Cathy Freeman Exhibition
Spring is almost upon us and to celebrate and freshen up the gallery walls, we have the colourful original art works of Cathy Freeman.
Cathy is a local artist living in the Tamar Valley. She has a degree in fine art and textiles, works in graphic design as well as lecturing in art and design.
This latest body of work, Rapid Growth, uses the documentation of flowers and fauna together with the feeling of optimism that we all feel at this time of year – winter has gone and spring is here. “I like to think the work is about new possibilities and appreciating certain moments in time”. (Cathy Freeman)
Christmas Exhibition 2011
This year I have had a big change around allowing an extra 10 new designers to exhibit, so it really is a lot of exciting new jewellery
We are also very pleased to be showcasing in the downstairs gallery, the Alchemy series of original paintings by local artist Katrina Solano. Stephen Gribbles vibrant funky images of the city are still on show in the upstairs gallery.
Anna Calvert
Anna’s current collection has drawn inspiration the symbiosis of old and new – how new moss can grow on an old tree for example. Each idea is developed from a sketch or photograph into a model before it is made in silver using traditional silversmithing skills. Anna uses soft leather, manipulating it to capture the organic forms, which she then encases in the silver.
Christine Kaltoft
Christine designs and makes graphic contemporary jewellery. She mostly works in fine gold and silver wires, sometimes including elements of wood. Christine’s inspiration comes from the movements and sounds she comes across. She captures these moments with a quick sketch and later creates jewellery that conveys the energy of the experience, resulting in jewellery that bursts or flows, simple and elegant, or complex and layered.
Debbie Noble
Debbie’s work deals with the elements of life and the memories that these hold. Influenced by places, events, people and the sentimentality these evoke to produce jewellery pieces that are cathartic, celebratory and sombre. Debbie creates small-scale sculptural pieces, using a combination of processes alongside jewellery making techniques.
Emma Macleod
Mainly inspired by Dundee’s bustling dockyards, Emma has documented the activity of the yards throughout the year with photography and transferred this to her jewellery. Focusing mainly in the structure of the large rig legs and scaling them down to fit the body. Emma works in silver using oxidisation for contrast.
Fiona Hermse
Artistic photography forms a large part of Fiona’s work in developing the thematics of her collections. Fiona is constantly inspired by our interaction with the natural world and is particularly inspired by superstition and myth in nature. This collection focuses on ancient beliefs that a moth and butterfly embody a human soul, a concept she finds particularly poignant and beautiful, She focuses on the wing shapes of individual species of moth, butterflies and other insects to create the pieces.
Gill Galloway-Whitehead
Gill has developed a method of working with fine wire, which allows her to express herself much in the same way as she would when painting. Different densities of wire can be manipulated to create surface changes in tone and texture. Using the whiteness of fine silver in combination with the rich yellow gold of fine gold as well as the black through to grey of oxidation gives a satisfying palette. The wire strand in isolation is fragile but when manipulated into mesh gains strength. The contrast between the look of fragility and actual resilience plays with the perception when embodied in one piece of work.
Karen Dell’Armi
Karen’s new hope collection was inspired by her recent charity climb to the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro – the mosses and lichens on the ancient trees near the Machame Gate – and the giant lobelia and senecio at altitude in an otherwise very baron volcanic landscape. The hope collection features electrolytically etched hand-formed silver links and unusual rough cut, unpolished precious and semi-precious stones I vibrant colours – such as agate slices, carnelian, lapis lazuli and chrysoprase.
Nobuko Okumura
This collection is called “Threads Collection”. Nobuko developed her designs from drawings to 3D textile work and then it has moved into metal. Rapid Prototyping has become one of the fastest growing artisan techniques in fine jewellery and silversmithing today. She has worked extensively with threads and silks in her jewellery before giving the threads a resin based armature. This process was very successful in the short term however to provide the pieces with a permanent structure and wearable durability she developed a rapid prototype range in pure silver with forms taken directly from her thread pieces.
Sharleen Marius
Sharleen makes simple and organic jewellery forms with rich surface texture, inspired by the effects of time, age and corrosion. Through the use of unorthodox metals and techniques, she challenges the traditional preconceptions of what jewellery should be. She primarily works with non-precious metals such as steel yet enjoys the contrast that can be created by combining these with more traditional materials such as silver. The colour and surface texture found on each of her products is never the same and as an alternative to soldering, all of my products are created using cold-joining techniques such as riveting.
Zsuzsi Morrison
Zsuzsi’s pieces develop in an organic way allowing designs to evolve with colours, shapes and patterns altering as new designs emerge.
Fine silver and 22ct gold are worked freestyle, the designs made entirely by hand and then enamelled.Enamel is laid on in a painterly fashion. Tiny washed and ground granules, suspended in water are applied with a fine paintbrush. Subtle and vibrant colours are used together. Opaque and transparent enamels form blocks of colour or, when layered in separate firings, with opals, create a watercolour effect.
Katrina Solano – Artist (Alchemy Series)
Over the past year Katrina has developed an extensive series of paintings called Alchemy. They are a reflection on the inner landscapes of the mind and the outer landscapes of the wider world and contain her ideas of change, inner spirit, memory and the alchemy of all life. The paintings go through their own alchemical process, built up over many layers with the images developing over time. Leaf metals introduced at an early stage can be obliterated by the acrylic paint only to re-emerge later. The processes they go through give them a rich textural surface and deep intense colour. Katrina works from an attic studio in Plymouth where the windows overlook most of the city and out across to the sea, breakwater and beyond. The view is an inspiration in itself and at twilight it is especially beautiful with the city’s lights twinkling against an indigo sky.
