Studio 21 celebrated its 21st birthday with its most diverse exhibition to date: “Colour Notes”

Colour is ubiquitous. We perceive the colours of the world everyday and most of the time without much regard. At other times we are acutely aware of its hues, tints and intensity. We note the visual sensations of colour and how it communicates to us.

Deliberately open-ended, Colour Notes began with the premise that each Studio 21 artist tends to have their own particular palette of colour to which they return, consciously or unconsciously.

Each artist reflected on this habitual practice: reviewing why and how they use and choose colour. The process was surprisingly challenging for all. We realised how much we individually took our use of colour for granted and how hard it is to separate colour from the other elements of our work, in particular texture and line.

 

Initially we worked in our group, reviewed generic colour theory concepts and worked through exercises. Soon, however, theories were relegated to the background so that each piece could be worked intuitively to reflect each Studio 21 artist’s personal practice.

Instead of a riot of colour, the exhibition comprises a broad range of hues and tones in a varied imagery of space, light and shadow. All of the pieces represent searching and thought-provoking responses. With a wide range of responses including: material colour in and of the landscape; colour created by the changing light of day or season; and capturing a moment of being in a specific place and time. Most notably, colour is described as conjuring and materialising the immaterial: emotional, experiential and memory.

The Colour Notes exhibition travelled to the following venues:

Walford Mill, Dorset
2 March – 7 April 2019

Knitting & Stitching Shows:
11-14 October 2018 at Alexandra Palace, London
8-11 November 2018 at RBS, Dublin
22-25 November 2018 at ICC, Harrogate

Farfield Mill, Sedbergh, Cumbria 
27 November – 31st December 2018