Wilderness Art Talk with Graham Crowley!

Gosh what a week or two! Got four new paintings finally finished on the day before the opening. The Core Gallery launch had taken up more than a chunk of my life so everything else has been shunted- to be expected. Then just as things looked a bit more normalised and I could start making headway on masses of paperwork the curator we had for the artist talk this saturday had to pull out to deal with family emergencies.

Several frantic phone calls later Graham Crowley managed to save the day, stepping into the helm and he shall be chairing our discussion about Wilderness. I am so very excited to have him chair the talk, it will be fantastic!


Also, we had our first gallery intern Emily Chan joined us who will be taking over some of the Core Gallery work for us. A double blessing week!

Invitation to :

Wilderness

rosalind davis, enver gursev & neil kelly

Saturday 29th May 2010, 2pm onwards

Artists in Dialogue with Graham Crowley

Graham Crowley one of the most distinguished living painters in the UK shall be in conversation with Wilderness Artists: Rosalind Davis, Enver Gürsev and Neil Kelly

Please rsvp coregalleryinfo@gmail.com to reserve a space as places are limited

Wilderness is an exhibition by three of London's most promising emerging artists exploring the idea of wilderness through painting, drawing and installation.

Davis, Gursev & Kelly’s works each interpret notions of seemingly abandoned spaces. The results depict urban and dystopian scenes, as if in the wake of apocalypse.


Graham will discuss and explore with the artists the concepts in their works, their notions of Wilderness as well as their own varied and fascinating careers so far in the Wilderness of the Art World!


Wilderness is a show not to be missed, with new works on display from each of the artists.


About Graham Crowley
Graham Crowley is one of the most distinguished living painters in the UK today
Born in 1950, Graham Crowley studied at St. Martin’s School of Art London 1968-72 and Royal College of Art London 1972-75, and has held significant teaching posts including Professor of Painting at the RCA (1998-2006)


His paintings span a vast variance in style from the approprationist art of the 70s to his brilliantly luminous landscapes of the present day, tracking a fundamental narrative with political, cultural and personal histories within them.


Crowley was a judge on the 25 John Moores panel in 2008. As an applicant he has exhibited eight times, winning prizes in 1987 and 2006.

www.deptfordartmap.com/core-gallery

coregalleryinfo@gmail.com

Core Gallery C101 Faircharm Trading Estate, 8-12 Creekside, Deptford, London SE8 3DX

A review of my solo show: A Difference in Vision

As I frantically finsh paintings for my upcoming group show at Wilderness in Core Gallery , a lovely review for my current solo show has arrived! Hussah!

http://poptartlondon.com/2010/05/10/a-difference-in-vision/
Check it out on :
http://poptartlondon.com/2010/05/10/a-difference-in-vision/

Pop T'art London
I first noticed Rosalind Davis‘ mixed media paintings last year at the Deptford X art festival. I was drawn by the vibrant colours and clever use of fabric to create collage pieces which she then paints and embroiders over.
So it was a real pleasure to be shown round her new solo show A Difference in Vision by Rosalind herself at Bloww gallery off Regent Street recently.
The above piece, from which the show takes its title, is oil and embroidery on vintage print cotton sateen. It depicts the huge Robin Hood estate in Poplar, East London which was designed in the 1960s and condemned in the 2000s (much to the dismay of many leading architects campaigning to preserve it as a modernist masterpiece).
What I really like about Rosalind’s work is the surprising contrast between her subject matter of brutalist architecture with the materials she employs to depict them – florid fabric and delicate hand stitching – to create otherworldly, surreal pieces. “I enjoy mark making with embroidery,” says Rosalind. “It’s more controlled and emphasises the fragility of our buildings and of our own existence.”

Rosalind meticulously researches the buildings she paints by photographing them and talking to their residents where possible (many of the buildings are derelict).

This one above called 26 Remain refers to the 26 remaining families in the Ferriers estate in Kidbrooke, Greenwich.

While you may recognise Elephant and Castle’s famously dilapidated, and soon to be demolished, shopping centre in this piece, Belong Nowhere.
It can take Rosalind between one to four months to execute a piece. Often sourcing the fabric becomes a mission in itself as she likes to incorporate material which reference the period of the buildings’ construction.

Her work highlights the breakdown of social housing, community and the overall failings of modernity. And it certainly lives up to this show’s title. I really like Rosalind’s unusual, thorough and intricate approach which gives layers of meaning to each picture. Go see!
A Difference in Vision runs until 9pm, this Saturday 15th May. After that you can see new and existing work from Rosalind Davis (and two other artists) at a new exhibition Wilderness which runs at Core Gallery in Deptford from Saturday 22nd May.

The end of the Race !

My my my !What a couple of weeks! My head aches…..!

The race for ideas workshop was indeed a race- a half term festival of learning and it went very well. I organised 10 primary school children to visit between them, 9 museums in 2.5 days in Central London, organised workshops or tours where possible in the venues and pointed them towards objects that would reference the Olympic values ( friendship, courage, equality, inspiration, excellence, determination and respect) with the help of these many venues’ cooperation. Facilitated and co-managed by the marvellous Sophie from Camden Council and Sian from London Transport Museum who not only created this amazing project but helped and advised on my coordination but took the kids around these venues, bought wickedly lovely cakes when much needed and so much more!

