Latest People: A new exhibition opens at Gallery40

Gallery40
(L–R) Ian Boutell, Jill Wilkinson, Enrique Garde-Martin, Michael Hutley

Four friends who met doing a Fine Art degree at Northbrook College have a group show at Gallery40 in Gloucester Road. Their show is ‘4Ground’ – ‘ground’ representing both a surface to paint on, and the paint which makes the marks.

Jill Wilkinson’s calm and meditative drawings are of landscape erosion near her home on the Isle of Wight; Enrique Garde-Martin has beautiful painted layerings in both acrylic and encaustic. Ian Boutell makes layered perspex constructions using his highly reflective ‘ground’ and Michael Hutley’s ground is of grids and graphics and plays on words.

All artists in 4Ground are calm and grounded in this beautiful gallery space. You can enjoy a visit, then rejoin the buzz of the North Laine and those other grounds – coffee!

“This exhibition is an example of how the works of four disparate artists can combine to create a beautiful whole.

This is even more surprising given the range of materials and techniques that have been explored from encaustic, sheet acrylic and plaster, as well as pencil, ink and paint on paper and canvas. The stunning work of each artist stands alone, but Michael and Ian’s more structural works and Enrique and Jill’s organic abstractions form a binary opposition that heightens each artist’s work, making 4Ground a real visual treat!”
– Livi Scarisbrick, Visitor

The Artists:

Ian Boutell
Ian Boutell’s abstract paintings are about contrasts, of differences and an underlying unity. They are also about structure and fluidity which reflects his view of the world. He trained and worked as an architect and now an artist whose continuous theme emanates from walking and being in the landscape.

Enrique Garde-Martin
In some of Enrique Garde-Martin’s work, organic forms are stencilled onto layered coloured backgrounds. Often working en plein air, he works intuitively with no preconceived ideas about form or final outcome. The work initially is a direct response to aspects of the landscape that surrounds him which he then obscures by layering colours on top until gradually the work evolves in a fluid way towards abstraction.

Michael Hutley
Through painting and photography, Michael Hutley explores the world in which he lives. His work attempts to capture his response to the environment by suspending critical judgement. Eye-catching images and certain activities or events which attract his attention are photographed or drawn, to be worked on later as collages, drawings or paintings. Latterly, Hutley is also interested in his sub-conscious and conscious responses to these images and attempts to allow his imagination to affect the final outcome of the work.

Jill Wilkinson
Jill Wilkinson’s works are rooted in the landscape and are often simple, sensitive abstractions of features of a ‘place’ that reflect the pattern of an absent mind escaping the turbulence of daily life. They are initiated by allowing ink and water to flow freely to create abstract compositions.  Small lines and symbols stem the randomness of flow and allow a narrative to unfold as motifs separate or drift together.

To find out more visit www.gallery40.co.uk or visit the exhibition at Gallery40, 40 Gloucester Road, Brighton, BN1 4AQ