Replenish, Refresh, Renew – New work available online and at Crafting a Difference

Just before Crafting a Difference opened to the public for the first time, earlier this week, we did a quick rehang, adding new pieces to the exhibition, where we could, to replace those pieces from our portfolio that have already sold. In this week’s post, we share images of these pieces with you, along with images of some new paintings that we’ve added to the website.

Björk Haraldsdóttir: Tapestry 6.7, White Stoneware and Black Slip 59 × 39 cm; Tapestry 6.8 White Stoneware and Black Slip 49 x 35 cm; Tapestry, White Stoneware and Black Slip 38 x  29 cm
Shown here with Rise by Bjork and work from jaggedart, MADEINBRITALY and Vessel Gallery.

Crafting a Difference at SoShiro now open until April 30th.

 

This has been a busy year so far for Cavaliero Finn artist Björk Haraldsdóttir.  As well as featuring her work in the London Art Fair and Collect, we have also commissioned a number of works by the artist for our clients, which has meant we’ve made quite a number of visits to her beautiful home and studio, close to the borders of Somerset, Dorset, and Devon. It’s always a pleasure to visit her studio, not least because we love everything that comes out of her kiln, but also because the rather idyllic rural setting, complete with sheep, ducks, and chickens, is hugely restorative and often entertaining. When we picked up these three new tapestry pieces for the final rehang for Crafting a Difference, we shared the studio with three of Björk’s ducks and a rather sleepy cat, stowed away on a shelf above her glazes! (see our Instagram feed for images – link at the bottom of this post)

 

Detail of the three new pieces now installed at Crafting a Difference at SoShiro

 

Talking about the inspiration behind her trademark geometric designs Björk said:

“It’s hard to pinpoint exactly where my inspiration for a pattern comes from, it’s pieced together, often subconsciously, accumulated over a long time.  I jot designs down in various sketchbooks along with designs for my pots, so generally, there is not one specific thing that is the inspiration. However, the patterns for Tapestry are my interpretation and simplification of a pattern on an old church tapestry which I saw in a folk museum in Iceland. The tapestry itself is quite colourful but I only took the red as a highlighter to my mostly monochrome world of patterns.”

 

Jacy Wall: Echo, woven tapestry, wool, linen, metal thread on cotton warp, 670 x 343mm, 2008/19
Shown here with work from Vessel Gallery by Baldwin & Guggisberg and Claire Male

 

This new tapestry Echo by Jacy Wall was part of our rehang after Big Stripes went to its new home. Originally a large tapestry woven by Jacy Wall in wool and linen blacks, Echo I was part-created along with ‘Dark Banner’ (also featured in Crafting a Difference) and another work called ‘Scabard’ through deconstructing the large tapestry and then weaving new sections. In 2019 Jacy began to work with other discarded pieces of tapestry and remaining yarns she had dyed for long past projects. She called these new works from old materials the ‘Echo’ series. ‘Echo I’ is the first piece of that series.

 

We love the dialogue of this curation by Brian Kennedy in the installation image featured above.  The flash of red in Jacy’s work echoing that of the glassworks by Baldwin & Guggisberg and the swirls on the tapestry alongside those of Claire Malet’s metal vessel.

 

 Jacy Wall: Echo, woven tapestry, wool, linen, metal thread on cotton warp, 670 x 343mm, 2008/19

 

 

These two porcelain and found object sculptures were also added to the Crafting a Difference hang this week to replace, pieces Scoop and Spoon that now adorn the walls of their new owners’ homes. When sourcing antique objects for this body of work, artist Ikuko Iwamoto looks for handcrafted pieces with individual character and history. She chooses functional objects that would have had an everyday use – domestic tools for the garden and home like in sculptures Hoe, Trowel and File.

 

Ikuko Iwamoto: Porcelain and Antique File Sculpture, Porcelain and man-made object, H 35 x W 4.5 x D 3.5 cm, 2020

 

 Ikuko Iwamoto: Porcelain and Antique Trowel Sculpture, Porcelain and man-made object, H 45 x W 12.5 x D 5 cm, 2020

 

While shops and gallery spaces like SoShiro have opened up this week, so have the holiday resorts and Lyme Regis, where Debra, the Finn of Cavaliero Finn, is based has seen a huge influx of visitors to the town. With people back on the beaches and enjoying the outdoors we were reminded of the wonderfully joyful paintings of David Edmond. These three new works, painted from the artist’s many visits to the Kent coast and further afield, in Italy, over the years have just been added to the website.

 

David Edmond: Beach Umbrella 1, oil on panel, 22 x 18cm, 2021

 

The power of David’s paintings comes from the sensation of witnessing a scene glimpsed, caught in a moment of time. The figures captured in quiet contemplation or involved in a frenzy of activity, unaware of the world around them. They are full of colour and the joy of life.

 

David Edmond: Inflatable 7, oil on panel, 22 x 18cm, unframed, 2021

 

David Edmond: Beach 6.1 – Carrera Italy, Oil on Canvas, 76cm x 91 cm 2020/1

 

We featured several of David’s other recent paintings in the first edition of Crafting a Difference. If you missed this show you can see it here.

 

These two new works, by Angela Charles, are recently back from the framers and are now live on the website. Angela is based just half an hour away from the Dorset coast which inspires much of her work.

