Exhibition

Alce Harfield

11 Jan-20 Feb

Alce Harfield was born in Sussex to a very creative family. She completed a pre-degree course at Worthing College of Art, before gaining a Degree in Interior Design at Leicester Polytechnic. She moved to Bristol in 1988 to design pubs for Courage Ltd and then went on to design office and shop interiors for another design practice. Following redundancy she worked as a freelance designer in the centre of Bristol on a number of commercial and domestic projects. In the early 90’s Alce owned The Silly Fish Shops in Bristol and Bath selling her paintings and plasterwork based on the theme of fish. After 10 years with rising costs she closed the last one to concentrate on her painting. A move to Somerset from Bristol allowed her to build her dream studio and live the ‘good life’! Alce’s main incentive for painting is still foremost the pleasure it brings and a continual fascination with colour and texture. She is influenced by many artists from Picasso to Turner, from Wallasse Ting to Raul Duffy and is inspired by the use of colour by one of her favourite artists Jake Sutton. Eager to experiment she is well known for her wild skies, seascapes, cityscapes and her first love, bright florals. A brush with abstract art is still developing!

Emma Strange

11 Jan-20 Feb

Emma Strange works from her studio in rural Wiltshire where she takes inspiration from the countryside around her and the many wild flowers found in the locality. She works with a mixture of nichrome wire and clay to express a sense of spontaneity, movement and fragility; capturing the essence of a flower without being too representational. Each flower is painted by hand making every flower unique - the colours vary and the brush marks from the paintbrush are intentionally left. Each of the flowers can stand alone or can playfully dance in groups, from a single stem, to a window box or a larger sized garden. Different bases of wood or fabric, along with lighting directed at the flowers give strong shadows on the base or to the area behind. The flowers can gently move with a breeze and can pick up vibrations causing the flowers to slightly quiver.

Lucy Orchard

1 Mar-10 Apr

Having grown up in the locality, Lucy Orchard moved away to Cumbria and in 2007 made her return to her home just outside Stroud. She explains that she almost lives in a forest – “I love it. It's peaceful, magical, eerie, a bit scary, full of wildlife and, with the other world left several steps behind, also very inspirational. This return to my roots, and to the surrounding forest has had a drastic impact on my work, causing both a stylistic and philosophical shift.” In her previous work she aimed to create objects of beauty but then to juxtapose them with an underlying paradox, a fundamental sense of unease, of danger and an abundance of satire – creating a friction between what ought to be and what is. Orchard’s more recent work touches on elements of survival, ancestry, an awareness of passing time, of story-telling, re-writing history and myths, all intertwined with an element of optimism that has rarely been seen in the work before. Her work is predominantly in oil painting on linen, although also print (Drypoint), and drawing on paper. Recently, Lucy Orchard has written and illustrated a children’s book.

Annie Hutchinson

1 Mar-10 Apr

Annie Hutchinson studied Fine Art Sculpture in Cheltenham in the late 80’s. On obtaining her degree Annie set up in business, making hand-built ceramic sculptures. Annie has always been interested in textures and it seemed only natural to develop this interest through textiles. The development of Anthropomorphic storytelling came from Annie’s love of all things vintage and her nostalgia which stems from childhood places and of old tales told; favourites being Grimm’s dark tales and Aesop’s fables. Annie trades under the name of ‘The Little Wren House Factory’, the name given to her old Victorian workroom located in her rambling garden in Stroud, Gloucestershire.

“Recycled memories stitched with found mementoes,
Signs and Symbols,
Dancing Hares,
Old darned printed dresses,
Parodies of life,
Great Auntie’s slippers,
A rhyme or old timey song,
Cotton wool clouds in Azure blue skies,
Butterflies having fun,
Circus performers and magic,
Mysterium of all sorts………
There really is a BIG BAD WOLF you know….”

Prema's galleries

Prema's galleries are open Mon to Fri 10am-6pm and weekends by appointment. Please ring before visiting on 01453 860703.

Admission is free and the building is fully wheelchair accessible.