Friday March 8 to Wednesday May 1, 2019, Dartington Space Gallery

The artists in this new show, Nicky Cornwell, Karen Hawkins, Judith Israel and Jenny Thorburn,  first encountered each other in May 2018 on an art.earth short course called Context and Form: Art and Writing led by artist Chris Drury and poet Kay Syrad.

During that week they immersed themselves in art making on the Dartington Estate responding to a challenge set by Kay and Chris: to attend to ‘being-with’ the Earth and to see it as a source, as opposed to a resource.

Collective attention was concentrated on experiencing creativity in and with nature, using what each encountered as the source through which to explore form.  Time was spent looking outwards, encouraging a sensitivity towards those things that arose as the unintended consequences of their own presence. The work that emerged was ephemeral and tentative, sensitive collaborations with nature.

Having continued to evolve these ideas beyond the course they have come together again to re-present the experience and to show new artwork.  This represents the first time that an  art.earth course has inspired such collective intent to share the insights it offered in an exhibition.

The work shown is diverse in form and material; from watercolour and prints, to drawings, objects and video. Whilst each artist reveals their own personal visual language, the shared lineage is clear, ‘being-with’ is echoed by a deep sense of reflection and observation, drawing this work together into a shared crucible.

Meet-the-artists Reception:  Friday March 8, 18:00

[Main image: Judith Israel print (detail)]

Find more information about the gallery, hours and directions

For more information about the gallery, hours and directions, go here.

First Fridays happen (surprise!) on the first Friday of every month, except January. First Fridays is a gathering place for artists or anyone interested in the arts, an opportunity to share food and talk. Each month, after lunch, there is an informal presentation of work in progress by one or two artists who may be local or from far away.

You can check out details on our events listing on Facebook.