Blog — cambridge contemporary art

cambridge contemporary art

Glynn Thomas Retro-perspective

exhibitions, Demonstrations, Printmaking, Etchingcambridge contemporary artComment

This April, cambridge contemporary art is showing a retrospective of Glynn Thomas’s work in honour of the artist’s 70th birthday.

Glynn Thomas was born in Cambridge in April 1946 and studied illustration and printmaking at the Cambridge School of Art in the 1960s. Glynn then moved to Suffolk, where he is still based today. cambridge contemporary art is delighted to be celebrating Glynn’s career, which spans over five decades. Glynn has been showing at the gallery for over 20 years and is one of the gallery’s best-loved artists. This exhibition will be Glynn’s largest show to date, with hot-off-the-press new etchings, an extensive collection of work created over the last 50 years, and some of his early student work.

 

Cambridge Boat Houses

 

Glynn Thomas specialises in creating limited edition prints from copper-plate etchings which are hand-drawn and painted onto the plate. The entire process, from the direct line drawings in his sketchbook to figuring out the composition and finally etching the plate, is extremely time-consuming. From its conception to the resulting print, one of Glynn's largest etchings can take more than 200 hours of work to create. Each print is individually inked and entirely unique.

St Edwards Passage

 

Glynn Thomas has a very particular take on perspective, hence the title of this exhibition. He often incorporates several points of view to create a more complete overview of a place. In the extremely insightful book "Glynn Thomas: East Anglia, A Different Perspective" by Alan Marshall, Glynn Thomas is quoted as saying:

"I take the view that you are walking through a landscape. You start off with what is in front of you - then I draw what is beyond that and possibly what is behind me. I have a habit of layering things one on top of the other."

He adds that he moved away from traditional approaches to perspective because "Everybody draws things in rectangles, but if you close one eye you see your nose and the elliptical shape of the eye, so I was always intrigued by how each eye sees different things."

Alan Marshall's book is a highly recommended read if you are interested in learning more about Glynn Thomas's work. It is available at the gallery and is £27.50.

The exhibition runs from Saturday April 2nd until Sunday April 24th. You and your friends are warmly invited to meet Glynn at the exhibition preview on April 2nd from 11am until 2pm.

Glynn will also be holding printing demonstrations at the gallery on April 24th from 12 until 4 pm. Do not miss this unique chance to learn how Glynn creates his beautiful etchings. If you would like to attend the demonstrations, please book a free place in person at the gallery, by e-mailing info@cambridgegallery.co.uk or by phoning 01223 324222.

 

The Champion of the Thames

Early Doors

 

Win on Trinity Street!

cambridge contemporary artComment

The businesses on Trinity Street have come together to run a fantastic competition this Easter! Each shop has put an item into a hamper and a name will be picked on Saturday 26th - the lucky winner will take home everything in the hamper!

We are pleased to be working with the other businesses on beautiful Trinity Street, we feel that it is a beautiful street with so many interesting shops and traders. 

From the 19th to 26th March, every time you purchase something in one of the participating businesses, you can enter your name and contact number into the competition, then you will be in with the chance of winning an amazing hamper packed with gifts worth over £600 from Trinity Street shops.

The hamper includes: meals out, artwork, clothing, accessories, toys, beauty products, home gifts and much more. The more purchases you make at any of the businesses involved, the greater chance you have of winning!

The lucky winner of the hamper will be announced at close of trading on Saturday 26th March.

Prizes in the hamper include:

Missoni Scarf worth £120 from Anthony  |  Lambswool Blanket from Brora  |  £50 meal voucher and 3 bottles of premium olive oil from Strada  |  Fairtrade wooden bus from When I Was a Kid Toy Shop  |  £15 voucher from Heffers  |  Raku Boat worth £90 from Cambridge Contemporary Art  |  £50 voucher from Cambridge University Press Bookshop  |  Nail polish set and tote bag from Comptoir Des Cotonniers  |  Ladies scarf, hand cream, necklace and bag from White Stuff  |  Monopoly, the Cambridge edition from Jacks on Trinity  |  Cambridge tote bag from Giles & Co

T&C’s: 1) You must fill in an entry card within one of the participating businesses to be entered into the competition 2) No minimum purchase spend required, any price purchase made will allow you to be entered into the competition. 3) Purchases must be made from within the businesses listed 4) Purchases made after 26th March will not be entered. 5) The hamper and its contents cannot be exchanged for alternative gifts, vouchers or money.

