ARTISTS
Naming the Thing: New work from the Freelands Studio Fellowship 2023
This exhibition brings together the work of the six Freelands Studio Fellows, David Auborn, Michael Clarence, Ciarra铆 MacCormac, Vivian Ross-Smith, Mikey Thomas and Esther Thorniley-Walker, marking the end of a year-long programme of studio practice, teaching and mentorship.
Each artist has spent a year working within one of six partner universities across the UK: Bath Spa University, Manchester Metropolitan University, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, The University of Brighton, Ulster University, Belfast and University of Wales Trinity Saint David. 鈥�
The artists' roles within these institutions were hybrid and amorphous, shifting between making, teaching and learning. They navigated new spaces for work, play and study within these educational structures. Now at the end of the process, they reflect on the difficulty of articulating this liminal position, as when titling an artwork, 'naming the thing'.
The works exhibited vary in materiality and approach, evidencing a diverse commitment to studio practice. Nonetheless they uncover threads of conversation and exchange, witnessing the spirit of openness between the artists and the relationships formed during their Fellowship.
Multiple themes connect these practices: including the structure of painted surfaces, how materials and bodies support each other, and the revelation of intimate, interior spaces. These works see reality altered, the natural world reimagined, human faces generated, and systems and shapes repurposed.
This exhibition and the accompanying publication act as a record for these artists鈥� time spent in the distinctive role of Freelands Studio Fellow. These are testament both to each artist鈥檚 willingness to take risks to expand their practices, and the fertility of the unnameable mutually supportive space between making, teaching and learning.
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This exhibition brings together the work of the six Freelands Studio Fellows, David Auborn, Michael Clarence, Ciarra铆 MacCormac, Vivian Ross-Smith, Mikey Thomas and Esther Thorniley-Walker, marking the end of a year-long programme of studio practice, teaching and mentorship.
Each artist has spent a year working within one of six partner universities across the UK: Bath Spa University, Manchester Metropolitan University, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, The University of Brighton, Ulster University, Belfast and University of Wales Trinity Saint David. 鈥�
The artists' roles within these institutions were hybrid and amorphous, shifting between making, teaching and learning. They navigated new spaces for work, play and study within these educational structures. Now at the end of the process, they reflect on the difficulty of articulating this liminal position, as when titling an artwork, 'naming the thing'.
The works exhibited vary in materiality and approach, evidencing a diverse commitment to studio practice. Nonetheless they uncover threads of conversation and exchange, witnessing the spirit of openness between the artists and the relationships formed during their Fellowship.
Multiple themes connect these practices: including the structure of painted surfaces, how materials and bodies support each other, and the revelation of intimate, interior spaces. These works see reality altered, the natural world reimagined, human faces generated, and systems and shapes repurposed.
This exhibition and the accompanying publication act as a record for these artists鈥� time spent in the distinctive role of Freelands Studio Fellow. These are testament both to each artist鈥檚 willingness to take risks to expand their practices, and the fertility of the unnameable mutually supportive space between making, teaching and learning.
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