ARTISTS TALKING

Rufford Craft Centre Gallery, Newark
23 September – 2 November

'Land and Sea' presents a breadth of work by twenty-five applied and fine artists whose works span many disciplines including painting, photography, jewellery, furniture, textiles and ceramics.

Leading the exhibition are examples of powerful and vibrant work by the painter Jo Simmons. Her technique of applying diluted oil paint to unprimed canvas in Calmed Ochres retains lucid marks and has a dramatic richness that is derived from the layers of colour and intense accents of black paint and shards of coal. Conversely, Rhoda B Wende, who also works with diluted oil paint, focuses on earth and colour in her small-scale abstract paintings. Her piece Lith is particularly effective, using diluted paint and torn paper to capture a boldness of form. On close inspection the surface has a grainy texture which evokes the 'underground' feel in the work.

In contrast, Joy White's black and white photographs preserve detail and simplicity. In Two Posts, One Rock, the subtle gradient sweeps the viewer through murky waters or a misty morning. Chinks of detail on posts reveals the length of time they have been present in the landscape and eroded by atmospheric conditions. These eloquent forms act as an anchorage to the horizon beyond. This series of photographs reveals a calmness and silent space.

The impressive works by Frances Brennan, constructed in mild steel and mixed media have a strong presence. Field III is a sensitively constructed form using a mass of entwined steel rods. Nestled within these are shafts of straw whose golden colour contrasts with the tarnished metal. Their beaten spindly ends give the effect of a complex root system wrenched from the soil. Hubris brings together a group of bulb forms, individually constructed but joined by an internal wire grid that connects the bulbs whilst maintaining its naturally angular perspective.

Peter Beard's strong sculptural ceramic forms also have an organic inspiration. Their tactile surfaces in vivid turquoise and blue encrusted glazes are visually tantalising, and are powerful 'en masse' while subtle in detail. Shell Form on Oak Base is monumentally strong in form. It characterises the skill of the process and has an intricate surface patina.

Frances Priest's group of five white porcelain wall pieces have concaved centres, and are etched with entrancing fine-flowing black lines that suggest furrowed land, strata or dissected onions. Altogether the group has a clarity and quality that is gentle and rhythmic. Meanwhile the work of Stephen Todd encapsulates the drama of, and emotional response to, the landscape. His monochrome Derbyshire Edges typifies the strong foreboding darkness of the Derbyshire landscape. Its emphatic strength is in the confident, bold marks employed by Todd.

Dionne Swift's abstract textile pieces Bent Blue Grasses and Straight Blue Grasses effectively use the traditional techniques of hand painting and 'devore' to maximise the gestural qualities of marks and tactile surfaces. Isolated islands of raised velvet left by the 'devored' areas in Straight Blue Grasses suggest the relentless force and strength of the wind on swathes of grasses, whilst in Bent Blue Grasses you get a sense of just a gentle breeze filtering through the stalks and heads.

Land and Sea are themes that frequently offer inspiration for makers and artists. Consequently it is not surprising to find the range and diversity of inspiring work at Rufford Craft Centre Gallery.

Erica Just

Erica Just is a textile artist and lecturer at the University of Birmingham and Nottingham Trent University.