Sonia Stanyard's paintings of cabins evoke a sense of the traditional forest hideaway. Refuge. Cabins have been our shelters at the frontier of nature for centuries all over the world and not least for the pioneers of North America. 

Ellen Glasgow, A Pulitzer-Prize winning author, friendly with Thomas Hardy was one of the first naturalist writers. In 1935, Vein of Iron was published to great acclaim, though now out-of-print and much of the description reminds me of the feeling captured in Stanyards paintings. 

Within a screen of yellow sycamores, she saw the cabin beside a tiny stream, as bright as quicksilver, which darted over bare rock. Around them, the wilderness closed in, murmurous, myriad-coloured, inscrutable. Above the wilderness and the violet-blue rim of the mountains, the autumn sunset was throbbing...

The wind dropped and died in the valleys; the light thinned and paled over the mountains; the rustling of the leaves, like the stealthy patter of bare feet, sank from a murmur to a sigh and from a sigh into stillness. Only the small hidden lives, the creeping furry shapes, within and without the forest-only the scurrying of mice, the burrowing of moles, the shuffling of toads, the scampering of ground squirrels - had inherited the twilight. With the fainting wind, all the wild earthy scents grew stronger and closer.

We are delighted to be showing Stanyard's work in a number of forthcoming exhibitions as part of the Nature as Mind;Mind as Nature series follwing her solo show in Italy in the Spring..

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An empty gallery space in the East End. A blank canvas. I am currently planning a series of exhibitions this year on the theme of Nature as Mind;Mind as Nature, one of which will be a gallery exhibition in Redchurch Street, London E2. With the wave of new discoveries in all branches of science – particularly in particle physics this year with the experiments at the CERN institute to discover the Higgs-Boson particle coming to a conclusion – it feels the right time to allow this to become the main focus for the gallery. These scientific discoveries are revealing an infinitely more complex web of connections and interdependence, a world where we are inextricably linked into the texture of nature and the universe – the circle of life.

There is nothing in nature that is not in us – Naum Gabo

 

Inspired by my son's art homework for the summer I decided to do a project with my Iphone of taking photographs of shapes in the environment that resembled letters from the alphabet. Not only was it fun, it helped me to look at my surroundings in a new way. It's a project that would be suitable for any age group and any nationality. Here were are from a - z...

 

A trip to Cornwall is hardly complete without a trip to Tate St Ives, a thought clearly shared by many judging by the number of people queuing there last week. The Guardian's Deborah Orr must also have been having written a scathing report of the gallery and its Summer Exhibition, how it suffered from a "lack of ambition" with regards to some of the interactive art specifically designed to engage audiences of any age and artistic inclination. She added that "nothing inspired awe or even wonder at the capabilities of human talent." In this sentence she dismissed the work of Agnes Martin, Lucio Fontana, Margaret Mellis and Naum Gabo whose work can hardly be called "non-nourishing, snack-food art"!

I found the work of Naum Gabo quote extraordinary that day, assisted by the copious drawings and the artworks on display. These works were made at a very austere time in Britain during the dark days of the war in the early 1940s. Gabo was keen to explore and experiment with the latest materials - acrylic and nylon which in itself I found inspiring given the times. His work demonstrated to me that Gabo was really trying to make sense of the chaos and horror he must have expreienced and witnessed first hand on his journey as a Russian-Jew from Moscow after the revolution to Berlin and Germany, to Paris, to London, St Ives and finally to the US in 1946. The 'spheric theme' he returned to again and again during his lifetime and made several drawing s and prortypes during his stay in St ives and are featured in the exhibition.

The sense I had looking at these works was how how they were so strongly connected with a sense of movement and rhythm powered by a central axis very much like the wing movement of a butterfly or a bee flying. I went away wondering about the sense of symmetry, balance and poise that Gabo was trying to achieve whilst thinking in a 3 dimensional way. This search must have reflected his own philosophical view of man, nature, civilisation and the universe. Whatever was intended this is what I went away thinking about as I left the exhibition - food for thought.

For more images and information on Naum gabo's work visit the Tate and the website where a huge archive of Gabo's work is being prepared. Don't miss the charming film featuring Nina Williams, Gabo's daughter and "The Constructivist Ballet" created for her amusement as a toy during the war years.

If you find yourself visiting Eastbourne in the coming weeks make sure you make a visit to a stunning exhibition of works at the Towner gallery on until 25th September. Around 100 works make up the exhibition, many having been lent to the gallery from Private Collections and being seen in public for the first time. Included are paintings, photography, sketchbooks, printing and designs for stage sets and costumes for Glyndebourne. John Piper spent much of his time being inspired by the landscape in Sussex and Kent and made regular visits. His explorations in landscape and painting going into and out of abstraction can be seen here and included are some wonderful collages using gouache, ink, cut paper and newsprint. My favourites from this period in the 1930s are here include works inspired by Seaford Head and Newhaven. 

