The Sock Gallery, Loughborough Town Hall.
7th March – 20th April 2024.
Open Mon – Fri 10am – 4pm and Saturday 10am – 3pm.
ArtSpace Loughborough are staging a major exhibition of new work at Loughborough Town Hall’s Sock Gallery. 23 artists were given free rein to interpret the exhibition theme ‘Flow’ in their own way.
Inspiration for this exhibition has come from sources as diverse as dance, meditation, relationships, the natural world, the climate crisis, written stories and communication in all its facets. The exhibitors are from the Charnwood area of Leicestershire and include painters, printmakers, sculptors, photographers, jewellery, textile and digital artists.
Beryl Miles’ work encompasses the idea of Samadhi meaning ‘the flow state’ a state of oneness, complete absorption, being in the moment. Spatial concepts have always been important in her work. Compositions are often sparse and asymmetrical and the idea of simplicity and an absence of elaboration or decoration appeals. In ‘Breath’ and ‘Deep Pool’ she is attempting to portray a single moment in a heightened experience where the figure is suspended and caught in total absorption.
In contrast Liz Macfarlane looks at blood through the lens of microscopy, revealing nature’s unseen world of cells and vessels that we all possess and which are fundamental to the life sustaining flow of blood in our bodies. She juxtaposes this with a more social comment on real life experiences and reflections of women in relation to their menstrual cycle.
Kate Hooper explores non-verbal communication in her work ‘Flow of Thought’. She uses the ideal vehicle for this – facial expressions. “I wanted to inject a little humour into the work but also wanted the piece to be decorative incorporating pattern and colour. Mixed media and collage worked well for this purpose. The faces were taken from newspaper and magazine articles, and family photographs.”
Rod Shaw has a passion for the beauty of the natural world and turns to landscapes and the fleeting effects of light and weather as a source of inspiration for his paintings, while Frances Ryan utilizes lyrical shapes and bright colours to epitomise a sense of movement and energy in her images of fishes and birds.
Over 50 diverse works are on show with references as varied as intergenerational family connections, the flow of emotion, of time and tide, the flow of flood waters and concerns about future climate and justice.
And why not pop in and talk to some of the artists at the ‘Meet the Artist’ session on Saturday 23 March 11am-1pm, free and open to all.
