PRESS RELEASE 23 | 03 | 16
Akiko Hirai and Lieke Ritman
with an exclusive collection of
limited edition prints by Lucie Bray
28 May to 2 July
Lucie Bray | Towards the Sea from Halsetown | Limited Edition Print
From Whitweek and throughout June, New
Craftsman Gallery St Ives presents an exhibition of work by internationally
respected ceramicist Akiko Hirai. Following the traditional Japanese method of letting the quality of her materials direct her work,
Hirai creates intriguing, richly surfaced works by veiling the pureness and
tranquility of white clays in a volatile layer of darker clay. Words,
rather than drawings, are the starting point for each piece, and the quiet
shape and bold, textural beauty of her distinctly oriental bowls, plates, bottles,
jars and vasesare enhanced by a subtle array of glazes, from quiet celadon greys,
blacks and whites to muted blues and greens.
Artist Lieke Ritman is of Dutch descent but has lived
and worked in St Ives
for over forty years. Her semi-abstracted works are celebrated for their intuitive
engagement with ‘place’ and this new collection of paintings and prints is
inspired by the land and seascapes of West Cornwall.
St Ives artist Lucie Bray was one of Cornwall’s finest
contemporary ‘plein air’ painters and her practice of working in the outdoors
directly onto board or canvas is part of a long history of painting associated
with Penwith since the turn of the twentieth century.
Her spontaneous, high energy works were inspired by many
hours spent observing, sketching and painting West Cornwall’s turbulently
beautiful coastline and sweeping skies, and the vigorous quality of her mark
marking says much about the unique beauty of this area. This first ever
collection of limited edition prints is exclusive to New Craftsman Gallery, and
includes paintings inspired by the beaches and coastal landscape of St Ives.
This exhibition opens on 28 May and
remains on show until 2 July.
info@newcraftsmanstives.com / www.newcraftsmanstives.com
Fine Art Communications
Mercedes Smith / 07825 270235 / mercedes@fineartcommunications.co.uk
www.fineartcommunications.co.uk
