Close to Nature exhibition at New Brewery Arts
Exhibition 27 May - 10 July
Exhibition Opening Hours:
9am – 5pm Monday – Saturday
10am – 4pm Sunday
ADMISSION FREE
New Brewery Arts
Nature is all around us, but how often do we really look at it in detail? This new exhibition at Brewery Arts invites us to stop and think about the complexity of the earth, our interaction with the landscape and its impact on us.
Close to Nature showcases sculptural work that speaks of a close relationship with nature and landscape or investigates environmental sensitivity. Contemporary artists featured include Adam Buick, Caroline Sharp, Dorothea Reid, Ruth Moilliet, Beth Legg, Catrin Mostyn Jones, Sophie Woodrow, Steve Handley and Celia Smith. The exhibition explores how they connect with nature.
Where some, including Adam Buick and Caroline Sharp, are 'hands on' in that they incorporate natural materials such as clay, rocks and seaweed, wood, wool, even chalk in their work, others use nature as an inspirational starting point. Ruth Moilliet produces metal and glass sculptures inspired by the plant kingdom. Celia Smith draws with wire as others draw with pencil, and her understanding of the movement and character of birds gives her sculptures a feeling of life and energy.
Catrin Mostyn Jones's collection of hand built and press moulded sculptural ceramic forms is inspired by creatures of the sea and images of the human body. Exploring at a microscopic level, she develops vivid combinations of form and colour.
Ethical issues are also put under the microscope. Dorothea Reid can’t imagine a world without marine life so her collections juxtapose trawling nets, salvage and debris with porcelain and bone china to highlight environmental and sustainability concerns. Sophie Woodrow’s work is informed by the spirit of wild curiosity, tinged with fear, of the 'Romantic' vision, where nature is defined in opposition to the manmade world. Sophie looks particularly at our continually shifting theories of evolution, seeking to assemble creatures from notions of what we define as ‘nature’ and ourselves as ‘other’.
Human relationships with landscape come under scrutiny too. Representing the far north coast of Scotland, Beth Legg explores the sense of place through landscape and memory. Her jewellery embodies its bleak remoteness, which can be both beautiful and melancholic. Steve Handley's lifelong preoccupation with landscape inspires his ideas of the constant earth and sky, with fleeting crows representing our own transition through the world.
Close to Nature is showing in the main gallery until 10 July. Admission is free, so make time to stand and stare at beautifully serene pieces and arresting colourful work, and enjoy sculptures that make us think about our world.
