Helen Birmingham’s artwork inspired by Charles Darwin
Broughton House Gallery – June 27th to July 18th 2009
Broughton House Gallery is a uniquely suitable location for this exhibition, as it is the home of the Gwen Raverat Archive (she being Darwin’s granddaughter).
For the last three years Helen’s work (much of it mixed media) has arisen from her fascination with the science of heredity. The results are intriguing and beautiful. Helen is a many-sided artist who has combined practising art (including printmaking), experimenting with unusual techniques and materials, with lecturing and craft. This is how she describes her work:
My work attempts to illustrate the nature of ‘being’, whilst exploring and recording not only the changes which occur during the creation of the piece itself, but also exploring the evolution of ideas and images which occur as a result of that creation.
The exhibition is structured in three parts:
- Geology/Fossils
rocks – earth movement – volcanoes – earthquakes – erosion
- Evolution
tree of life – progression – stages of development
- Writings/Experiments
postcards – letters – books – experiments – research
There is a Line (Voyage) of Discovery that runs through the whole exhibition.
November 29/30, December 6/7 & 13/14 – 10:30 to 5:30
We are inviting our friends and regulars to a modest show of Christmas goodies, including, by popular demand, a Gwen Raverat calendar for 2009.
Continuing the wood engraving theme, we’ve a few Marie Hartleys of the Yorkshire Dales, some choice prints of Monica Poole’s work, a corner of cats from Yvonne Skargon and our usual range of new Andy English prints.
Hannah Davies is showing her latest silver pieces based on the shapes of ginkgo biloba leaves – earrings, necklaces and bracelets. Althea is doing her fused & slumped glass. Sam Reilly provides cups, plates and bowls in her beautiful glazes.
We have a number of idiosyncratic books that you won’t find elsewhere. Charlotte Ardizzone contributes a new batch of prints.
The ever popular BAREFOOT (Sri Lanka) mice, shirts and children’s backpacks make their annual appearance. And we have a supply of Morag Pepper’s hand-knitted scarves from Perthshire – gorgeous colours.
We still have a few examples of work by the following artists. If you would like to come and see them, send us an email (bhgallery@btconnect.com) or contact us by telephone (01223 314960).
Artists:
- G. D. Aked
- Swietlan Kraczyna
- Deirdre Borlase
- Ruth Hogan
- Raymond Lister
- Jean Lodge
- Mike Tingle
- Carlo Mattioli
- Peter Shreve
- Ceri Richards
- Soun Vannithone
Supporters of the gallery will be sad to hear that Emily Pryor (Gwen Raverat’s granddaughter) died on June 25 2008.
We thought it would be a good idea to put on a memorial (non-selling) exhibition of her work here in the Broughton House Gallery, where her work was exhibited several times. Mike Hussey, her husband, is bringing paintings with him from France and we are borrowing back work of hers that was sold in this country.