‘head room’ is an exhibition of four artists work in the Blyth Gallery. It explores play spaces, interior worlds and the lost, found and salvaged through drawings, paintings and sculpture. The exhibiting artists are Andrea Gregson, Thomas Hylander, Clare Mitten and James Wright.
Gregson’s works include three sculptures and two sketches. The three sculptures displayed are fantastic. From the outside these sculptures are interesting wooden boxes. On closer inspection, they yield detailed interior worlds. Due to the nature of the boxes, you find yourself peering through the openings to discover what new detail you can find. When exploring ‘Lair’ it is easy to overlook exactly what is inside – so keep an eye out. Each opening you look through provides a new and deliberate perspective to view the interior.
Thomas Hylander’s acrylic works on canvas have some degree of abstraction that gives them a dream like quality. His paintings bring together landscape and still life in some circumstances and in others; the painting is a sparse survey.
Clare Mitten’s work is executed in mixed media. It uses found and salvaged items to great effect. When viewing the exhibition, the experience is not complete without viewing Mitten’s work in the cabinet. Her work permeates around the exhibition but the scene using the cabinet is extremely visually rich and detailed.
James Wright’s work is extremely curious. In contrast to Mitten’s work, in which lost items are reused as the media; Wright’s work deals with the lost items. His works are incredibly detailed, so much so that his paintings have a photographic quality. They are so well executed that they force us to think carefully about the subject and why he has chosen to present it.
The exhibition is in the Blyth Gallery, on level 5 of the Sherfield Building. It is well worth a look and I would definitely recommend it as a break from revision or coursework. The work is varied enough to have some interest to most people. The exhibition is open from Monday to Sunday, 9 AM – 10 PM until 23 May 2005.
Email this Article