 

Piper made ends meet by being a journalist and some of these works include articles written in The Listener and The New Statesman.  The articles included in the collages refer to the political and economic situation at the time and it has been suggested by Matthew Gale that anxiety in Britain regarding the actions of the new Chancellor in Germany appointed in 1933 and the potential threat of an invasion may have inspired Piper to use these articles in his works where the coastline may have appeared vulnerable. 

Simultaneously at the Towner is an exhibition of contemporary sculpture, Compulsive, Obsessive, Repetitive until 18th September. Included is a specially commissioned sculpture made out of sugar cubes by Brendan Jamison, the largest work of this kind in the world! It is stunning and you can almost taste the sweetness as you look on. Other sculptures include Jill Townsley's till rolls and a stunning wall of salmon fish scales on metal plates by Elpida Hadzi-Vasileva. Maybe one of these artists will be invited to fill the Turbine Hall at the Tate one of these days. Thank you Towner!

 

 

At this time of year we focus on the educational aspects of what we do at Four Square Fine Arts. We are currently developing a new sister website which focuses on arts education drawing on initiatives we have incorporated into our programme over the past 3 years which will be ready in August.

Each year, my husband Marco and myself have two Art GCSE students from local schools working with us in June and July. It is clearly not possible for a 15 year-old to sell to clients, plan shows, do accounts, negotiate with suppliers etc. We therefore tailor the work experience around their specific interest in the art world. For my part, asking for their input on creative ideas regarding forthcoming shows; meeting artists in their studios and going to different gallery exhibitions; discussing art with regards to what they respond to visually either through techniques and processes and/or the imagery and talking through what running a gallery involves it gives them real insight into real life. With Marco they get the chance to work alongside a professional artist in his studio working with different mediums, developing ideas for their own work in a practical and non-pressurised way outside the classroom.

Many people I meet commiserate and say “Poor You!” when we mention having the students. Although it would be difficult to work with more than 2 people a year in this focused way Marco and myself get an enormous amount from working with these young adults. Their comments are often really insightful, they can bring new energy to a dilemma and their interest and engagement is a rich and rewarding working experience. 

 

It is always interesting to see what the younger people are up to and the graduate degree shows are always a good place to see a great variety of work in different media and quality of execution. Visiting the show at Brighton this week on the Grand Parade site was no exception. The variety of courses on offer there is immense. I had to ignore the fashion and textile rooms as I simply would not have had enough time to go round the other art spaces.With limited space it was not possible to see evidence of how some of the final works had come to fruition so it was great that many students had got their own websites and blogs ready in time for their show which could be referred to afterwards. The Fine Art Printmaking which was superior, in my view, in terms of the quality of work on show had a handy small catalogue so if business cards had run out it was still possible to get a contact address for a particular artist. 

It was clear that the style of teaching must vary quite radically between different art departments. I was disappointed to see a large number of jargon-filled statements - Matthew Collings would have had a field day -  some of the students seemed to have spent more time on the statement than on developing the basic skills to develop their work. Generally the presentation was good although some of the installations felt a bit cramped. For future reference it is annoying to pick up headphones to listen to a sound installation and find there is no sound and no clear indication how to get it. Equally, if an installation is in an entirely blacked out space and the torch provided has run out of battery it is impossible to look at. With a number of students milling around it would be wise to make sure someone is checking that everything is functioning as it should when the public visit - you never know who may be coming... 

As to my favourites in the show topping the list was Laura White with her beautiful lightbox installations and prints: painter, Grace May Ballantyne - see her image above, Get Me the F*** Out of Here, film-maker Ruben Woodin Dechamps, and printmakers Alison Shurville, Kathryn Maple and Fay Robinson, their images shown below. Their websites and blogs all up and running shows that these guys all take themselves seriously and I am sure all have bright futures ahead of them!

Running an arts organisation requires a huge number of different skills and during the course of a day I often find I have to wear several different hats regardless of having additional roles as a wife, mother, daughter, sister and general human being! To work effectively it is important to be incredibly well organised and planning ahead is esssential - attention to detail is everything. Excellent communication with artists, prospective clients, suppliers, other arts professionals and the general public is top of the agenda in any given day. So I find that I can be more efficient if I chose different locations in which to work. Visiting clients to show art in their homes or offices and meeting artists in their studios and going to exhibitions already makes my job a very mobile one and is certainly one of the most enjoyable aspects of what I do - meeting people in their spaces. The majority of administrative work is done in my office or at home. However, the planning, thinking, deliberating and reflecting takes place in different locations. Armed with a pen, a phone and the all-important notebook I can work anywhere producing pages of ideas and material that either get put into action straight away or in months or years to come. Here are some of the places where I work best...

