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Loughboroughs Artspace Charnwood Museum Exhibition

Posted on 13/03/2008
J. Milton

Loughborough’s thriving artists’ group ArtSpace are back with their 9th show at the Charnwood Museum. 14 artists including painters, printmakers, sculptors, and ceramicists will be presenting an exhibition called ‘ArtSpace in Miniature’ from Thursday 13th March to Sunday 20th April.

ArtSpace is now into its eleventh year, having been formed in 1997 to encourage the development of artists’ careers through networking, skill sharing and making high quality contemporary artwork available to the community. The group exhibit contemporary work individually and in small groups all over the country, but come together several times a year to exhibit as a larger group.

‘ArtSpace in Miniature’ has provided a new challenge. Familiar with working on a far larger scale, the artists have presented their ideas under strict size limitations, with no work being larger than A5. In some cases, the restricted dimensions have encouraged experimentation and there is evidence of new personal avenues being explored, resulting in an original, stimulating and diverse collection of works.

Sally Reayer is exhibiting a series of jewel-like multi-media studies inspired by beechwood. The paintings, rich in colour and texture, capture the mood and atmosphere of woodland at different times of day. The small studies have been produced using an interesting list of materials including filler, sand, and sawdust overdrawn with acrylics, inks and oil pastels. Also experimenting, but this time with watercolours, salt and bleach, Jo Sheppard offers bright textural studies of the built environment. Also working in watercolour, Erica Middleton exhibits a range of winter views of the River Soar from the interior of a narrow boat, including the floods.

Using a combination of both modern computer and more traditional mixed media techniques, Michael Beal has represented places through the physical network created by people, using only the shapes of roads, railways and canals. His aim is for the viewer to consider these shapes in relation to the key supports for the economy, the eras depicted being the 1800s, 1900s, and the present day.

People are integral to the work produced by the artist Mary Austin who explores the interaction between people in her series of printed portraits. Using the monoprint technique, her well executed black and white studies are thought provoking and evocative. Other monochrome work produced by Philip Ayriss explores the relationship between nature and machines. His dramatic pen and ink drawings of decaying cars illustrate how man made objects can be reclaimed by nature and become part of their surrounding environment. Mary Byrne’s work reflects upon the environment of her youth, Blackpool.

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Drawing upon her memories of the Miss Blackpool Bathing Beauty competition during its heyday period, Byrne has produced three figurative mixed media works exploring the eccentricity of the competition. 

Nita Rao has produced her works using a limited blue palette. Rapidly painting the canvas using random marks and waiting for the imagery to emerge has allowed her unconscious to become an integral part of the work. Rao will also be offering miniature 3D works along with an interesting selection of other sculptural and relief pieces, including the stunning painted textural abstracts of Chris English and the bead and wire work of Sue Clews. Made from recycled electrical wire and beads, and created using a variety of techniques including wire wrapping, beading and sewing, Clews’s hand-constructed designs include ‘woven’ wire boxes and more sculptural pieces. Also exhibiting are the artists Susan West (known for her digital abstractions), Sally Chisholm, Judith Eason, Helen Ward, and photographer Tony Thory.

All in all, ‘ArtSpace in Miniature’ provides an insight into the quality and breadth of contemporary art being produced in the Charnwood area today. The scale of the works naturally draws you in for closer inspection. Once they have your attention, you see how working within the size constraints, the artists have produced an exciting combination of two and three dimensional work. Later in the year, the group will hang a follow on show called ‘ArtSpace, the Bigger Picture’, developing ideas from this exhibition, producing work on a much grander scale. Watch this space!

‘ArtSpace in Miniature’ exhibition. Charnwood Museum, Granby Street, Loughborough Thursday 13th March to Sunday 20th April. 10.00am - 4.00pm Mon to Sat. Sundays in March 1.00pm- 4.00pm and April 2.00 to 5.00pm). Free admittance.