The Blott Summer Exhibition 2014, which opens on Monday, 2 June at the King Street gallery, features new works from current artists at the Blott Studio and Artist Collective and also features the work of guest artist Keith Murdoch, a Newcastle-based colourist painter.
The artists taking part:
Corrine Streetly is an artist whose work is primarily rooted in the tradition of narrative. The founder of Blott Artist Studios, she graduated from the University of Central Lancashire with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art 1995, later completing a research MA at the same University, focusing her studies on the work of women artists, past and present, their work and ‘place’ both historically and to date within the visual arts. In many ways the thematic development of her work has evolved from her interest in this subject.
Painter David Butterworth is exhibiting his work Great Escape II. He said: “In an attempt to replicate the breathtaking sensation of being outside, I felt it necessary to allocate a large portion of sky to this painting. I chose this particular setting after walking by the river in Great Eccleston at the end of August 2012. The open space of the Wyre flood plain is a therapeutic means of escape as I spend a lot of time in front of a computer screen.”
Photographer Jill Reidy, a regular contributor to altBlackpool, trained as a graphic designer and later turned to teaching. She said: “I find it hard to categorise my work; it changes constantly, depending on where I find myself. I love a stunning view, an interesting angle, moody skies, reflections, rain on pavements, late afternoon sun casting its magical light; and in contrast dingy back streets, old buildings, rubbish, windows with dim lights shining through, anything dark, dirty or slightly seedy; faces, no two the same – endless possibilities for portraits that give us tiny glimpses into others’ lives; above all, I love a picture that tells a story.”
Mark Peatfield started painting and drawing when he was very young and continued up until his teens when, for no particular reason, he stopped. Many years later and following a series of traumatic life events he started painting again. “I express a spectrum of unease and anxiety with colour and with metaphor – a two pronged attack on the problem of communicating what it is like to be human,” he said.
Blackpool-born Laura Havenhand studied at Leeds Metropolitan University where she completed a BA (Hons) in Fine Art in 2009. She is the curator at Blott Artist Collective, Blackpool, alongside her practice as an artist and teacher. Her works, under the title Heroine Addict, are intended to show women as something other than an object. “I am attempting to challenge the idea that women can only be viewed in a oil painting as merely objects, as discussed by Barthes. I am trying to change the role of the ‘painted women’ so that they may become the subject of the piece,” she said.
Guest artist Keith Murdoch is displaying a series of works on MDF panels. “These works are a selection of intimate studies made during an intense three month period of activity. Each was painted in situ and together they serve to document an emotional response to the abundance of colour found throughout spring and summer in the Old English Rose Gardens at Calderstones Park in Liverpool,” he explained.
The Blott 2014 Annual Summer Exhibition is at 53 King St, Blackpool, FY1 3EJ from 2 June to 30 August. Visit the Blott website for opening times.
Show Comments (0)