Thank you to Cambridge Bid for working with the traders on Trinity Street to organise this competition.

Meet the artist - Ikuko Iwamoto

Meet the artist, ceramicscambridge contemporary art1 Comment

Like Ruth Molloy, Gael Sellwood and Mani Parkes, Ikuko Iwamoto's work is another very recent addition to our gallery. 

Ikuko Iwamoto

Ikuko started making ceramics in 1990 at Tezukayama College in Japan. She then moved to London to do an undergraduate degree in ceramics at the Camberwell College of Arts and she subsequently completed an MA in ceramics and glass at the Royal College of Art. At the RCA she started to make functional pieces using a slip casting technique using plaster moulds. Ikuko is now a successful artist working from her studio in London and she has exhibited extensively both in the UK and Japan.

All of Ikuko's work is entirely handmade. The main body of a piece is usually created using a slip-casting technique. Ikuko makes all the casting moulds herself by hand. Every part of the decoration, including every single spike, is then individually crafted and attached by hand. All of the pieces are made from porcelain.

Nucleolus Pofupfou Teapot and Spiky Milk Jug

Ikuko's work is informed by her own curiosity about invisible things such as sounds, music and the microscopic world - cells, genes and organic forms. The meticuolous level of detail with which she works is spot on for a subject matter that includes the tiniest of sea creatures and the minutest of micro-organisms.

Ikuko has already achieved critical acclaim and in March 2009, she was awarded the Ceramic Review Prize for Innovation at the RCA's Ceramic Art London exhibition. 

 

Nucleolus Pofu Teapots

How did you get started with your art career?

I went art and craft history BA course in Japan and I started making throwing pots when I was 18 years old.

 

What is your preferred medium to use?

Clay.  I tried to use metal when I was a student at Camberwell, but very frustrated…

Nucleolus Pofu Teapot Closeup

How do you go about making a new cup or vessel?

I draw the shape on the paper first and then make a model with plaster.  Carving plaster by hand, and then I make mould from the model.

 

What inspired the range of work that we have in the gallery?

Microscopic patterns

 

Which other artists do you admire?

Outsider artist especially Henry Darger

 

Could you describe a typical working day?

I drop off my kids to school and nursery in the morning and then go to studio by bike. I work at my studio in Clerkenwell between 9:45am and 2:45pm and then picking up my son from school.

 

How do you see your work evolving in the future?

I make framed sculpture too (www.ikukoiwamoto.com), so I would like to make a lot of art works as well as tableware.

Ikuko's work on display at cambridge contemporary art




Our Mixed Spring Exhibition

exhibitionscambridge contemporary artComment

Spring is in the Air and we're celebrating Mother's Day (Sunday 6th March)

Mums love beautiful unique handmade things and we've got a gallery full of perfect gifts for them!

Our Mixed Spring Show at cambridge contemporary art, which runs till 28th March, has plenty to offer. We are pleased to be showing new artists Victoria Dawes, Laura Lane, Ikuko Iwamoto and Jill Shaddock. Their ceramics are both functional and beautiful to look at. If you really want to spoil your mum, we also have some lovely floral screenprints by Angie Lewin in stock, including the new 'Honesty Blue'. Or be truly original and get your mum this brand new red dress by Joseph Silcott, which is entirely composed of hand-cut butterflies and is sure to put a smile on her face. Come in and browse our gallery for more gift ideas.

Spring is in the Air!

Photographycambridge contemporary artComment

We have a new Spring window display featuring Martin Bond's photograph of Magdalene College daffodils as a limited edition print, greetings card, postcard - all available to buy in the gallery. This month's cover of Cambridge Magazine is also matching! The photograph is a lovely, bright, cheerful image which is part of Martin's Cambridge Diary where he takes a photo a day. This image was taken in 6th April 2015.

Also in the window are Ruth Shelley's glass vases and Helen Martino's ceramic sculptures.