Lynn Dennison | Jason Hicklin | Tom Henderson | Brenda Hoffman | Stuart Redler | Rachel Shaw Ashton | Patricia Swannell
During the winter days, jaggedart draws together an exhibition of inspiring and beautiful works which respond to nature and notions of memory.
Lynn Dennison creates installations with bright digital projections which glide over the sculptural forms of paper dresses. Woodland landscapes are cut into and collaged. Lynn explores the decorative, symbolic and emotional qualities of clothing and its powers to attract, disguise and defend. Her paper sculptures are inspired by personal memories as well as more universal experiences of fate, fortune and change. Overlapping branches appear like lace and paperchains of little girls dance around the hems of the skirts. There is an element of the surreal as trees grow from inside vacant garments, in place of the wearer. Translucent paper and wire court shoes, are embellished with scales, like the shoes for a mermaid, she could never wear. Lynn is a finalist in 'Sculpture Shock ' at the Royal British Society of Sculptors 2014.
Jason Hicklin depicts rugged landscapes where the wind and the tide carve the landscape. Jason draws with graphite on paper, with the dark sweeping appearance of charcoal sketches. The marks evoke the pull of the tide or a torrent of wind through these majestic landscapes. Jason uses an infinite vocabulary of grey to describe these desolate and stony places. Sketching on site, Jason captures the last moments of daylight or with the half-light of dawn and these drawings become the source material for the large graphite drawings and prints created in his studio. Jason studied at Central St. Martin's College of Art where he was a student of the renowned printmaker, Norman Ackroyd. He was elected Member Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers (R.E.) in 1993. Jason has been the Head of Printmaking at City & Guilds London Art School since 1999.
Tom Henderson’s wall based sculptures have taken a new direction as undulating lines break the hard reflection of highly polished panels or the unremitting flatness of the sandblasted surfaces. Painterly concerns of composition, texture, light and tone are always evident, but Tom’s media and techniques are unconventional. Where the sections of Perspex meet, intense colour runs along the edges and is absorbed through body of the panel. Tom’s leans towards greater symmetry is his work, these works marry a sense of harmony with an exciting unpredictability. A surplus of edges, corners, layers and veiled forms contribute to assemblages that tease the eye and please the mind. Tom studied in Newcastle and lives and works in France and has exhibited with jaggedart since 2006.
Brenda Hoffman’s enigmatic photographs of the Delta del Tigre, are where Brenda spent her childhood. Revisiting the River Plata, in person, sailing up the river, or visiting vicariously through these photographs, she describes the river Plata opening haunting memories. ‘I find the smell of my ghosts and the weight of absence. The muddy water goes moving on and on until everything disappears, except the stars.’ Brenda’s photographs have a painterly and calligraphic quality. Some high in contrast, some landscapes hardly visible through the mist, light saturates the prints. The edges of the images bleed in to the white paper so that the landscape appears to emerge directly from the page. Grasses and reeds distended in the reflection of water, the fog gently reveals the ground beneath it while the bright winter light flares through the trees, and glances off waves. Brenda Hoffman was born in 1975 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, she lives and works in Paris. In 2003 Brenda obtained the Paris Youth Adventures scholarship, funded by the city of Paris. In 2010, she was awarded 1st Prize at the Festival Photo Saint-Germain-des-Pres. Her work is in the collection of the Museo de Arte Tigre, Buenos Aires.
Stuart Redler’s bold and beautiful photographs exhibited in Dark Matter are from his recent photographic excursion to Myanmar. Stuart’s photographs show a brooding natural world, rather than the postcard exoticism of Burma. A dead tree that has spent its whole life in the wind, leans to the right of the print. The tree looms over The Road to Mandlerlay, the 700 km river stretching from Rangoon to Manderlay. Delicate as ostrich feathers, the Burmese grasses are exquisitely photographed in Silk Reed. Stuart captures the mystery of this exotic country which elicited such a sense of longing from Rudyard Kipling. In the bright light, the grasses almost look like they are covered by snow. Having completed his photography degree at LCP, he worked as a commercial photographer. Now working as a fine artist, Stuart has received awards from the Association of Photographers, Graphics, PDN New York and Communication Arts, amongst others. His work is included in the permanent collection at the National Portrait Gallery in London. Stuart has received a number of awards, including six from The Association of Photographers who awarded him Gold for his portfolio of architectural images.
Rachel Shaw Ashton creates elaborate, intricate and structured hand cut paper collages often layering white paper. Depictions of magical landscapes or curious figures, are made up of hundreds of meticulously hand cut paper forms. A tree is made up of small 394 cut out girls, which are meticulously pinned to the paper throwing hundreds of shadows resembling leaves. These are personal works, which explore the imaginings of the human mind. Having completed a BA Hons at Brighton Art College, Rachel worked as a freelance illustrator before concentrating on her fine art practice and has exhibited with jaggedart since 2007.
Patricia Swannell shows new work from two distinct elements of her practice. Acquatints of Birch branches on Somerset paper in grey and black monochrome compliment the large dark water colour works Patricia has been developing. Brooding and meditative, they are created by building up very thin layers of watercolour in stripes, so that they resonate with colour. Both the descriptive prints and the abstract watercolours convey notions of balance, beauty in nature, memory and longing which are enduring themes in her practice. These new works follow the success of Patricia’s solo exhibition ‘Memories from the Time Being.’ at jaggedart in November 2013. Patricia trained at City and Guilds of London Art School and has been showing with jaggedart since 2007. Her focus on environmental matters is also reflected in her work for The Royal Botanic Garden Kew at Wakehurst Place.