Previous Exhibitions at Upfront Gallery
06/03/2007 - 15/04/2007
"Life in Detail"
"Anything you can do on paper you can do on fabrics, but with the added beauty of texture" is a maxim of mine, and the works in this exhibition are on both silk and paper.
The work in this show ranges from the minute stitching of the eighties to the textile study drawings of the naughties; illustrating my interest in historical art, architecture, music, gardens and latterly textiles themselves. My optician is amazed that I am still able to read the bottom line during my eye test. I have always had long sight, giving great detail to my world, and I am sure that this has contributed to my obsession with all things intricate. In 2004, whilst working on the commission for a life-size portrait of Mary Tudor for Hampshire County Council, I recreated the texture of her clothing with drawing. Thus commenced a new body of work informed by lace, embroidered, woven and printed textile; some of which are from the collection of Temple Newsham in Leeds and the Textile Department of the V & A. Drawing and research have always been the bases of my work; now I use the computer as a sketchbook, drawing with a digital tablet and pen, and the Internet as a library. I have employed wood, plaster, ceramics and glass in my practice; but textiles are the medium to which I always return.
Exhibitors: Paddy Killer
17/04/2007 - 20/05/2007
Natures Own Blessings are the Proper Goods of Life
This exhibition embraces the fullness of nature as the best means of peace and joy; which in itself is a type of therapy which we so often neglect in favour of modern technology. What we have been given as a blessing and tranquil haven is overlooked and taken for granted.
This collection of paintings attempts to embrace the fullness of nature and bring peace and joy into the heart and mind. To bring nature into the very heart of our cluttered lives and allow the light and movement of the outdoors to soothe our troubled souls... the very reason it was created.
22/05/2007 - 01/07/2007
Inspired by Water
Gallery selection of invited artists.
Mixed show by invited artists - Eddie Tibbs, John Sibson, Geoff Marsters, Ceri Allen, Heather Blanchard, Libby Edmondson, Clare Money, Tessa Kennedy.
09/06/2007 - 21/07/2007
"SAve 30"
Exhibition shown at the V & A about the progress of "SAVE Britain's Heritage", since it's creation in 1975.
The exhibition will include paintings by Graham Byefield, Ptolemy Dean and Jack Milroy. Sponsorship has been given for the exhibition by "Architects Plus" of Carlisle, who will have a display of some of their recent conservation projects.
03/07/2007 - 12/08/2007
"From Dawn to Dusk"
Shirley Shackleton has been a regular exhibitor at Upfront for many years but this will be her first solo exhibition. Her career as a pastel artist began in the late 1970's and she has become one of the Lake District's most successful artists. She manages to capture the dramatic lighting and stormy skies which are so much a part of the Lakeland Fells.
Shirley began her career in theatre and television, working as a scene painter and stage manager until finally becoming stage manager at the Globe Theatre in London. Her love of pastel painting began when she moved to the Lake District and was inpired by the late Christopher Assheton-Stones. Shirley likes to keep her work big and loose, concentrating on essence and mood, rather than photographic detail. She works from rough sketches on site and then returns to her studio to apply pastel boldly onto heavy grade artist's sandpaper.
Exhibitors: Shirley Shackleton
14/08/2007 - 23/09/2007
Magic Carpets
Jenny Reynish trained at Lincoln, specialising in printmakiking. This is her first solo exhibition at Upfront. She also works as an illustrator and has completed a picture book of stories from Islam, due to be published in September 2007.
The inpiration for Jenny's work is largely drawn from her travels; particularly India, the Middle East and Morocco. Many of her paintings incorporate elements of ethnic and folk art, buildings, animals and birds, as well as decorative textiles, carpets and landscape. They are a fusion of things and places seen and experienced and ideas from the imagination. She creates a richly textured and decorated surface in her watercolour and mixed media work; combining layered colour washes, drawing and some collage with decorative borders.
Exhibitors: Jenny Reynish
11/09/2007 - 14/10/2007
"Reflections"
An exhibition of oils, watercolours, drawings and prints. The first comprhensive showing of Iain's work.
