Press release

Alfred Stockham, Miranda Creswell and Petter Southall: Colour and Line
29 September - 11 November 2007

Alfred Stockham's small landscapes glow with a colour and light which seems uniquely his own. He works slowly and intensely in his studio overlooking the Bristol Channel on groups of small works which emerge gradually until he is satisfied that he has added the perfect touch.
For many years, Alfred taught at Bristol Polytechnic ending as Head of Fine Art. His work seems instinctive yet it is backed by a strong intellect and knowledge of art history. Since 1993 Alfred has been Honorary Curator of the Royal West of England Academy permanent collection. Economical with words and strong on humour, Alfred prefers to let his work speak for itself.

’ÄòAlfred Stockham’s small landscapes are as haunting as ever.’ John Russell Taylor, The Times, reviewing the 2005 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.
'Stockham is an accomplished colourist. He can make the oil paint glow like an icon by the subtle and judicious handling of tone...His colour can communicate every nuance of the hour or the season.' Edward Phelps, Art Critic.

Born and brought up in west Dorset, Miranda now lives in Oxford where she exhibits with Modern Art Oxford. For Sladers Yard, in the landscape of her childhood, Miranda is painting figures within landscapes. Not just Dorset but Scottish islands, vistas of beauty and, perhaps, of longing. The line plays a crucial part with a wash of wonderful colour. In a radiant landscape, the human eye is drawn to a tiny figure, revealing perhaps our hunter/gatherer heritage and providing a focus. The figure within a landscape has been the subject of art and literature for centuries and yet again it provides a rich vein to explore.

Sladers Yard

Miranda has recently completed a residency at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre. A great part of her work is based on drawing, and looking at drawing of all kinds. She is intrigued by the power of a simple dense black line.
As part of an on-going series, People at Work, she drew the staff of the hospital by depicting gestures. Devoid of tools, background or setting, the values and levels of different employment change. Gestures seen in paintings from previous centuries reappear in the modern workplace; movements are repeated across time and employment; the surgeon is dancing, the technician is a blacksmith, the radiologist dreams. Evident in her drawing is her study of Michelangelo's work. 'I am trying above all to paint the beauty and strangeness of the human being.'
Her next project is a study of handwriting and its relationship with drawing in small children, university members and university archives at the Harris Manchester College of Oxford University.
Petter Southall’s curvaceous furniture is a permanent feature at Sladers Yard. His first commission in this country was a dining room for Dame Elisabeth Frink. Her 9 foot elliptical table in solid pitch pine is now on show at Sladers Yard. On the basis of that commission Petter established the i tre furniture studio at Chilcombe in 1991, training apprentices in his unique and expressive style of woodwork which is a combination of innovative cabinet making and boat building techniques, particularly steam bending solid hardwoods. He has been designing and making furniture for private public and corporate clients ever since. For three years he ran a showroom, the i tre Gallery, in Pimlico Road in London. Sladers Yard is now his showroom, run by his wife, Anna Powell, who curates exhibitions of other likeminded artists creating a centre of excellence for all things handmade.

Sladers Yard, West Bay, Bridport, Dorset DT6 4EL T: 01308 459511
Open 10 – 5pm Wednesday to Saturday, 11 – 5pm Sundays
www.sladersyard.co.uk, Email: info@itrefurniture.co.uk

Petter Southall's showroom with Philosophy - Julian Bailey, Derek Nice and Petter Southall - West Bay - Beatitudes featuring Cheryl Campbell - Miranda Creswell's paintings and drawings - West Bay - Beatitudes by David Inshaw - Alfred Stockham, Miranda Creswell and Petter Southall - Out to Sea - Bailey Nice and Southall - The Need to Dream - Vanessa Gardiner - Tim Nicholson - Sladers Yard Christmas Show - Robin Rae