Guildford Arts Summer Exhibition: Yvonne Arnaud Art

About

The Mill Studio, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, 6 – 21 July 2022 
Mon-Sat 10am - 5pm
Admission Free – All Works for Sale

July sees the return of the annual Guildford Arts Summer Exhibition to the historic and peaceful riverside setting of the Mill Studio, in the heart of the town.  Over 20 local and national artists will display their ingenuity and creativity in glass, ceramics, wood, prints, paper, paintings, drawings and photography

Light, layers, colour, form and energy flow throughout the Exhibition; while there is no overall theme connections and relationships naturally emerge in this thoughtfully curated show, which ensures that no two techniques or interpretations are the same.  Labelling artists as ‘printmaker’, ‘painter’ or ‘photographer’ is limiting as it does not describe the immense manipulation and exploration of techniques within those artforms - this Exhibition offers a chance to see a wide variety of techniques up close and in detail.  The artists also help with the stewarding of the Exhibition and attend the two Meet the Artist Saturdays, providing an informal opportunity for visitors to chat to them and find out more about their inspiration, working styles and techniques. Younger visitors have their own Art Quiz, with art materials and prizes supplied. All the artworks on display are for sale.

The natural world has inspired many of the artists who illuminate the beauty and reality of the environment in their own way, from the abstract interpretation of landscapes in the paintings of Tamara Williams, Catherine Warren to the play of light, colours and shapes across the paintings of Stephen Kinder, Marilyn Cudmore and Nicola Rose.  The juxtaposition of the poised and stylised lino-cuts of Diana Croft and the observation of transformation in the rusting, decaying, abandoned subjects in the prints of Peg Morris provide fascinating contrasts to the fluidity of paint. 
Texture and layering are a feature throughout of many of the works, from flat to 3-D: surface quality and natural decay are the essence of Jim Tucker’s found-item sculptures; glass artist, Joanna Lloyd, encapsulates the rough to the polished, often encasing shells, stones and flowers within in her unique sculptures; and Andrew Poder uses highly-figured English hardwood and natural burrs, often working with rare 5,000 year old bog oak.

Three photographers emphasise the wide range of photograph techniques now used, from the still, gritty quality of John Hedgecock’s black and white pinhole photography, stark when seen against the vibrant, intense colours and multi-layered process of Mark Munroe-Preston’s digital photography, and Diana Uzon’s fine art photographs, which combine in-camera macro shots with creative processing. That drilling down of detail and forensic focus of examination is also seen in the delicate prints of Lesley Corbett’s foliage, fronds and feathers and the stunning still life watercolours of Leri Kinder.