“A Celebration of Printmaking and Fine Art” Exhibition at Ironbridge Fine Arts

Ironbridge Fine Arts Autumn Exhibition will be on display from the 1st of September through till the 26th of November 2022 including work from our very own stable of Artists as well as invited Guest Artists.

• Specialist Printmaker Jenny Gunning’s Intaglio Etchings
• Fine-art photographer-printmaker Lindsay Moran’s photogravure collection
• Linocut, mono print and dry point by Mike Ashton focusing on Shropshire’s flora and Fauna
• Liz Gunning’s Earthenware pottery
• Fine Art Photography by Victoria Wood
• Sam Bramwell’s Sculptures
• Dave Gunning’s Etched Steel and pencil on Paper collections
• Paul Gooderham Ceramics
• Liz Simmons Hand made Jewellery
• Greg-Anston Race Fused Glass
• Eric Gaskell Reduction Lino Prints
• Karen O’Neil Limited Edition Prints
• Diana Wayne Chine-collé Etchings and Cards
• James Millicamp Mixed Media on Canvas
• Gillian Stokes Limited Edition Prints
• Rob Pountney Limited Edition Prints
• Janet Jordan Etchings
• Limited Edition Prints by Helen Arthur
• Glass Artist Geraldine McGloughlin
• Terrariums by Anna Pearson

Which Guest Artists are featured in this year’s Autumn Exhibition?

Lindsay Moran

Lindsey has a keen interest in the relationship between printmaking and photography. Her work explores the impact of light in both architectural and organic contexts; whilst being created by a process that is itself dependent on light exposure. Lindsey works predominantly with photopolymer etching plates which allow her to produce textures and detail with continuous tones and rich blacks.As an educationalist Lindsey has a love of buildings of historic or educational significance. Places that celebrate or house collections that both inform and educate. Lindsey has exhibited widely; recent highlights include the New Light Art Prize, Royal West of England Academy Open Exhibition, Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, 5th Global Print Biennial Douro, Portugal and Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair. She gained a BEd Hons. in Art and Education at University College Chester where she specialised in Printmaking and received the Academic Award for Art. She was invited to stay on as a Research Fellow to investigate ‘The Role of the Computer in Fine

Art Printmaking’. Technology still plays an intrinsic role in her printmaking today.

Sam Bramwell

“I create sculptures using found materials from specific locations. Based on the narrative within the material and place, I allow for chance and a spontaneous reaction to the site. I search for the narrative within the material and site-specific work and seek to provoke this in sculptural forms.

To see something and search for the visceral and destructive impact within our environment is an important element to me. Objects which decay, the passing of time, the history of a place, and what used to exist form an unusual juxtaposition between the present state of the found material and the imagined state of its past. In my mind, removing historical context leaves a visual form. As an artist, I am revealing the material and allowing a different perspective raising questions to the viewer.

My ongoing body of works examines the ongoing relationship that I have with London city life and the discarded materials within it. The sculptures were made from rusted objects along the Thames riverbank and discarded wood that I found outside houses where I live in East Dulwich. Every week I would climb down the ladder and fill up a big Ikea bag full of materials from the Thames to which would be the starting blocks for my sculptures. The rust and water corrosion formed a layer over many of these objects, so they had a pure and formal element. I imagined each sculpture containing its own character or mood. In some sense, it was about bringing these materials to life whilst also protecting their ambiguous qualities’’

Mike Ashton

Mike is a graphic designer and illustrator based in Shrewsbury since 1993. Being creative from a very early age, he studied illustration at Portsmouth College of Art & Design. He went on to work as an illustrator for architectural and archeological companies. He moved to Shropshire over thirty years ago to pursue his passion for wildlife conservation. Mike now combines environmental, community and art projects with his creative skills and runs a successful graphic design business – MA Creative, based in Shrewsbury.

Mike turned his attention to linocut printing just a few years ago and has since experimented with a wider range of printmaking techniques, such as etching, drypoint, and collagraph. He purchased a Gunning etching press in 2019 which he uses for many of his linocuts and intaglio prints.

Linocut printing lends itself very comfortably with Mike’s approach to imagery. He uses strong colour and shape to create his quirky, individual style. A strong compositional awareness creates a journey through the picture, inspired by, rather than depicting a specific scene. Much of his work is based on nature, landscape and seaside, developed from a long interest in the natural environment. He regularly adds a human element to the picture, enabling engagement with the viewer and contrasting with the countryside scenes.

Victoria Wood

A graduate of Staffordshire University, Victoria studied photography while in my education I took a particular interest in still life photography taking inspiration from a variety of practitioners in the genre. I focused my final show on fine art photography food is the thing that brings us all together, it is a way of communicating between people and ideas, or feelings the fragility of life hanging by a single thread. To see the title ‘Fine Dining’ would suggest the sole purpose of this collection of work is a commercial one, however, this is not the case. Fine art adds a creative element to my commercial work that would see the collection sit comfortably in a commercial setting and in a gallery setting. The collection of work I have created is not strictly fine art, but a combination of fine art and commercial work. If I strip my work back to the basics, what you get is simply everyday objects you find in your home.

Is the Exhibition Free to enter and where can we park?

The exhibition is free to enter and our opening hours are Tuesday to Friday 10 am till 3 pm and Saturday 10 am till 3 pm. We have designated parking right outside our Gallery in a large car park. Parking is free for up to two hours but if you need longer looking around speak to a member of the team who can upload your registration number onto the Parking Eye system to ensure you have free parking for longer!

Facilities

• Disabled Access
• Disabled Parking
• Disabled Toilets
• Guide Dogs
• Entrance Flat No Steps