Press Release 25 | 01 | 24
The Shape of Now
Artistic expressions in dot, line, circle and simplicity of form
23rd March to 18th May 2024
Yellow Dot, 2020, oil on canvas | Helen Booth
Opening for spring 2024 and on show until mid-May, Velarde presentsThe Shape of Now, an exhibition of calm and contemplative works in paint, wood, plaster and clay that express ideas through dot, line, circle and simplicity of form.
ArtistHelen Boothstudied Fine Art Painting at Wimbledon School of Artand in 2019 won thePollock Krasner Foundation Award for Painting. She uses a simple language of dots and muted colour to explore the molecular wonder of the atmospheric world that surrounds us. The silence of snowfall,the atomic structure of frozen water and the subtleties of winter light are all expressed on canvas in alimited palette of whites and repeated, dotted marks which merge space and sensory experience, reminding us of the interconnectedness of ourselves and spatial reality.
Devon basedsculptorJilly Suttontrained at Exeter College of Art and is a Member of the Royal Society of Sculptors. The peaceful location of her studio beside the River Dart is reflected in the serenity of her work, in which she uses simplicity of line and shape to explore the sculptural possibilities of trees, birds, animals and the human form. Using locally fallen or felled timber, she carves, sandblasts and limes her material to enhance the beauty of its natural grain, combining the warmth of wood with pared down forms to celebrate the unique nature of all living things.
CeramicistJane Sheppardlives and works in Somerset and is a Selected Member of the Craft Potters Association.Her work explores shared human experience, reaching back to our ancestors, connecting us with our distant past using ancient methods of working with clay. Through a process of hand coiling, smoke firing and burnishing, she creates forms and vessels that echo our earliest experience of hand shaping the earth, using simple resist techniques to add primitive surface details such as dots and circles.
PainterHannah Luxtongraduated with a Masters degree from the Slade School of Fine Art. Her work explores ideas of Animism, the 19thcentury Romantic concept that attributes living souls to inanimate objects and natural phenomena, and celebrates the spiritual power of nature. Using single pigment oil colours, often grinding her own semi-precious and rare colours such as Malachite and Lapis Lazuli, she works on unprimed linen to signify ideas of a supreme 'nothingness', using simplified shapes, lines and circles to express features of the material universe.
Susan Laughton's background as an architecture technician is reflected in the nature of her painting, which takes flat, structural shapes and an almost mathematical approach to line to create remembered impressions and fleeting glimpses of rural and urban landscapes. She works in acrylic on wood, or canvases primed with plaster, a surface which absorbs layers of paint and allows pigmentation to vary so that objects emerge and recede on the picture plane. Restraint, simplicity of form and an understanding of the spatial potential of line give these works a rare purity and quiet power.
SeeThe Shape of Nowfrom 23rdMarch to 18thMay 2024 at Velarde,86 Fore St, Kingsbridge, Devon TQ7 1PP
www.velarde.co.uk
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Print Ready 300dpi images for press use:
HELEN BOOTH Yellow Dot, 2020, oil on canvas
Editors Notes
Velarde
Opened in July 2023, Velarde is a contemporary Fine Art and Craft gallery in the heart of Kingsbridge, South Devon. The building includes a 1,400 square foot exhibition space, a sculpture garden, and two boutique apartments.Velarde aims to bring the very best in British and International contemporary art to Devon, giving collectors the opportunity to connect with emerging new talent, as well as established artists and makers. With a focus on quality, diversity of practice and creative innovation, Velarde's year-round programme of exhibitions brings exceptional painting, sculpture, photography and contemporary craft to the heart of the Southwest.
For further information contact Velarde, 86 Fore Street, Kingsbridge, Devon, TQ7 1PP and see www.velarde.co.uk
For further press information, interviews or additional images contact Mercedes Smith at Fine Art Communications director@fineartcommunications.co.uk | Tel 07825 270235 | www.fineartcommunications.co.uk
