JEREMY BROOKES | LOUISE HAWKINS | HARRIET HITCHEN
This exhibition is about the way an artist is both concealed behind their work and revealed by it.
The origins of this exhibition lie with the novel nude by Harriet Hitchen. nude is a modern day retelling of the life of forgotten Pre-Raphaelite painter Joanna Boyce, who can never be famous because so much of her work was destroyed in the Bath Blitz. The book is about revealing the life of an artist, and how that story is never the one we will expect it to be.
The paintings are by Louise Hawkins. Created especially for this show, the collection includes the source material and the finished paintings. Exploring the autobiographical nature of the still life painting, where inanimate objects contain a wealth of hidden meanings, the artist has taken this one step further and turned herself into an object within her still life paintings.
In Painted, she has taken the rare step of transforming a self-portrait oil sketch into an object within an assemblage – resulting in a finished artwork which is both daring in the way it gives the artist a visible presence in her work, and also reductive in the way the sketch has no more status than a tube of oil paint within a wider group.
The sculptures are by Jeremy Brookes. His practice is rooted in the Cotswold landscape and he shows how an artwork can be a self-portrait even when it is abstract. In this series of earthcrete and carved wood vessels, his work continues to explore the idea that the things he finds of interest in his surroundings are a reflection of himself.
Earthcrete is created by mixing cement with soil and other found materials. His series of vessels are autobiographical, even if they do not immediately appear to be representational.
This exhibition is a collaboration between the artists and the author, and has been curated by Lorna Brookes at Crumps Barn Studio, Cirencester
About the artists:
Jeremy Brookes is based near Birdlip. His practice is centred on the idea that art is a form of self-portrait. The act of walking in the Cotswold landscape is the key for him – and it influences his work in both 2D and 3D. Jeremy’s work is abstract, tactile and impactful.
Trained at Goldsmiths and living and working in the Cotswolds, Louise Hawkins practice includes still life. She groups, arranges and curates objects until they are harmonious, and then she is ready to paint. Often subtly autobiographical due to the personal histories of the objects she assembles, Louise is exploring her presence in her work with great candour and curiosity.
Harriet Hitchen is an author and art collector based in Cheltenham. She has a degree in Fine Art, specialisting in figure painting.
She is contributing two limited edition posters for the show. These are word based artworks, using monologues from the novel. There will also be a limited number of signed copies of Harriet’s novel nude available to purchase during the exhibition. To guarantee your signed copy, you can reserve your book through our online shop.
The venue
The exhibition is being hosted by the Crumps Barn Studio shop and gallery in Cirencester and the show runs from 3 June to Sunday 18 June. The Crumps Barn Studio shop and Gallery is open Wednesday to Sunday 10:30 to 4:30. Admission to all our exhibitions is FREE.
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