Barbican galleries Open Evening
Thursday 8th September 6-9pm 2011
Come and join us as 13 galleries on the Barbican will remain open until 9pm on Thursday 8th September.
We shall be showcasing for the first time local glass artist Sara Fell’s award winning beautiful contemporary glass jewellery – awarded best new graduate glass designer 2011.
Galleries taking part:
Glass!!
Michael Wood Fine Art
Phippen Contemporary Gallery
Armada Gallery
Kaya Gallery
45 Southside
Blue Peace Gallery
Victoria Sewart Contemporary Jewellery Gallery
White Lane Gallery
Plymouth Prints
Relegacy Gallery
New Street Gallery
The Pipe (Thais Lenkiewicz)
Here in our gallery we shall be showcasing for the first time in a gallery, the stunning new glass jewellery of award winning new designer Sara Fell, who won best new glass graduate 2011.
- photo: Simon Bruntnell
The ‘Precious integrations’ series is a celebration of the ‘high altar’ of femininity and of the ritual beautification that forms the essence of the dressing table. This series is a continuation of Sara’s intrigue into the hidden and precious elements of jewellery, “why do we hide away what we perceive to be our most treasured possessions”.
Taking inspiration from the glass dressing table sets of the 1920’s, Sara bestows a contemporary take on them by integrating hidden elements of jewellery such as rings, necklaces and bangles, within each of her sets.
Summer Exhibition & 5th Year Anniversary
22nd June – end September 2011
Sophie Brietmeyer
The Summer exhibition introduces 6 new jewellers to the gallery; Sophie Breitmeyer, Julia Parry-Jones, Charmian Beaton, Tamara Gomez, Liz Willis, Jennie Gill. It is also our 5th year anniversary!
The gallery is also very proud to be supporting Japan after the devastating earthquake earlier this year in which many children became orphans. Found on the beach in Japan only two days after the disaster some beautiful pieces of old, hand painted Japanese pottery and glass were collected by a British friend of mine, Jacqualine Kurio. Working with Japanese jewellery designer Yoshiyuki Tsukamoto the pair have come up with these beautiful necklaces they are calling Sea Jewellery.
Liz Willis
Liz Willis work’s is inspired by the environment that she sees around her whilst out running. She graduated in 2008 from the University of Hertfordshire with a BA in Applied Arts, and she is a member of the Association for Contemporary Jewellery and a licentiate member of the Society of Designer Craftsmen.
Tamara Gomez
Tamara Gomez, a graduate of The Royal College of Art from 1997, Sri-Lankan born Tamara designs and hand crafts fine and fashion jewellery with a naturally earthy quality that draws inspiration from our physical and spiritual worlds. Intuitive and serendipitous by design, traditional gold smithing techniques are combined with silver, gold, bronze, gems and raw diamonds resulting in jewellery with a subtly archaic yet enduring style.
Julia Parry-Jones
Julia Parry-Jones is a collector by nature; she draws inspiration from fragments, curiosities and hidden treasures. She graduated with First Class Honours in Fine Art from Norwich School of Art & Design, before going on to further train in jewellery manufacture at Holts Academy of Jewellery, Hatton Garden.
Jolene Smith
Jolene Smith has been designing and making contemporary jewellery since 1984 and has developed a reputation for quality and a unique style. Creating various ranges in melted and polished silver, fused with copper or brass and sometimes incorporating semi-precious stones. She works mainly in silver, which she likes to texture either by melting the surface, hammering or etching. Her inspiration comes from natural forms and ancient worlds, which collide with modern times.
Jennie Gill
After gradu
ating in 1991 from Sheffield Hallam with a BA hons in silversmithing and jewellery, Jennie decided to stay in the city and set up her business designing and making jewellery. She initially sold her designs through trade fairs, winning a design award from Oasis in 1993. In 2002 one of her designs won “Gift of the year” from the Giftware Federation.
Charmian Beaton
Charmian Beaton works from her contemporary jewellery gallery in Kent, South East England and was born into a jewellery making family in Fife, Scotland. After completing her schooling she traveled to Asia gaining experience on the jewellery industry in Sri Lanka and India. Charmian then studied jewellery and silversmithing in Cardonald in Glasgow and Duncan of Jordanston College of Art, Dundee.
Sophie Breitmeyer
With a grandfather who once was a diamond dealer at DeBeers, jewellery runs in the blood of this inspiring young designer. Sophie recently graduated from St Martins with a BA in Jewellery design. Her creative approach to combining unusual stones and different coloured gold lead her to be short listed for the 2010 Bright Young Gems competition.
100% Profit to Japanese Orphans – ‘Sea Jewellery’
The gallery is also very proud to be supporting Japan after the devastating earthquake earlier this year in which many children became orphans. Found on the beach in Japan only two days after the disaster some beautiful pieces of old, hand painted Japanese pottery and glass were collected by a British friend of mine, Jacqualine Kurio. Working with Japanese jewellery designer Yoshiyuki Tsukamoto the pair have come up with these beautiful necklaces they are calling Sea Jewellery.
Although not from the affected area per se, Jacqualine feels that the sea gave them up as gifts, as if it were trying to make amends and she knew she had to do something with them. We are, from the 22nd June , selling these beautiful pieces in the gallery with 100% of the profit being donated to the Sendai Grief Care Association, a local Japanese N.P.O. that offers support to children who have been orphaned.
You can buy them from our online shop
