THE LONDON GROUP
PART ONE : 17 – 21 September 2024
Private View : Wednesday 18 September, 6-9pm
PART TWO : 24 – 28 September 2024
Private View : Wednesday 25 September, 6-9pm
Not known, because not looked for
But heard, half heard in the stillness
Between two waves of the sea
from Four Quartets by T S Eliot
These three lines from Eliot’s epic poem were the starting point of The London Group’s latest, and perhaps most evocative exhibition, Stillness in Movement.
Its themes and offshoots are explored by 74 London Group members – the stillness before dawn; chance encounters that are frozen time; the anticipation and pause before a performance; the stillness between breaths…
An overriding narrative is that of nature changing and resting. In her gravure print, Botanical Beach, J. Yuen-Ling Chiu depicts the stillness and movement of water: ‘Every day the water recedes… underneath granite outcroppings and along stretches of sandstone, tide pools form… every day the water returns.‘
There is a palpable energy running through this two-part show – Alexandra Harley’s sculpture, Mariner Red, with its cascading ceramic shapes and dancing colours; Barbara Beyer’s powerful, dark sculpture Wave which conveys weight and balance within a stopped motion; James Faure Walker’s archival digital print, ‘Jupiter’, an abstract work which exudes both stillness and movement.
The exhibition also speaks of the moments in which art is created. Charlotte C Mortensson’s photograph, May Pen Cemetery, is a cross section in working time – transfixed by the beauty of Trench Town’s concrete graves, the artist is unable to look away.
Diverse media are embraced in Parts 1 and Part 2 of Stillness in Movement – painting, print, drawing, photography, sculpture, olfactory art, film and video, embroidery and fabric work. Interestingly, Victoria Arney’s Birdland, employs still images in the form of cyanotypes and photographs to create a moving image film. It is a magical depiction of earth’s surfaces and bird migration.
Finally, the very notion of stillness is challenged by David Redfern with his submission, An Atom. The artist points out, ‘like the universe, an atom is in constant dynamic movement. The only time it is still is when it is imagined.’
The London Group was formed in 1913 and is one of the oldest artists’ collectives in the world. Founder members include Walter Sickert, Sylvia Goss, Ethel Sands, Jacob Epstein, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska and Lucien Pissaro.
Exhibiting Artists – Part One
Moich Abrahams, Wendy Anderson, Bryan Benge, Slawomir Blatton, Lesley Bunch, Clive Burton, Paul & Laura Carey, Stephen Carley, Robert Clarke, Peter Clossick, Gary Clough, Sandra Crisp, John Crossley, Martin Darbyshire, Stathis Dimitriadis, Beverley Duckworth, Jeff Dellow, James Faure Walker, Marenka Gabeler, Emilia Gonzalez, Alexandra Harley, Aude Hérail Jäge, Alexander Hinks, Gillian Ingham, Anne Leigniel, Genetic Moo, Ian Parker, Alexander Ramsay, Tom Scase, Tommy Seaward, Sayako Sugawara, Paul Tecklenberg, Lisa Traxler, Joshua Uvieghara, Neil Weerdmeester, Carol Wyss
Exhibiting Artists – Part Two
Jemma Appleby, Jonathan Armour, Victoria Arney, Barbara Beyer, Paul Bonomini, Mary Branson, J. Yuen-Ling Chiu, Ece Clarke, Philip Crozier, Angela Eames, Eric Fong, Cadi Froehlic, Tricia Gillman, Susan Haire, Martin Heron, Chris Horner, Jockel Leiss, Amanda Loomes, Hannah Luxton, Charlotte C Mortensson, Kathleen Mullaniff, Eugene Palmer, Claire Parrish, Janet Patterson, Sumi Perera, Steve Pettengell, Michael Phillipson, Daniel Preece, Victoria Rance, David Redfern, Suzan Swale, Almuth Tebbenhoff, David Tebbs, Philippa Tunstill, Bill Watson, Tisna Westerhof, Erica Winstone, David Wiseman
