at
y thought about how to make the transition to solo, straight
ed me to create
my first solo showcase as Tim
e about the process of creative writing as well as how to tell
April at 2pm and at The Marlborough Theatre in Brighton
ior to taking the work on tour.
ct me at weareliterally@gmail.com
What’s On?
Residencies / MAs: SPEAP / Sciences Po Paris Programme of experimentation in arts and politics France http://blogs.sciences-po.fr/speap/ Wildfjords Artist Residency Iceland http://www.wildfjords.com/wildfjords-artist-residency/ The Tate St Ives Artists Programme England http://www.tate.org.uk
Hangar AAVC - Associació d’Artistes Visuals de Catalunya Spain http://www.hangar.org
Arcus Project Ibaraki Japan http://www.arcus-project.com
V2_ Institute for the Unstable Media Netherlands http://www.V2.nl
Objectifs Centre for Photography and Filmmaking Singapore http://www.objectifs.com.sg
Global Exchange Center China http://global-chinaprinting.com/vap.html
Dutch Art Institute Netherlands http://dutchartinstitute.eu/
Exhibitions
United Visual Artists 18 April - 22 June (free) Towner Gallery, Eastbourne
Edge of the Seat: The Artist’s Chair 14 March – 14 June 2014 Large glass, London
Near Dark 8 February - 4 May 2014 (free) Towner Gallery, Eastbourne
Chris Marker Until June 22 Whitechapel Gallery, London
I Cheer A Dead Man’s Sweetheart 21 painters in Britain De La Warr Pavillion, St Leonards
Pangaea: New Art from Africa and Latin America Saatchi Gallery, London
Anna Blessmann and Peter Saville SWING PROJECT 3 16th May - 28th June 2014 Cabinet Gallery, London
Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2014 Photographers’ Gallery, London
Get involved! To get in touch with us about anything: We are always open to submissions for the newsletter and our gallery space, based in The School Creative Centre in Rye, East Sussex is always open for proposals: If you would like to put anything in our listings: If you want us to put your artwork in the newsletter: If you just want someone to chat to: Email:
48Eight@gmail.com
48:Eight Gallery part of:
New Road, Rye, East Sussex, TN31 7LS info@theschoolcreativecentre.co.uk 01797 229 797