The students learnt what a Sarcophagus was ( and indeed how to spell it) from Sir John Soane’s Museums, were inspired by Dr Johnson- who spent 9 years pennilessly compiling the English Dictionary, were awed by the tree of life in the British Museum and painted to music in the October gallery amongst other activities! With me onsite at school the kids came back inspired, where I had created a system of symbols for the values and we created flags, maps, sculptures, drawings and treasure boxes.

A member of the Olympic committee who visited on the Friday seemed super impressed by the activities. Maybe I can sell them my symbols system…….some of that arts council funding that has been cut could be put towards it methinks. ….?

On the Core Gallery side of things Helen, Elizabeth and Gillian have been whipping up a fabulous gallery mission statement. Plus I attended my first Deptford Art map meeting- very exciting! Talking to all the other galleries who seem really excited by cor blimey studio’s development into a gallery and I am looking forward to more dialogue with them. It really is a community and such a thriving and ambitious art area! I can’t wait until we launch in April, (although so much to do! )…oh and we have some free studio space if you are interested in joining us in Deptford……contact us at www.corblimeyarts.com for a lookie….

On the art side of things, my solo shows: A Difference in Vision and Belong ( one in Regents Place, London and one in Bedford College are both up. Please check www.rosalinddavis.co.uk for more details of dates, times etc. The private view for A Difference in Vision has unfortunately been moved 3 times to mid march due to unforeseen circumstances, which has been a bit messy for my invitations but sure it will be great!
This week I am going to get back to some serious painting (ah bliss!) and more meetings! One of which is for a group show at Core Gallery that I shall be in with artists Enver Gursev and Neil Kelly called Wilderness to open in May…….

A review of I am Yours. My solo show at Julian Hartnoll Gallery

I am afraid I am empty of words right now..so here is a review of my show at Julian Hartnoll Gallery by a spectacular artist Enver Gursev, who kindly sent me this after seeing the exhibition:

' “I Am Yours” by Rosalind Davis consists of a series of small paintings on patterned textiles, which are embellished with delicate stitching.

The subject is consistent; deserted landscapes mostly urban, with buildings sitting majestically under floral skies. The impeccable stitching sitting on and in between the forms, evokes sensations of desperate care, as one might feel for a dying relative. It is almost as if by carefully underpinning the abandoned scenery, Davis is trying to rescue the memories they are imbued with from impending demise. The work exudes a quiet sympathy for these places and the people that once inhabited them.

Among the many works, ‘I Am Yours’ and ‘Thawing’ depict intricate yet disconcerting fairground environments. ‘I Give to Thee’ and ‘Belong to Someone’ are beautifully worked compositions, teetering on the edge of abstraction. ‘Belong to Something’, dwells on the grim landscape of the Kidbrooke Estate in South East London.

Visually vibrant and intellectually moving, this show shines massively in the tiny confines of the charming Julian Hartnoll gallery. '

Unveiled!

The opening night was quite an event. Enver Gursev, an artist at our studios is a musician as well as an artist and he organised some great music and a performance piece. Two ladies, Luci Boccino and Denise Heinrich-lane http://www.myspace.com/ledonnedonnedonne did some beautiful abstract poetic performance art piece! It was brilliant and mad and created a great buzz. It emphasised the need to have something maybe apart from the 2d and 3d art happening in the main of the gallery on our private views to draw people in.……

The exhibition was pretty well attended – Cockpit arts had their open weekend and we were getting a lot of their audience popping in. Leyla was drawing them in off the streets, amazing lady! Despite numerous signage and leafleting and having listings on loads of websites, blogs, local newspapers it was a little quiet- although 200 people came so that is brilliant! ……..the gallery ideas were gathering momentum over the weekend too.

Quite a few pieces from our Fraction auction wall sold. Not enough as I would have liked. In fact I have ended up buying two pieces myself - i would buy a lot more if I could! I feel rather responsible that not everyone sold as as we set people the task. However I do know that they also enjoyed the task being set and we are now thinking how to sell them- a facebook page? A January auction…A corblimey art shop?

However, we still need to get more publicity for the studios somehow……so the good thing is that Greg Tallent from London Fringe came in to visit us about doing something as a collective in August. In a few minutes, Neil, Enver and I envisaged A Cor blimey boat, from Greenwich to central london, with flaming Japanese lanterns being thrown off it some kind of performance/ art thing going on, All sounds very fun and exciting….( Greg loves the name of our studios, ‘so London! ’He said. Harrumph say I…..scuppered )

After the exhibition finished we had a studio meeting to discuss the future and Core Gallery was unveiled ! Hurrah! People seemed interested and there will be some kind of gallery committee of us that will formalise and structure things and I guess start creating a programme of events. Neil mentioned the Chapman brothers may come and do something and I know a few guest curators I would like to get involved……Elizabeth is going to approach the curating dept at Goldsmiths….and maybe more stuff with the galleries and other studios in the area….exciting stuff.

Now, I have to read a lot of blogs…..I am to choose one this month as a guest editor on A-N….how terrifying and fun!
we are part of something…..