Hello everyone!
Please
join me for drinks and snacks this Friday 2nd of September, 6 yil 9pm, at Cass
Arts in Kingston, Surrey, 103 Clarence Street KT1 1NW for the opening of
my new exhibition Under the Sea.
It's really easy to get to Kingston,
just a few stops on the train from Waterloo or Clapham Junction, and the
shop is a very short walk from the station.
All
the details are below, as well as some lovely photos by Nicole Mollett
of the Snake Cake sculpture at Milton's Cottage, made in collaboration
with Frog Morris, Martha and Ruby, last month. Curated by Kelly O'Reilly.
With love and best wishes - Joanna
"The holder of the blue rose will have her wishes granted."
A blue rose is a flower of the genus Rosa (family Rosaceae) that presents blue to violet pigmentation.
In literature and art it is a symbol of love and
prosperity, the impossible or the unattainable. Since the blue rose is a
rarity in nature, it stands for something that is hardly within one's
grasp, an object(ive) that seems too difficult to achieve.
Thus, the blue rose is admired and revered as an unachievable dream.
It also expresses love at first sight, royal majesty and splendour.
One of the motif's in Joanna McCormick's oil paintings,
vibrant blue roses dance across the canvas, sharing space with
butterflies, sea monsters, sailors and mermaids.
Joanna's work snatches inspiration from retro imagery and
texts from poetry and song lyrics. Victorian scrap books and medieval
chap books, wallpaper and textile designs. William Morris and Sanderson.
Old photographs, such as those found in "We are the people" - Tom
Philips' exhibition of postcards at the V&A.
These elements are painted in oil on canvas, with vibrant
colours, using a broad range of techniques. From free scumbling
translucent brushwork, to intensely fine lined detail drawn in paint
onto flat colours across the canvas.
Weaving historical and political narratives into a
wonderland fairytale world, that viewers are encouraged to freely
interpret and create their own story from.
Under the Sea - For this exhibition at Cass Arts in
Kingston, Surrey, KT1 1NW, September 2nd - September 16th 2016,
interdisciplinary artist Joanna McCormick shows her paintings alongside
Neil Ellis's Brilliant Neon, to create an installation that shines with
vibrant colour and light.
The opening party on Friday September 2nd, 6-9pm, will be a
musical dance extravaganza featuring Alice Labant and Gordon D.
Raeburn.
Gordon's musical response on the bagpipes takes as its
starting point the song Under the Sea. Weaving into this snippets and
essences of hornpipes such as Crossing the Minch, Tam Bain's Lum and
Little Beggar Man.
Alice Labant's contemporary dance movement research Current
Biopsy, is a score based solo exploration of the components and
mechanisms of the body. It explores the body's underlying kinaesthetic
power of expression and examines volumes, gravity, fluids, cells, core
bones and surfaces, and how these relate to water and currents of
energy. Investigating and fishing for notions of spiral, tides and
density.
The exhibition and performance is an experiment with
spatial variations, and sits between disciplines. Exploring notions of
materiality, repetition and how motifs and themes relate and interact
across formats.
The anchor, the lobster, hearts, birds, words and rainbows.
The show connects personal and political impulses and
transgresses boundaries to create an innovative and collaborative,
bright and evocative installation.
Joanna McCormick is an interdisciplinary artist who has
exhibited widely both in the UK and abroad. She has worked as artist in
residence for organisations such as Westminster Arts, The Holly Lodge
Centre at The Royal Parks at Richmond and the National Trust.
She has shown work at The Venice Biennalle as part of Vanya Balogh's Fall of the Rebel Angels - 2015.
Joanna has devised and delivered many live art
interactions. For example with Sarah Sparkes for Chutney Preserves and
Frog Morris for The Royal Academy of Arts.
Joanna
paints and draws in oils, watercolour, pastel, pen,
pencil and charcoal, and also makes sculptural objects linked to her
live
art practice. Joanna teaches art classes at The Thomas Calton Centre in
Peckham, for Southwark Adult Learning, and runs a regular art drop in
session at Union Chapel every second Wednesday of the month.
Born in Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Gordon D. Raeburn started
dancing at an early age before studying at Trinity Laban, gaining a BA
in Contemporary Dance and an MA in Dance performance, and is now a
freelance performer.
Recent performances include 'Impronte' in Rome
choreographed by Barbara Greco, 'Spun Through Shadows, choreographed by
Thea Stanton and 'Stab' in Singapore choreographed by Peter Gn.
As well
as performing, Gordon is part of the Swallowsfeet collective, the team
behind organising and curating the annual Swallowsfeet festival in
Brighton, his main role is choreographing the collective.
Being a musician also, music is often involved in his projects, playing the bagpipes, harmonica and piano.
Alice Labant was born in France where she trained at the
Conservatoire de Musique et de Danse of La Rochelle. In 2014 she
graduated with a First Class Degree in Contemporary Dance from Trinity
Laban and won the Marion North Award for Outstanding Achievement
in Performance. Based in London she has since performed for Charles
Linehan, Marina Collard, Vania Gala and Jayne Port amongst others.
Alice has strong interest in other art fields, working in collaboration
with jewellery designers, theatre directors, visual artists,
video makers and musicians in Germany, Holland, Switzerland and France.
Since early 2016, she has been part of Medeber Teatro in London and
collaborates with Elia Patrizi in Berlin while developing her own
creative research.
Brilliant Neon Ltd are a London startup, based in vibrant Peckham,
designing and retailing bespoke neon at affordable prices. Our ethos is
that we want everyone to be able to enjoy the beauty, craftsmanship and
fun that traditional glass neon lighting can offer.
Our collection has been creatively constructed with a
desire to spread happiness through artworks that bring a smile and
embrace a sense of fun. The retro feel of neon in a modernist setting
offers the fusion of vintage with cutting edge designs.
Inspired by vintage signs of Soho and Las Vegas, our
talented craftsmen are able to skillfully mould glass neon into our
original contemporary designs producing a beautiful level of lighting
through illuminated colours that would enhance any interior.
Our neon
signs work well in both home and business settings, so regardless of
whether you have a large or small space that you want to brighten up, we
are sure there is a neon to meet your needs and budget.
As well as offering our own unique range, we are able to create bespoke neons in a range of colours, fonts and sizes.
Under the Sea runs from September 2nd to September 16th 2016.
At Cass Arts in Kingston, Surrey. 103 Clarence Street KT1 1NW.
Opening party with live art musical performance on Friday September 2nd 6-9pm.
And here is the Snake Cake, from Art in the Garden, at Milton's Cottage:
