Purchase Prize Winner at the Nottingham Castle Open 2015

Paintings Guise, Façade, Creature and Mirror from the Fold/Unfold series on Friday 6th November were selected for the Nottingham Castle Open 2015 Purchase Prize! 

Congratulations to all the other winners of the competition. You can find out more about them and information about the prize here: Nottingham Castle Open Website

The winning paintings are from a new series of works that incorporates a simple paper folded form. Focusing on how a folded shape can be transfigured at speed from a temporary structure (three dimensional) into a flat two dimensional space. Each form can be squashed again, folded, opened, reconfigured and recorded. Coloured patterned tessellations that are on the surface of the paper suggest other spaces, angles and areas of illusion. I am interested in how the marked painted surface can be perceived as a spatial element and how this can interact with figures that are situated in the foreground of a painting. 

Installation photographs and images from the award ceremony are featured below.

Paintings from left to right- Façade, Mirror, Creature and Guise

Guise, 2015, gouache on card, 22 x 16 cm. Photograph: John Hartley

Installation photograph: John Hartley

Nottingham Castle Open Prize Giving Ceremony 2015  
Photograph: Anthony Hopwood

Nottingham Castle Open Prize Giving Ceremony 2015  
Photograph: Anthony Hopwood

Nottingham Castle Open Prize Giving Ceremony 2015, The Prize Winners 
Photograph: Anthony Hopwood

Nottingham Castle Open 2015

Four paintings from the Unfold/Fold series have been selected for this year’s NOTTINGHAM CASTLE OPEN 2015. The selected paintings will be showcased at Nottingham Castle in Nottingham. The closing party and prize giving ceremony is going to be held on Friday 6th November 2015.

SELECTED BY DEB COVELL, ROBERT DINGLE, KERRY HARKER & BEN WOODESON

The exhibition is always a ‘visual feast’ that demonstrates current artistic practices from the widest possible range of work made over the past 12 months, and as such, the Nottingham Castle Open is a valuable and respected vehicle for the region’s emerging and established artists.

SELECTED ARTISTS 2015:

Louisa Chambers | John Cheall | Richard Devereux | Garry Doherty | Juliet Fleming Antony Fletcher | Rob Flint | Alice Gale-Feeny | Mark Houghton | Jed Hoyland |Thomas Kilby | Chi Lam | Matthieu Leger | Holger Martin | Alison Ballard & Martin Lewis | Daisy Milburn | Craig David Parr | Leon Sadler Richard Sandell | Alexandra Searle | Joseph Shaw | Céline Siani Djiakoua | Ju Smith Debra Swann | Michael Tharian | Rose Walsh | Hannah Whitlow | Grace Alexandra Williams | Chris Wright |

Façade, 2015, gouache on card, 22 x 16 cm

Creature II, 2015, gouache on card, 22 x 16 cm

Guise, 2015, gouache on card, 22 x 16 cm

Mirror, 2015, gouache on card, 22 x 16 cm

SECRET POSTCARD, Fold Gallery, London

I have a couple of anonymous postcards in this exhibition at Fold Gallery London in conjunction with Artbox London. All proceeds go towards Artbox London who support artists with learning difficulties.

In an exciting collaboration artists with learning disabilities from across London and professional artists will come together to exhibit their work at FOLD gallery in Fitzrovia.

Artwork will be available to buy from £35 and proceeds will go towards developing and growing the work of Artbox London.

This will be the biggest exhibition Artbox has held and will provide the opportunity to meet the artists, see a huge range of diverse artwork and buy an original piece at an affordable price.

The exhibition runs between 20th-27th August at FOLD gallery, 158 New Cavendish Street, London, W1W 6YW

Private View: Thursday 20th August 6-9pm

Open from: Friday 21st to Thursday 27th August : 3:00 – 6:00pm

Closing Night: 27th August 6-9pm                       

Please see Artbox London’s website for more details here

Geometry: Wonky and Otherwise, Déda, Derby

Interlocking Pattern, 2015, acrylic and oil on linen, 50 x 45 cm

Thursday 3^rd September – Monday 9^th November 2015

Opening launch Thursday 10^th September

Andrew Bracey

Louisa Chambers

Lucy Cox

Terry Greene

Sarah R Key

David Manley

Andrew Parkinson

Richard Perry

Marion Piper

In this exhibition eight artists show how geometric shapes still inform and delight modern painters and create vibrant works that suggest that one hundred years on from its start abstraction is alive and kicking.  The title gives a clue to the selection; whilst some of the paintings are pin sharp and disciplined others play fast and loose with the shapes.  Others across the UK join artists from Derby & Nottingham in a selection of both emerging and established names in a lively survey of what abstract painters are up to nowadays.

Déda

19 Chapel Street

Derby

DE1 3GU

Three Sides

I recently had the opportunity to experiment with making a series of short animations or ‘moving paintings’ during the Summer Lodge 2015 at Nottingham Trent University. The starting point was a repeated, red and white triangular-patterned, found piece of wrapping paper that I had intentionally folded. This idea derives from the folded, paper forms that I have been reconfiguring, observing and recording them through the mediums of painting and drawing. I am interested in the patterned and coloured surface on these forms but also the in between spaces - the shadows that are cast suggesting other areas of illusion.

I created five short animations and I see them as separate pieces almost as individual moving paintings. The overall title of the series is ‘Three Sides’ referring to the red and white triangular motif that is depicted on the patterned wrapping paper. The triangle is a simple geometric shape but equally it is one of the most important figures in mathematical theory which we frequently encounter throughout our daily life.

For more information about Summer Lodge at Nottingham Trent University visit the website here.

Image of the animations in process, Nottingham Trent University

 Image of the animations in process, Nottingham Trent University

Composition emphasising shapes, texture, folded fabric, patterns and colour

Ghost Shape

Layer I

Layer with Gingham Fabric

Triangles on Zigzag

Fold/Unfold

System II- Fold, 2015, gouache on card, 22 x 16 cm

Façade, 2015, gouache on card, 22 x 16 cm

Exterior, 2015, gouache on card, 22 x 16 cm

Creature, 2015, gouache on card, 22 x 16 cm

Creature II, 2015, gouache on card, 22 x 16 cm

Mirror, 2015, gouache on card, 22 x 16 cm

Pincers, 2015, gouache on card, 22 x 16 cm

Guise, 2015, gouache on card, 22 x 16 cm

Reveal, 2015, gouache on card, 22 x 16 cm

Since the beginning of the year I have been developing a new series of works that incorporates a simple paper folded form. Focusing on how a folded shape can be transfigured at speed from a temporary structure (three dimensional) into a flat two dimensional space (painting and drawing). Each form can be squashed again, folded, opened, reconfigured and recorded. Coloured patterned tessellations that are on the surface of the paper suggest other spaces, angles and areas of illusion. I am interested in how the marked painted surface can be perceived as a spatial element and how this can interact with figures that are situated in the foreground in a painting.

Creekside Open 2015 selected by Richard Deacon

One of my small gouache paintings- Façade was selected for the Creekside Open 2015 by Richard Deacon at APT Gallery, London. See the images below of installation views from the competition and you can see more here on my Flickr page

For more information about the competition please visit the Creekside Open website

Façade painting selected by Richard Deacon

Installation view of Creekside Open 2015

Autocatalytic Future Games curated by Playpaint

I selected my painting Up to be included in a group painting exhibition organised by the collaborative Playpaint at no format, London in June 2015. See below for a couple of installation views of the show and I have more images on my Flickr page.

For more information about the exhibition visit here: http://autocatalyticfuturegames.co.uk/

Up by Louisa Chambers and Smiley II by Sarah Poots

Autocatalytic Future Games curated by Playpaint, no format Gallery, London

Autocatalytic Future Games curated by Playpaint, no format Gallery, London

Autocatalytic Future Games curated by Playpaint, no format Gallery, London

Paravent Crates- Summer Fayre at Primary, Nottingham

Summer Fayre at Primary
Saturday 23 May, 12:00–23:00
Free Entry

The Primary Summer Fayre is an all afternoon and evening extravaganza of creative delights, great local food, crafts and activities to raise vital funds for Primary.

Some of my paintings are featured and for sale at Paravent in the Summer Fayre at Primary in Nottingham on Saturday 23^rd May 2015. The exhibition has been curated by artist Craig Fisher and Niki Russell from Primary. See images below of the exhibition and more on my Flickr page.

Read more about Paravent space here

Installation View: Paravent Crates, Summer Fayre, Primary 

Installation View: Craig Fisher, Yelena Popova, Liam Aitken 

Derek Sprawson, Louisa Chambers, Emily Speed

Craig Fisher

Debra Swann, Liam Aitkin, Louisa Chambers

Derek Sprawson, Louisa Chambers, Yelena Popova

Stand In and In Miniature

See below for images from Stand In and In Miniature which is currently showing at the Small Collections Room, Nottingham Contemporary until 31^st May 2015.

You can see more images from the show on my Flickr page.

"Nottingham based artists Craig Fisher and Debra Swann present their work in three cabinets of the Small Collections Room. The exhibition explores their interest in ideas of representation.

In the fourth cabinet Fisher curates a group exhibition In Miniature as part of Fisher’s ongoing curatorial project, Mrs Rick’s Cupboard at Primary. Contemporary artists are asked to develop artworks to be presented within the unconventional gallery setting – a walk in cupboard.

Exhibiting artists: Roy Brown, Louisa Chambers, Laura McCafferty, David Ersser, Lynn Fulton, Kit Poulson, Derek Sprawson, Emma Talbot and Paul Westcombe"

Stand In + In Miniature, Small Collections Room

Installation View Small Collections Room- Craig Fisher + Debra Swann

Stand In- Debra Swann

Stand In- Craig Fisher

Stand In- Craig Fisher

In Miniature- Lynn Fulton, Emma Talbot + Derek Sprawson

In Miniature- Lynn Fulton

In Miniature- Louisa Chambers

In Miniature- Laura McCafferty + David Ersser