Amplifier / EPC #16 in progress
Hello
There’s a beautiful crisp autumn light permeating the studio this morning, so much so that I have to keep the shutters partially shut just to be able to see my screen. So it seems like the perfect time to start work on an autumn edition for the Print Club. I’m going to work up a new variant of my Amplifier artwork, which has been in the back of my mind for a year or two now, but hasn’t quite managed to surface. That is set to change! I’m planning on making a two part print, one metallic, the other matt, and composite those two components onto a holding sheet. I hope it’ll make for a good edition, we’ll see. I’ll write more about the ideas behind it in my next post, which should also have some images of work in progress. All being well, the edition should be in the post within a fortnight. That’s my current plan anyway!
I thought I’d also list a few things here that have brightened up recent weeks... I hope they may be of some interest!
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The Centre of Gravity
There’s been a dearth of physical shows to visit over the summer, but that seems to be changing for the better this autumn. If you’re in Bristol, there’s a fantastic new show of work by 60 mostly local artists at the old Gardiner Haskins department store, spread over five semi derelict floors of their beautiful brick built shop and warehouse. It’s a great throwback, in my mind, to the early nineties, when similar spaces seemed to be readily available for large, messily defined, sprawling shows, where you can just ramble around without too much concern for health and safety. I’d strongly recommend a visit, and especially to the fourth floor, where a group of artists from Spike Island have installed a fantastic set of works. There are also some really engaging video works throughout.
https://www.centreofgravity.uk/
It’s on until Sunday 1st November.
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For Esme - with love and squalor - Chantal Joffe
The Arnolfini is exhibiting a great new show of paintings by Chantal Joffe, which is well worth a visit. She happens to be a friend of my brother in East London, and the show includes a great portrait of my niece Kate with a group of her friends. Apparently Chantal offered to paint a nude of my brother, but he declined. Can’t say I blame him, but it would have been one for the family album if he’d agreed!
https://arnolfini.org.uk/whatson/chantal-joffe/
It’s on until Sunday 22nd November.
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New website and eCommerce store - v5.0
As the Coronavirus continues to wreak havoc in the arts, and the private gallery sector in particular, with reduced opportunities for many of the mid sized galleries I work with to make a living for their artists, and with the closure of pretty much every art fair this year, I’ve decided to revamp my website, with a view to adding an eCommerce component. As we seem to be pivoting away from the high street and towards the internet, it seems like a good moment to try out new ways of showing the work online, using the studio’s website as a more important component in the mix, and perhaps with more video and audio to compliment the text and static images. I’ve certainly been enjoying more short films, virtual studio visits, and the amazing Google Arts and Culture app online of late. I’m hoping the new site will be completed in about two months time, all being well, and should create a good platform to show the latest projects, as it has an integrated blog, and ‘CMS’ (content management system) which seems far more fleet of foot than my current site.
I’m hoping it’ll work well for the studio heading into 2021, I’m quietly excited in fact!
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How to be an Artist - by Jerry Saltz
I picked up a copy of this book for £10 in Rough Trade the other day (delighted that we now have a Rough Trade in Bristol, long may that continue) and I have to say I’ve enjoyed it greatly. If you’re looking for a little inspiration, some positivity, and some entertaining insights into how artists may think and operate, I’d recommend it. A lot of the thinking stems from Bruce Mau’s legendary ‘Incomplete Manifesto for Growth’ but it’s none the worse for that, and many of the 63 ideas it outlines are worth a moment of contemplation. I feel my practice may change as a result! Certainly change seems to be in the air at the moment, in many ways…
https://www.apollo-magazine.com/how-to-be-an-artist-jerry-saltz-book-review/
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I’ll look forward to posting some images of the latest edition as work progresses, and the print will be with you in the post shortly,
With best wishes - as ever - Chuck
