Press Release
04 | 05 | 23
Hebridean Artist Rebecca Styles'
Summer Residency at Cape Cornwall
Collection to be exhibited at Whitewater Contemporary
Rebecca Styles at her studio on the Isle of Lewis, 2022
This August, landscape painter Rebecca Styles will take up a residency at Brisons Veor, Cape Cornwall, creating a unique collection of work to be exhibited at Whitewater Contemporary this September.
Rebecca's art practice has, until now, been concentrated on the dramatic landscape of the Isle of Lewis at the remote northwest edge of Scotland, where she lives and works. Over the last two years, thisspectacular location has inspired a series of collections which have been exhibited in locations across the Hebrides: now, this summer residency at the opposite end of the British Isles offers her the opportunity to make work in response to the equally dramatic landscape of West Cornwall.
Rebecca says:"Here in Scotland, my home and studio stand beside the Atlantic at the furthest edge of Europe. As an artist, I have an interest in the way the coast and the tempestuous weather systems of the Outer Hebrides have shaped and carved the land here.As islanders, we are servants to the environment, always in battle with, and in awe of, the power of the elements and the ways in which they force communities to build lifestyles that allow them to thrive in adversity. These islands are unique in many ways, but my passion for making art comes from observing the constant shift and shaping of the landscape, so the opportunity to make work at Cape Cornwall - to consider the formation of its coast, its colours and its topography, and the way the southwesterly weather effects the landscape there, will extend my ongoing body of work. As a contemporary landscape painter, I am always looking to develop my practice by engaging with new locations and themes. My commitment to the residency at Brisons Veor stems from my love of coastal investigation, of change, and of difference, so during my time at the southwest tip of Cornwall I will be reflecting on my impressions of the land and seascape there, in contrast to that of the Hebridean climate".
Rebecca Styles was born in West Yorkshire.She is a recipient of a Visual Artist and Craft Makers (VACMA) Award, and a Creative Scotland Artist Bursary for her work involving local raw pigments and traditional paint making. Her collections are inspired by ideas of ‘place', with an emphasis on creating landscape with landscape - using earth pigments, grit, charcoal and other materials with her oil paints. Previous exhibitions have included her spring 2022Bigger Than Usexhibition at Grinneabhat Gallery, and site-specificAlchemyexhibition at Baile na Cille Church, Uig on the Isle of Lewis last summer. Her most recent project, an exhibition of 26 paintings resulting from a self-directed residency that began in 2020, titledFinding Lewis, was exhibited at Talla Na Mara Arts Centre,Niseaboist,last winter.
Rebecca Styles will be in residence at Brisons Veor, Cape Cornwall from 29thJuly to 11thAugust, and the resulting collection will be exhibited from26thAugust to 27thSeptember 2023 at Whitewater Contemporary, Polzeath, Cornwall PL27 6SR. For further information see rebeccastyles.co.uk and whitewatercontemporary.co.uk
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Print Ready 300dpi images for press use:
Artist Rebecca Styles in her studio
Rebecca Styles sketchbooks
Editors Notes
REBECCA STYLES
Rebecca Styles was born in West Yorkshire. She is a recipient of a Visual Artist and Craft Makers (VACMA) Award, and a Creative Scotland Artist Bursary for her work involving local raw pigments and traditional paint making. She studied at Bradford College of Art, and later Somerset College of Art &Technology and Falmouth College of Art. She has spent several years travelling and painting the landscape in some of the UKs most beautiful locations, including the Isles of Scilly, West Cornwall, Devon, and then, on her narrowboat ‘Puck', the beautiful rural counties of Gloucestershire and Derbyshire. In spring 2019, drawn by memories of her childhood holidays on the Isle of Arran, she began searching for a permanent home in the Outer Hebrides, acquiring a plot on the beautiful Isle of Lewis where she has built her house and studio.
For further press information or additional images contact Mercedes Smith at Fine Art Communications director@fineartcommunications.co.uk | Tel 07825 270235 | www.fineartcommunications.co.uk