 

 

I had the pleasure to visit the BABE 2011 Artist's Book Fair last weekend held at the Arnolfini in Bristol. Situated on the waterfront with cafés and bars its is a wonderful location particularly on a warm sunny day. The fair takes place every two years and brings together many of the UK's finest makers of artist books, altered books, book binders and small printing presses as we a modest contingent from abroad.

Organised in conjunction with the Centre for Fine Print Research at the University of the West of England (UWE) stalls filled every available space in the three galleries of the Arnolfini - clearly a significant event for exhibitors and visitors alike. Book Art is a huge artistic endeavour in the US and from what I can gather is slowly gathering interest and momentum here. it is a discipline I feel very drawn to as readers of the blog will know from my first experience of 'having a go', with Carolyn Trant who was exhibiting at BABE. Other highlights included Pauline Lamon Fisher, whose work "Walking a Found Map', 2010, edition of 25, I found particularly engaging and beautifully presented. See photographs of my copy here.

Also Larissa Cox, Sarah at Trigger Editions, Jo Bird at the Bookbinders Collective, several artists had done designs for the wonderful Folio Society. 

Finding myself near Sloane Square recently I noticed this wonderful 'booky' window display at Hackett. We can find inspiration all around us if we only care to look.

 

On a gloriously sunny day on Friday 8th I made my first visit to the Goodwood Sculpture Park near Chichester, West Sussex, UK.The park was the brainchild of Sir Wilfred Cass who after an incredibly successful career as an entrepreneur decided to move to West Sussex, sell off sculptures he and his wife, Jeanette owned, by their friends Henry Moore and Elizabeth Frink and use the money to commission new sculptures by British artists and establish the Cass Foundation. Set in delightful woodland on the Duke of Richmond's estate, the leafy backdrop and verticality of the trees provide a wonderful counterpoint to the extraordinary sculptural forms. This unique environment is both a garden for Wilfred and Jeanette Cass whose house with its glass fronted outlook opens directly onto the park and its vistas across the green fields beyond as well as a huge outdoor gallery space. Indeed we bumped into Wilfred Cass strolling in his 'garden'. The works are rotated, sold and rented out to international galleries and musuems. Works from the park will be shipped off to many of the Olympic venues in London 2012. The aim is cited here as on the website.Through meeting fabrication costs, and other additional costs (including installation and marketing), the Foundation frees artists from the economic constraints that hinder the realisation of their creative ambitions. The Foundation encourages pioneering and experimental works that challenge the creative processes of each artist in order to further their careers and the development of British sculpture.

It would be unusual to respond to every single piece of work in such a large collection but happily there are a huge number of striking pieces and plenty of discussion provoked as to materials, chosen, positioning of the work, what work represented, colour, form and particularly we considered if the evidence of patination, salt from raindrops, bird poo enhanced, influenced or spoilt the beauty of the works we liked and this seem to vary from sculpture to sculpture. There was repetition amongst several artists for which there may be good reason and several of the artists we were expecting to see were not on display - Hepworth, Goldsworthy, Caro, Long, Nash which was disappointing. it is not entirely clear but the inference from the website is that some works have been lent to the recent exhibition of Modern Sculpture at the Royal Academy and its also perfectly possible that others have been lent or sold. However, this meant that we perhaps paid more attention to lesser known names, notably for me: Charlotte Mayer, Douglas White, Diane MacLean, John Isherwood, Gerry Judah, Philip King and Rob Ward. Although I could think of several sculptors not represented and would have liked to have seen more works in natural materials, there is a helpful form to fill in for visitors regarding suggested names.

Opening for the summer season just over a week ago the sculpture park is open until the Autumn. It was almost deserted despite being school holidays. Although this meant that we could enjoy the quiet and the sculptures on their own in the landscape I could not help but feel that it was a shame that there were not more visitors and a lack of expectation of them which was curious. It is not a public space and is in essence a private garden but to become known as a central focus for sculpture in the UK,  I would have thought there would be a need to encourage more visitors from all walks of life. The park is in the middles of the country and there is no food available to buy let alone a tearoom and a very small fridge with a few drinks. Fortunately we had decided to bring a picnic because of the weather but if not it would have been a bit miserable especially with hungry, thirsty, tired kids in tow . Looking at art and having discussion about it can enhance the appetite!  Perhaps provision could be made outside of the grounds somewhere so it did not intrude on the garden.To get round the whole park takes a good 2 hours and we ended up taking 5. All in all it was a throughly enjoyable day out, the location was beautiful, the staff friendly and helpful and all the better for being understated and lacking in the commerciality of other venues.