Shazia Mahmood in the gallery

On Friday evening we hosted an after hours meet and greet with painter Shazia Mahmood. The event marked the last weekend of the exhibition of paintings by Shazia Mahmood and ceramics by Anthony Theakston. 

Thank you to all who attended! We are always open to feedback, please let us know if you have any suggestions for future events. Please email us on info@cambridgegallery.co.uk

Photograpy by Zuza Grubecka

Brenda Hartill, Illona Morrice and Lara Scobie Exhibition

cambridge contemporary art is delighted to launch a new exhibition with prints and paintings by Brenda Hartill, sculptures by Illona Morrice and ceramics by Lara Scobie. The exhibition runs from 28th May until 19th June. You and your friends are warmly invited to the exhibition preview on Friday 27th May from 6pm to 7pm.

Brenda Hartill is an innovative British painter and printmaker based in East Sussex. Her work explores the texture, pattern and light of landscape in richly coloured and textured images, often enhanced with silver and gold leaf. Brenda's strong fascination with the primeval, essential structure of the earth and its elements has heavily influenced her prints. While her primary aim is to develop abstract images in the studio, Brenda’s work is firmly rooted in the landscape, and she often finds it necessary to return to it. Whilst known especially for her print-making skills, Brenda has in recent years focussed her attention on a series of watercolours on handmade paper, embossed using her print-making techniques and presses.

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Brenda Hartill

Cool Sun I

embossed watercolour

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Brenda Hartill

Rainbow Storm VI

embossed watercolour

Like Brenda Hartill, sculptor Illona Morrice takes her inspiration from the landscape that surrounds her. Living by the sea on the Moray coast in Scotland, Illona uses the rock, stones and wildlife on the beach and in the mountains as a source of creativity. Over the years, Illona has realised she can say more with less, so her sculptures have become more simplified. Her stoneware clay sculptures are individually made by hand, and no two are ever the same. Illona also creates sculptures which are cast in bronze. Each piece is different, and only a small edition is made.

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Illona Morrice

Penguins

glazed stoneware

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Illona Morrice

Terns

glazed stoneware on soapstone

Lara Scobie is a ceramicist based in Edinburgh whose work is predominantly concerned with the dynamic interplay between form and pattern. This is explored through the cohesive integration of drawing, surface mark making and volume. Lara is interested in the space that surrounds pattern as much as the hue and texture of the decorated surface. Surface patterns and colour observed in botanical life enable Lara to explore her love of colour and abstract pattern making.

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Lara Scobie

Bowls

ceramic

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Lara Scobie

Set of Pourers

ceramic

Brenda Hartill will be giving a talk about her collagraph printing methods, as well as her unique painting and collage techniques on Saturday 18 June at 3pm. Book a free place by email info@cambridgegallery.co.uk, in person at the gallery or over the phone on 01223 324222.

Reg Cartwright, Michael Lythgoe and Sarah Went Exhibition

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Grey Still Life with Fish

This May, cambridge contemporary art is proud to present new paintings by Reg Cartwright, accompanied by Sarah Went’s ceramics and Michael Lythgoe’s sculptures. The exhibition runs from 30th April until 22nd May. You are warmly invited to the exhibition preview on Saturday 30th April from 11am to 1pm.

Reg Cartwright is an award-winning painter and illustrator from Leicester whose work has been exhibited around the world. He began his career as a graphic designer and became a full-time painter and illustrator in 1976. As an illustrator, he is well known for a series of picture books for young readers which he created in collaboration with his wife Ann. As a painter, he creates deceptively simple-looking still-lifes in which he renders everyday objects through subtle abstraction to focus on the tone, colour and physical qualities of his subject matter.

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Suffolk Estuary

Reg Cartwright returns to cambridge contemporary art for his eighth major exhibition. His paintings continue the tradition of British Modernism, calling to mind that of St Ives School painters Ben Nicholson and William Scott. Working primarily with still life, Reg uses familiar objects such as jugs, plates and flowers as a pretext for examining complex spatial relationships. His paintings are less about the objects he paints and more about achieving a balanced and pleasing composition, attaining this by flattening perspective, omitting non-essential details and focusing on tone.

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Bewicks Swan

Michael Lythgoe was born in Liverpool in 1950 and trained as an engineer. During a holiday in the Cape Cod region he purchased an old wooden decoy which inspired him to change careers and become a professional artist, creating wooden bird and fish carvings. Inspired by the early North American decoys Michael's stylised curvilinear representations of wildfowl and waders have now evolved into a style and form entirely unique to him. His sculptures are curvaceous and calming, combining the eye of an ornothologist with the precision of an engineer. Each sculpture is unique, carved from blocks of wood and then sympathetically painted.

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Two Grass Ruffle Vases

Sarah Went is a Cambridge-based contemporary slipware potter who uses the traditional techniques of slip-trailing and sgraffito to create texture and pattern. Her work is hand-thrown on the potter’s wheel and individually decorated. Sarah uses porcelain clay which gives a delicate translucent quality to her work and is perfect for the soft, subtle colours that she uses. When making her glazes, Sarah aims for natural colours reminiscent of the sea, sand and plants around the coast or from her garden.