 

Angela Charles: Thinking About Paula Rego, 20 x 40 cms, Acrylic and pencil on constructed board in a white frame, 2020

 

These paintings came about at the tail end of last year when Angela would usually make her winter pilgrimage to Portugal where she often visits the amazing Paula Rego museum.  Reminded of sunnier climes and the architecturally stunning building that houses Rego’s work she painted this work.

 

Angela said: “I adore Paula Rego’s paintings – the way she paints, the strong portrayals of women, and the intriguing narratives, she never shies away from a controversial subject. I painted these pieces whilst thinking about her strong use of composition and colour – longing to be stood in front of her work in Casa das Historias but instead being in lockdown.”

 

Angela Charles: As Subtle As It Gets, 20 x 40 cms, acrylic and pencil on constructed board in a white frame, 2020

 

Angela’s larger painting, Where Was I? (shown below) is featured in the current edition of Crafting a Difference at SoShiro alongside a selection of Cut and Altered Vessels by Ashraf Hanna.

 

Where was I? painting by Angela Charles
Installation of cut and altered vessels (priced individually) by Ashraf Hanna
Image Robert Chadwick

 

Like David Edmond, Kate Sherman’s work was also featured in the previous edition of Crafting a Difference and we have a few new works on the website by Kate, who, funnily enough, grew up on the Dorset coast, if we are to continue a theme.

 

These new works are part of her Birch Tree Series, which she has been painting over the past year. We particularly enjoy the dappled sunlight coming through the trees in this first one Birch Summer (Day).

 

Talking about her work she said: “I had started some smaller woodland studies at the start of the year in 2020, and these have become my focus during the lockdown. They are of a wooded area near my home, 10 mins walk away, that have in them a small group of silver birch trees. I have become somewhat obsessive about photographing them each week at different times of day, different weathers, etc, and noticing the changes as the season’s progress. The resulting paintings are mostly about light, the way the pale birch trunks reflect and behave in different lights. In some ways, the lockdown has felt a bit like time standing still but going to the woods you see nature carrying on regardless and it’s quite comforting and grounding.”

 

 Kate Sherman: Birch Summer (Day), oil on panel, 32 x 25cm, 2021

 

Kate Sherman: Birch Spring (Night), 30 x 25 cm, Oil on panel, 2021

 

There is a real sense of warmth to much of Kate’s work, mainly due to the artist always starting with a red ground (underpainting) on the plywood surface she prefers to use for her paintings. She then works in layers, with oil paint (thinned with turps & linseed oil), using strips of card to blend and blur the paint between layers. The original underpainting often comes through on the finished work giving each painting more depth and warmth.

 

Kate Sherman: Park, Oil on panel, 100 x 100cm, 2019

 

Following on from the small Museum Study paintings we featured at SoShiro as part of the London Art Fair Edition, Tony Beaver has been working on a new series of still life paintings.

 

Talking about these new works, Tony said:

 

“For me, Still Life is the embracing of that which is familiar, close, and in easy reach in times when the comprehension of the big picture is so beyond me. I guess, it could be seen as a turning away from the infinite horizon, as there are no horizons in still life, to a more inner investigation.”

 

Tony Beaver: Still Life 3, oil on canvas, 46 x 61 cm, 2020, unframed

 

 Tony Beaver: Still Life 2, oil on canvas, 50 x 76 cm, 2020, unframed

 

These three new works are beautifully rendered and tender Still Life paintings of domestic objects that make you consider not only every aspect of what has been included but also what or who has been left out. Like all of Tony’s paintings, they are very expressive and have an integrity about them derived from careful consideration and study of his subject. 

“A painting isn’t just a picture of a thing. It’s a spark to ignite ideas and feelings. A stone thrown into a pond, creating ripples.

 

“While painting, my hand, eye and brain are almost totally involved in the tricky business of getting things right, in colours, the weight of colour, the relationships of colour and form, you know, aesthetic stuff. All the other things happen (on a good day) of their own accord. They come almost subconsciously. It is my belief that if the sense of touch is honest and sensitive then all these feelings will emerge. It’s unavoidable. We’re doomed to express ourselves and our emotions.”

Tony Beaver, talking about his paintings in our interview with the artist last year.

 

 Tony Beaver: Beetroot, oil on canvas, 91 x 117cm, 2021, unframed

 

Our final couple of new works are by painter Mia Cavaliero. She’s been continuing works that explore the geometry, colour and light of the landscape in the Peak District and Scotland. These two new pieces on board have a much darker, more restrained feel to the vibrantly coloured abstracts we featured at SoShiro earlier on in the year.

 

We are really drawn to the contrast between the dark, crisp, architectural lines made by the artist and the crackled, painted surface at the base of the work, a portrayal of mankind’s mark on the ever-changing landscape.

 

 Mia Cavaliero: Untitled April 2021, acrylic and mixed media on board, 12 x 9 inches

 

 Mia Cavaliero: Moon, acrylic and mixed media on board, 9 x 12 inches, 2021

 

We are thrilled to be able to finally recieve visitors at Crafting a Difference and are currently planning several physical shows which we hope will take place over the coming months, all going well.

 

Book a visit to Crafting a Difference at SoShiro which runs until the end of the month.