Iain, a Lancastrian, has spent a lifetime surrounded by a rich variety of countryside and this is reflected in his committment to landscape, architecture and occasional flights of fancy. After an early teaching career as a head of art and lecturer in printmaking, he went on to develop three art centres from 1971 -1996. They were Lakes Art Studios in Cumbria, Tuscany Blue in Italy and The Barn Studio in Cumbria. Teaching has always been Iain's passion, with a constant committment to help his students develop a seeing eye. Now in retirement, this is the first comprehensive showing of Iain's work.
Exhibitors: Iain Landon
29/09/2007 - 04/11/2007
"Objects & Intervals: an Installation"
Third exhibition by London artist, Philip O'Reilly. Another opportunity to be amazed by his skill and creative use of materials. Work will include techniques in felt making, casting, digital imagery, graphic media etc.
The artwork is conceived as an installation whereby the distinction between one group of parts and another are deliberately fused in the arrangement. The materials also change identity and in a subtle way, the strategy of applied colour changes with the forms and format. Part of the exhibition is also "selected works" - "art products". Works that are made for the commercial fun of it. Textiles and paintings, from another time "recycled" via the computer have re-emerged as new subject matter with a new identity and purpose.
Exhibitors: Philip O'Reilly
16/10/2007 - 25/11/2007
"Aspect of the Sublime"
An exhibition of paintings using mainly the landscape of South Cumbria and the Var region of the South of France as the subject matter. The density of Stones' paint surfaces accumulate on and into the infrastructure of the composition.
The high, the deep and the vast of the sublime landscape caught in light, continues to grip the artists' senses. Natural structures, timeless but changing, whose sublimity extends the imagination beyond what can be comprehended.
Exhibitors: Christopher Stones
06/11/2007 - 24/12/2007
"Light in the Landscape"
A new collection of oil paintings by Heather Blanchard who is regular exhibitor at Upfront.
Heather recently moved from Cumbria to Dumfriesshire, where she has a larger studio and hopes to pursue printmaking as well as painting. Heather is an established artist with a national reputation for landscape and seascape painting.
Exhibitors: Heather Blanchard
21/01/2008 - 02/03/2008
"7th Upfront Cumbrian Artists Open Exhibition
Entries welcome from Cumbrian Artists. Please request an application form.
Annual exhibition of 2D work by Cumbrian artists. Work submitted is selected by a panel of judges and prizes are awarded for various categories.
04/03/2008 - 06/04/2008
Alive & Stitching
Second exhibition at Upfront by a group of six profressional artists who have been exhibting their work together since 2001. From large, bold wall hangings to small intricately worked pieces, their eclectic mix of style, technique and approach results in a dynamic and exciting exhibition of textile art.
"Alive & Stitching" are committed to raising the profile of textile art. They exhibit nationwide and hold workshops on a regular basis. Their work can be found in homes, museums and hospitals around the country.
Exhibitors: Lynne Garbutt, Ann Parkin, Diane Gilder, Peggy Fearne, Anne Menary, Jo Owen
07/04/2008 - 11/05/2008
"Cumbria Life Illustrations plus Recent Work" by Trevor Green
An exhibition of the original watercolour illustrations by Trevor Green that have appeared in "Cumbria Life" magazine.
Trevor has been working as a full time painter, illustrator and cartoonist since 1991. Locally he is well known for his illustrations in "Cumbria Life" magazine. His illustrations and cartoons have been published in numerous magazines and newspapers. His oils, acrylics, watercolours and drawings can be found in private and corporate collections in the UK and abroad.
Exhibitors: Trevor Green
13/05/2008 - 15/06/2008
"Distant Perspectives"
This will be Lynda's fourth solo exhibition at Upfront. "Distant Perspectives" is about her travels to Skye and Venice.
Mixed media collage, incorporating photographs, textured papers, scrim and printing using emulsion paint, fabrics and papers trapped with wax and completed with a mixture of acrylic and emulsion paint.
Exhibitors: Lynda Roberts
16/06/2008 - 20/07/2008
"The Art of Printmaking"
An exhibition of work by selected artist printmakers from within and outside Cumbria.
The exhibition will include different techniques of printmaking and an explanation of the processes involved.