Nature's Imprint: A Journey Through Time and Art

Explore the profound and intricate relationship between nature, sustainability, and artistic expression in our latest in-house exhibition “Nature’s Imprint: A Journey Through Time and Art”.  The exhibition, curated by our art partners Contemporary Collective and DegreeArt Gallery, reflects our passion and commitment to art and sustainability.

The collection features the work of seven artists, including Dutch textile artist and eco-activist Claudy Jongstra. It explores how artists engage with environmental concerns using sustainable practices, materials and themes to provide a unique perspective on the natural world.

The exhibition in Bankside’s White Box event space is open from 29th May to 24th November 2024 and we invite guests and the community to drop by and view.*

*If you are visiting from afar we encourage you to call ahead to check opening times and plan your visit. Please call +44 (0)20 3319 5988

Objectives

Through thought-provoking artworks, the exhibition aims to raise awareness about environmental issues and the importance of sustainable living practices. By showcasing innovative approaches to sustainability in art and design, it seeks to inspire viewers to adopt more eco-conscious behaviours in their daily lives.

Ensuring the traceability and sustainability of materials is vital for artists aiming to leave a positive legacy for the planet. Each exhibiting artist uses sustainable materials and has incorporated sustainable practices into their works to offer a unique perspective on the natural world. Claudy Jongstra creates a completely sustainable chain in her practice.

“Expression is the heart of the planet, but it need not be at the cost of it.”

Mary Dalton, Artist

Exhibiting Artists

CLAUDY JONGSTRA

As part of an ongoing collaboration we are proud to include the works of world-renowned textile artist Claudy Jongstra. Known worldwide for her monumental artworks and architectural installations, whose organic surfaces and nuanced tones reflect her masterful innovations in the ancient technique of making wool felt.

In 2001, Jongstra established her studio in the rural North of The Netherlands, where she began a sweeping ecological experiment in the local landscape. Maintaining a flock of rare, indigenous Drenthe Heath sheep (the oldest breed in Northern Europe) and cultivating a specialised dyers’ botanical collection garden,

Jongstra creates a completely sustainable chain culminating in her artworks. As Jongstra’s artistic practice expands, so does the impact on her region. Collaborating with local farms, schools, and social programs and drawing on a deep respect for the interwoven narratives of people, land, and tacit knowledge, Jongstra actively reimagines and revitalises the local landscape from monocultural production toward a more diverse, inclusive, and ecologically-just model.

JOSIE CLOUTING

Josie’s paintings are intuitive responses to the natural environment, inspired by the vastness and wonder of thenatural world. Her works are saturated with colour and vitality, incorporating a variety of media including oils, inks and pigments. From cultivated botanic gardens to wild stormy beaches and the rolling hills where she lives, Josie’s paintings reflect her response to light, atmosphere, and topography. Painting and sketching en plein air is a vital part of her practice. She directly reacts to the landscape, feeling its energy and playing with loose, immediate brushstrokes on a large scale canvas.

Josie graduated with a degree in Fine Art from Norwich University of the Arts in 2012, and is based in South Oxfordshire. Previous shows include the Oxfordshire Open at the Ronapainting Gallery, Moving Landscape at Ayres House Studios, and the Royal Watercolour Society Open where Josie earned the Cotswolds Mount Prize 2023.

KELLY JENKINS

Kelly Jenkins is an abstract painter and textile artist based in Hampshire, UK. With a first-class Honours Degree from The West Wales School of Art and a Masters in Textiles from the Royal College of Art, Kelly soon drew wide success from her graduate show featuring her collection of knitted paintings bought by Blain Southern, London. She has since lectured at her former alma mater on the subject of art and textiles and founded Abbotts Ann Arts, a creative educational hub in Hampshire. Kelly’s rare style is a symphony of paint, embroidery, and geometric data visualisations on canvas.

Her paintings juxtapose the familiar landscape with aesthetics of the information age to create an equally intense and playful atmosphere. The ultimate goal of Kelly’s art is to transform rooms worldwide into colourful and happy places, offering a form of joy and clarity amongst the speed and tension of contemporary life. Much of her work is a pure reflection of personal emotions translated into paint and stitch onto the physical canvas. The process of painting and embroidering offer emotional and physical restoration and comfort. With grit, sass and positivity, Kelly’s work carries an arresting sense of levity.

LYRA MORGAN

Lyra Morgan is an award-winning painter who resides in the United Kingdom. She recently earned a Special Recognition at the Light Space Time Abstracts Exhibition 2024 and a Merit award at the Green Art Contest 2023 sponsored by the Grey Cube Gallery. Lyra Morgan’s artistic journey is marked by an ongoing exploration of water’s ephemeral nature and its ability to manifest in various forms. From clouds to rivers, Lyra adorns her canvas with shades of blue and green to create an immersive, atmospheric piece. She applies a colour-dragging technique to build texture and enhance its multi-layered look.

