Myo New Street Square: Anna F Macdonald, Anton Bryne-Carter, Daisy Billowes, Helen Maurer & Angela Moore, Liz Elton, Nicole Rose, Rebecca Tucker & Takumi Kato

ANNA F MACDONALD

Anna is a Minimalist Abstract Artist based in London, UK.

Her work delves into the importance of negative space and the Zen philosophy "Ma" - the spatial relationship between structural elements.  Her paintings and drawings incorporate Shibumi principles; a complex process not evident in the outcome, creating works of unobtrusive beauty.  Beginning by referencing tangible elements from nature, after careful observation Anna strips away all but the non-essential, working with gestural marks and elemental colour to capture the essence of the subject. This redaction of the superfluous encourages the observer to slow down and appreciate the tranquillity of the work.

Anna’s interpretation of Minimalism also incorporates influences from Abstract Expressionism, mid-century Abstraction and Japanese calligraphy with an inclination towards Constructivism.   Anna returned to her painting practice in 2017 and has been teaching Art in secondary education since 2004.

ANTON BYRNE-CARTER

Anton (b.1989) is a UK born artist recognised for his figurative abstract works. He graduated with an MA in fine art in 2011 and is currently based in the North West of England. After spending several years as a professional photographer he has returned to his first love painting and recently his work has been added to private collections in the UK, Middle East, across Europe and Japan.

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In this latest body of work and a continuation from the very well received exhibition at the Other Art Fair, Anton is taking on the masters, in what is some of his finest works to date.

Anton’s inspiration for these works comes from many sources, whether thats the Dutch floral paintings from the 17th-18th century, Baroque works from the 16th century or late Baroque pieces form the 17th century, his love for great imagery is what leads his inspiration. He is continuously looking at great paintings from the past and visualising how these pieces can be re imagined into modern, monumental, dazzling abstract works. Taking on a traditional hackneyed subject and making something marvellously original.

Whilst Anton is painting with a reference in mind these works are as much about the paint as they are the subject. Anton is interested in the materiality of the paint and in these works is lead by the paint allowing the medium to make decisions of its own. Through his application and colour choices the works can become difficult to decipher with the image emerging out of the abstraction. Anton wants the viewer to have the opportunity for their own imagination to piece together the narrative with ever changing possibilities.

DAISY BILLOWES

Daisy Billowes is a London based artist, raised in Athens. She studied at Newcastle University (2015) and the Royal College of Art, London (2017).   Daisy has just finished working on a body of work funded by the Manx Art Council on local folklore and mythology. Last year she undertook a month-long residency in London with Unit 1 Gallery Workshop called ‘Radical Residency VII’.   She has recently had a solo exhibition four disproportionately sized chambers at The Stone Space, London (2020) and a joint show with fellow artist Julia Marco-Campmany Reckless Rawness at Coleman Project Space, London (2019). Billowes has also taken part in numerous group shows including Exceptional, Collyer Bristow Gallery (19-20), The London Ultra, Bargehouse (2019), Summer Group Show, The Muse Gallery London (2019), Super Super, Kingsgate Project Space, (2017). 

Billowes has worked with numerous organisations delivering workshops and talks such as Friday Island in Luxembourg and Control-c, a 2-day master print workshop with Newcastle University and Symposium: The Relevance of Print in Contemporary Art Education with the International Print Biennale. She has been awarded the East London Printmakers Residency 2018, the Bluewolf Scholarship, and been shortlisted for The Muse Residency among others. 

Her multi-disciplined practice opens up a debate between female restraints within mythical narrative, the qualities of digital media and technology through tactile mark-making and creates questions about works viewed post-internet age and the tricky landscape that they now inhabit.

HELEN MAURER & ANGELA MOORE

Helen Maurer is an artist working primarily with glass and light, and is a former winner of The Jerwood Applied Arts Prize: Glass. Maurer studied Fine Art and Theatre before completing an MA in glass at the Royal College of Art. She is represented by Danielle Arnaud Gallery.

Angela Moore is a photographer whose projects include work for Frieze Art Fair, the British Council, the Science Museum and the Wellcome Trust. Moore studied at Goldsmiths College, University of London.

Both have exhibited internationally, and live and work in London.  Maurer & Moore first collaborated in 2006 on a commission for the Pump House Gallery: Bad Magic, later leading to a commission by Swarovski. In 2014 they were invited to North Lands Creative Glass to run a master class: The Lie of the Land. The premise of this workshop was to consider different ways in which glass could be used to create a photographic image.

LIZ ELTON

Liz Elton considers the question how to go on? Beginning in landscape and still-life painting, expanding into 3D to explore the potential of waste and the recycling of matter.  Her works embrace their own ephemerality and may address environmental issues such as the connection between soil health and food waste and shifts in ecological thinking.  She often uses compostable cornstarch as a ground (the material used for food waste recycling bags), colouring it with vegetable dyes from kitchen waste intercepted on its way to compost and embedding seeds of vegetables and medicinal plants.  In 2020 lockdown she began a series of limited edition prints of images of her compost bin referencing historical still-life painting.  Liz has a BA in Fine Art (Painting) from Wimbledon College of Art, and an MA in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art and Design.  She completed a Hospital Rooms commission, is the recipient of a Mark Rothko Memorial Trust Artist in Residence Award, Daugavpils, Latvia, has been shortlisted for the John Moores Painting Prize three times and her work was awarded special commendation in Dentons Art Prize 2018.  Her installations, paintings and photographs have been shown widely, and her work is included in public and private collections in the UK and internationally. 

NICOLE ROSE

Rose's work explores the emotional response to the natural world around her.

She primarily creates abstract paintings based on the landscape. Using layers of oil colour and a sweeping brush technique the finished paintings take on an ethereal quality. Alongside her paintings she also creates complementary prints that are at once a reflection of the original painting – and a new perspective on it. Focusing on a photographed section of a finished painting, she works in Photoshop to reimagine and rebalance, creating a run of limited-edition giclée prints that are both a part of the original works – and a fresh response to the landscape in their own right.

This selection of paintings and prints are created following visits to nature reserves where the artist records sights, sounds, colours and routes taken, to remember and work from in her studio.  She graduated from Central St Martins School of Art in 1992 with a BA in Graphic Design, and before her full time art practice Rose had a successful career as a Creative Director, running her own commercial design studio for many years.

With thanks to White Conduit Projects, London