Art fanatics have spring in their step over exhibit launch
ART aficionados will welcome the announcement that Southport contemporary arts gallery the ArtHouse in Eastbank Street will soon be unbolting its doors on Tuesday, April 13, with the launch of its annual spring exhibition.
Director of SCA, Norrie Bewick-Calvert, is looking forward to welcoming visitors again: “After a really testing time for everyone, we are so excited to be able to celebrate our reopening with a fabulous, positive and uplifting spring exhibition at our Southport town centre gallery.
“Our exhibitions are always a positive creative connectivity focus in our community but especially now, with people having been separated from each other for so long.”
The spring display is an open exhibition, which means that not only SCA members but also the wider creative community can enter work.
“Lockdown has been really hard for so many, but having the time to explore and develop creatively has really been a gift. So many of our local artists and makers have found that they’ve been able to develop their practice in ways that they hadn’t previously had the time to do.”
Norrie added: “It is well established now that having an opportunity to be creative has a hugely positive impact on mental and physical health.
“Appreciating this, throughout lockdown, we have stayed in touch not only with our members who have a longstanding creative practice but also our cohort of students that would normally be attending our regular classes and workshops. It’s been very rewarding to witness the positive impact that the contact, mutual support and creative outcomes have encouraged as a result.”
Regular SCA members on show include textile artist Jo Landy, from Formby. A graduate in printed textiles from Liverpool John Moore’s University, Jo has since diversified into many other textile disciplines including stitch, felt, knit and jewellery.
Dyes and dyeing techniques are of particular interest to Jo and her exploration of colour is a continual challenge.
For the exhibition, Jo will be submitting a new mixed media artwork, Sunset on Ainsdale Beach. Jo said: “There have been some wonderful skies on the beach during these last few months and on my many walks along the coast I have been inspired by the amazing colours and cloud formations in this beautiful part of the country.”
Kate Tidmarsh is a local printmaker based in Burscough.
Kate’s focus is on experimental printmaking. She uses handprinting in response to the patterns, textures and colours of the world around her.
Her prints are all handmade and individually inked, using a variety of techniques such as monoprint, drypoint and collagraph printing.
These individual prints may stand alone, or be part of a related series exploring a theme.
Her abstract print, Night Lock, is part of an on-going series exploring her immediate surroundings.
Kate said: “Because I live very close to the canal, I am investigating the more industrial aspects of this environment - the structures of the bridges and locks - contrasting the water to the stone/concrete/metal. The technique used is silk aquatint printing, with a unique viscosity inking, resulting in a one-off print.”
Photographer Jenny Curwen, from Birkdale, has been pursuing her photographic art for many years and is especially inspired by nature.
She said: “When lockdown started I decided that I would not let the restrictions get me down, and instead I chose to rejoice in the sudden explosion of floral displays around my local area in Birkdale.
“On my daily walks during lockdown I was fortunate enough to have the freedom to discover the amazing blooms in the area where I live.
“I found beautiful flowers everywhere, bursting with spring colours.”
Each day became another visual adventure for Jenny: “Each expedition around Birkdale revealed bright, beautiful blooms I could share with my family and friends to brighten their days via WhatsApp.
“It was my way of lifting their spirits. My walks were filled with purpose and I shared my flower photographs with some of those not allowed to leave their homes at all.”
Also exhibiting will be Neil Prior, a professional artist from Ainsdale, having recently moved from Leicestershire to Southport.
Neil already has an established track record of commissions in oils, including portraits, still life, landscapes and more recently, his popular dog portraiture.
Daffodil Explosion, one of three recent flower studies, is an oil painting on canvas. Neil commented: “The thought behind it was that as we enter spring our beautiful gardens and woodlands explode with the gorgeous yellow colours of the daffodils.
“I painted it using both a brush and palette knife with the intended explosive effect in mind.”
One of the outcomes from lockdown, also on exhibition as part of the spring open, will be a unique large multi-artist piece assembled from individual pieces of artwork.
Brainchild of SCA stalwarts, Suzanna Gregg and Amanda Clark-Price, over 15 SCA artists were invited to create a single piece of postcard-sized artwork that celebrates Southport’s diverse and exceptional environment.
Norrie concluded: “We are hoping that visitors will feel uplifted from their visit to the gallery and that the artists taking part will feel the positive impact of that creative connectivity again, that is such an important part of what SCA sets out to achieve.”
This year’s Spring Open will run from Tuesday, April 13 until Saturday, May 22 at ArtHouse, 65 Eastbank Street, Southport. Opening times: Tuesday-Friday 10am3pm.
Having the opportunity to be creative has a hugely positive impact on mental and physical health