Opens 26 March 2020
The NEWWAVE Exhibition at the Viner Gallery in Wolverhampton is an exciting new collaborative venture between artist/curator Graham Everitt and Emma Bowater, Head of Art at Wolverhampton Grammar School. I was invited to take part because Graham felt that my work would bring an interesting and distinctive dimension to the show, visually, conceptually and in the processes I employ. My contribution was Wind Dance V (original screen print - 69 x 97 cm) pictured below.
The exhibition is ambitious in scale and concept showing 40 artists (local, national and international) including selected work by engineers, teachers, single parents, students, self-employed, unemployed, retired people and professional artists. Showing such a range of artistic backgrounds, practices, styles and genres was a clear objective in the curator’s selection of work.
“I wanted to illustrate that artistic statements can be made at any time in our lives, having been inspired by both positive and negative experiences, and that creativity can be a medium to understanding ourselves. One may have to seek employment in another sector other than the arts but this should never deter or prevent one from being continually creative. One’s well-being is inextricably linked to one’s creativity.”
Graham Everitt – Curator, New Wave Exhibition
The result is a highly engaging, thought provoking exhibition. The spectrum of work may have been difficult to present cohesively but its strength is that its range offers works that both fit within and challenge ones aesthetic and conceptual inclinations. Visitors will find work that attracts and repels, that inspire and irk, that repel and draw you in. I had difficulty limiting the number to include here so forgive my indulgence in some of my favourites which include pieces by Ian Andrews and Sarah Fortes Mayer.
The exhibition had intended to be open to the public as well as the pupils and wider school community but had to close its doors because of Covid-19. It is hoped that it will re-open at some point in the future.
“We will need all our imagination to get through this crisis safely, which I believe we will do. Our creativity will find the solutions. maintain our wellbeing, and hopefully we will reopen.”
Graham Everitt – Curator, New Wave Exhibition
@NEWWAVEWV3
@GapintheMind