Lyra believes art to be an avenue for energy, calmness, and colour to transform familiar spaces. Her paintings are metaphors for our intertwined relationship with Earth, urging its future preservation and embracing its complexity and diversity. Lyra’s artwork underscores the urgency for collective action. She advocates for individuals to undertake measures, regardless of scale, to foster a more harmonious and sustainable existence with the natural world.

MARY DALTON

Mary Dalton is a professional printmaker and arts educator. Her work traverses genres, radically expanding the presence of printmaking into areas of sculpture, installation, textile, and performance. Her prints are stand-alone, non-edition artworks, presenting audiences with a truly unique and dynamic piece. Mary’s art has been featured in prestigious collections from the Tate Library, Imperial War Museum, V&A Museum, the Canadian War Museum, and the British Library. Alongside her education from the Royal College of Art, Mary was trained by master printmakers such as Alan Smith, Robin Smart, and Stanley Jones MBE.

Mary often creates her prints by using a multitude of techniques to effectively express different elements of the tale. An innovative technique she developed in 2021 is Lithino–lithography on the lino surface, a natural compostable and biodegradable printing form. Much of Mary’s research is dedicated to finding sustainable routes in her artistic practice. In addition to lithino, Mary creates using self-made paper, non-toxic oil-based inks, reusable plastic sheets, cotton rags, traditional oiled stencil cards, and more ecoconscious tools. Her ecological approach to printmaking is not only groundbreaking in aesthetic appeal, but also in its impact on sustainability within the art community and beyond.

RAF ZAWISTOWSKI

Much of Raf’s artistic inspiration stems from his time abroad in Florence, Italy where he studied the Renaissance era and exhibited his artwork. Raf blends traditional methods from the Old Masters and contemporary art practices. Using a mixture of oil paint and wax, Raf produces a unique texture to his artworks accompanied by a vivid colour palette. He begins with a sketch,then observes the natural landscape.
He incorporates often overlooked colours in nature, such as the greens on moss under a fallen tree, and focuses on natural textures. Raf implements the layers he notices on trees by scraping away paint layers to reveal the glow within his art.

Zawistowski graduated in 2011 and later that year he exhibited at New Contemporaries where Charles Saatchi bought several of his artworks. In 2012 Zawistowski exhibited his first solo exhibition and Charles Saatchi bought the entire collection before the private view. Zawistowski continues to exhibit his artwork through group and solo exhibitions and his worldwide collector base grows monthly

ROD MCINTOSH

Amidst the noise and chaos of reality, Rod McIntosh creates quiet, reflective, optimistic, and affirming art. Process is central to Rod’s artistic practice. His markmaking embodies a gestural flow with a mindfulness to breathing and physical strength. Alongside choreographed movement, specific materials like ink and paper enrich his art. Following traditional eastern recipes for archival inks and pastes, Rod works upon delicate Chinese paper that absorbs every
fluid movement. His mark-making has a brevity and honesty that reveals itself through a muted pallet of monotones. Its minimal appearance coalesces with the quiet sensitivity to his materials, time invested, and action.

By combining the physical act of the brushwork with his breathing, stance, and mindset, Rod captures the essence of the present moment. He creates art full-time from his purpose-built studio next to his home on the Kent North Downs. His work is in international private, corporate, and hospitality collections; and he is a featured artist in local and international fairs like the Affordable Art Fair, Accessible Art Fair, and SCOPE Art Fair Miami.

Contemporary Collective x DegreeArt Gallery

One of the UK’s first Online Art Galleries, over the past 20 years, DegreeArt.com has established itself as the market leader in UK student & graduate art sales, hand-picking & promoting the most promising talent.

Receiving recognition and awards at each stage of the gallery’s development, they rank 7th in the Hiscox Online Art Retailers rankings, directly under Bonhams, Sotheby’s and Christies.Following 12 years in Vyner Street, E2, the gallery is now based in Somerset House is far from just an online gallery. The gallery holds regular solo and group exhibitions and takes part in Art Fairs in the UK and internationally, throughout the year. Their international Signature Art Prize has been established for 13 years, shining a light on the ‘Signature Style’ of student and recent graduate artists.

In addition to selling, commissioning and renting the finest artwork, created by artists emerging from the most prestigious art establishments, The gallery also runs Bankside’s Art Yard Maker’s Studio, which brings an ever-changing programme of makers-in-residence. Residencies are typically two months, during which time the artists use the space to develop their creative process, showcase their work, and host a range of workshops. Guests and passers-by are encouraged to pop in and watch artists practice their creative expertise.

ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE
Josie Clouting
9th September - 15th December 2024