‘Despite their remoteness, many of the environments I work from are changing rapidly - as an artist I feel a sense of witness as this is happening in my lifetime.' Emma Stibbon RA
Zuleika Gallery, Woodstock, is delighted to present Remote Lands a group exhibition presenting the work of six establisned international contemporary artists, each studying the phenomenal natural beauty of remote and isolated landscapes; from snowy mountains, to valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, explored through their respective work in contemporary painting, printmaking, and ceramics. Artists include: Daniel Crawshaw (b. 1967) , Emma Stibbon RA (b. 1962) , Rebecca Salter RA (b. 1955) , Jo Gorner (b. 1961), Yasushi Yamabe (b. 1958), and Nadine Bell (b. 1961).
British artist Daniel Crawshaw (b. 1967), is a painter intrigued by the fragile potential of mountains and is an obsessive gatherer of material. Walking in the peaks of North Wales, the Pyrenees or Canada, he photographs and distills experiences into emotive paintings that reflect both the beauty and daunting isolation of nature and the elements, in varying scale. Crawshaw says, ‘Through oil paint I hope to articulate lost moments common to us all and relish the possibility of transforming empty scenes into settings for others to occupy’.
Emma Stibbon RA (b. 1962) is a British artist born in Münster, Germany. Drawing is at the heart of Stibbon’s practice and she has travelled widely to some of the world's most isolated regions. Working from sketches and photographic records, Stibbon creates stark, monochrome works on paper that explore the effects of human intervention on natural phenomena and the fragility of existence. Stibbon observes ‘Despite their remoteness, many of the environments I work from are changing rapidly - as an artist I feel a sense of witness as this is happening in my lifetime.’
Born in Okayama and living in Kyoto, Japanese artist Yasushi Yamabe (b. 1958) creates energetic paintings of his surrounding landscape. Yamabe depicts movement through linear mark-making, creating visual fluidity as well as a sense of space and passing time. Yamabe says, “I express the horizon beyond the confrontation; Space and time appear and disappear. The perspectives are an interactive process with viewers; a vessel conjuring a new interpretation of the world.”
British abstract painter and printmaker, Rebecca Salter PRA (b. 1955), lives and works in London. In Salter’s work on paper, heavily detailed minimal abstraction places emphasis on the movement and subtleties of layered marks on the paper. Found at the intersection between Western and Japanese traditions, the layering of neutral tones imbues the work with an ethereal quality, and a tranquil response to nature.
Lancashire born printmaker Jo Gorner’s practice starts in notebooks with drawing, writing and observations from walking. The central pivot of Gorner’s work is emotion and memory held within a language of place, landscape and the mapping of intimate geographical details. The landscape for the artist is a sentient place, an interface and a balancing system for self. Diminish is a series which captures an energetic rushing of breath, the fine tension of quietly observing and waiting as life ebbs. Scission and Incise reflects the rhythm of the land threaded through with silent tracks, underground streams and the pattern of growth.
French born, London-based Ceramicist, Nadine Bell (b. 1961) is driven by a desire to reflect and interpret nature by creating one off organic often abstract shapes which evoke sensations and emotions. She predominantly works in porcelain and black clay using a range of firing techniques. In her work in Remote Lands, Bell has continued to explore the relationship between fragility and permanence, using paper porcelain due to its delicacy, fine textures and ethereal finish.
Remote Lands and Christmas Opening Hours in Woodstock
'Remote Lands' continues until 9th January, open daily until 24th December. We close from the 25th December - 1st January, and will be open on Saturday 2nd January. We will be closed Sunday 3 January, but open as usual from Monday 4 January with normal hours.
If you would like to view the exhibition outside of these hours please do get in touch to make an appointment.
Illustrated: Daniel Crawshaw, Glaslyn I, 2017 oil on canvas 185 x 200 cm
