Exhibitions

FABRIC OF WAR

4 July – 16 August 2009    Preview: Friday 3 July, 6 - 8pm

In the North Gallery

'Breaking Rank' Drew Cameron, Drew Matott	'Conflagration' Marshall Weber

Fabric of War records personal and collective histories of conflict, translated into paper from uniforms and monuments by US-based Combat Paper Project and Marshall Weber.

Combat Paper Project brings together war veterans, many suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, who pulp their uniforms to make paper as the basis for cathartic artworks (www.combatpaper.org). Founded in 2007, the group tours the US holding papermaking workshops that bring together veterans and members of the public. Their work is in the collections of the Library of Congress and Harvard and Princeton libraries.

Marshall Weber is an artist and curator who founded Booklyn Artists' Alliance in 1999 (www.booklyn.org ). His ongoing Monument project uses rubbing, drawing and collage to create works reinterpreting texts and images from war memorials around the world. Fabric of War will present a substantial body of the Monument series, including new works executed at the Royal Air Force church of St. Clement Danes on the Strand .

Fabric of War is the first exhibition of Combat Paper Project's work outside the US and will be accompanied by a Conflict Paper workshop tour of the UK in June, during which the group will travel with a portable papermaking studio, making paper from uniforms, flags, currency and other materials related to conflict.

Fabric of War is curated by Nick Dubois. Fabric of War tours from The Courtauld Institute. Details of associated activities: www.courtauld.ac.uk/booklibrary/exhibitions

Conflict Paper Workshop

Sat 4 July, 10am - 4pm

A day of papermaking workshops and demonstrations run by Drew Mattot and Chris Arendt from the Combat Paper Project.

Open to people from all backgrounds.

The workshop costs £10.00 per person.

It is essential you complete a Registration Form (click here to download).

You can either pay by PayPal here:

or send a cheque with the Registration Form.

'OUT OF THE BLUE'

4 July – 16 August 2009   Preview: Friday 3 July, 6 - 8pm

In the North Gallery 2

Works on paper and copper plate by three artists from Hawaii: Dorothy Faison, Hal Lum, and Timothy P Ojile.

Dorothy Faison	Hal Lum	Timothy P Ojile

Marking its 50 th anniversary as the 50th American state this August, Hawaii is a unique and paradoxical place. With over a million inhabitants, the capital city of Honolulu is populated by a mix of people from all corners of the globe. The artists of Hawaii are equally diverse, reflecting influences from Asia, America, Europe and Polynesia. This small exhibition presents us with a taster of the local art scene, showing the work of three talented and established artists with a contemporary / western training, who call Hawaii home.

Dorothy Faison's allegorical paintings show us fragmented glimpses of the Hawaiian landscape which have been interwoven with social and historic perspectives not normally compatible with our notions of ‘paradise'. Reminiscent of Renaissance landscapes, the works on paper and copper plates allude to contemporary issues affecting the state of Hawaii , including environmental degradation, US military presence, and the role of commerce in the exploitation of the islands' resources.

Hal Lum's vivid and witty compositions reflect a delight in encountering people, places and experiences. Focusing on the process of drawing and the use of fluid and spontaneous gesture, his influences range from Japanese pottery to minimal sculpture, high, low, outsider and ethnic art. Lum states, 'Art is like a big open arena that takes in the smallest, most intimate details of a person's life and the widest expanse that is the world and universe . . . I like to keep an open mind, to open the senses and take it all in.'

Timothy P Ojile works intuitively and spontaneously, developing a visual language of symbol, gesture and form that eludes categorisation. He navigates the contractions inherent in the activity of image-making, harnessing both his enthusiasm and ambivalence in the process. The three large drawings in this exhibition, made with coloured felt tip pen, are filled with natural forms, geometries and a jumble of minutiae. Like an elaborate mind-map, they highlight various pathways, roundabouts and impediments.

Cyril Mount

4 July – 16 August 2009   Preview: Friday 3 July, 6 - 8pm

In the South Gallery

Born in Liverpool in 1920, Cyril Mount served in India, Iraq and Persia with the Royal Horse Artillery. From 1942 he was engaged in combat in the Middle East and North Africa, including the invasion of Sicily. Following this, he was commissioned and returned to active service in Europe, during which he was promoted to captain. Throughout his military career, Mount kept sketch books; 39 of these drawings and gouaches are now in the permanent collection of the Imperial War Museum in London. After studying at Liverpool College of Art, he lectured in art until 1978. Following this, he spent three months in India, and later ran art therapy and life drawing classes.

Now aged 89 and based at Phoenix Brighton studios, Mount continues to generate a prolific outpouring of paintings ranging from experimental works to political commentary and portraiture. This exhibition includes a series based upon his experiences on the battlefields of North Africa and a recent trip to revisit significant sites from this period of his life.