Expressions of Abstraction: A group exhibition curated for The Savoy Hotel

AISLING DRENNAN

Central St Martins Masters in Fine Art graduate Aisling Drennan is a contemporary abstract painter whose work is rooted in the material curiosities and playfulness of oil paint.  Drennan was the 2020 Arts Bursary recipient from the Women's Irish Network  in conjunction with the UK Irish Embassy and was a selected artist for the Royal Ulster Academy's 139th exhibition.   She was the 2019 artist in residence at Cill Rialaig Artists Centre, IRE and in 2018 was shortlisted for the John Moore's Painting Prize, Jacksons Open painting prize and the Visual Art Open. 

BRUCE FRENCH

French’s compositions have a static, voyeuristic enveloping quality that is contrasted with the fluid lines of the figures and their physicality. By stripping away any distinguishing features, Bruce creates elemental, linear images that have a universal resonance and emotive appeal. Drawn from life French’s observations manifest into faceless, figurative forms, emotionally charged, androgynous and anonymous. French’s paintings are a pictorial record of the human condition, French states “The images are not necessarily about a particular person but are about enabling an emotive empathy – an instinctive humanistic understanding.” French explores the human form as a vehicle for expression, and deft strokes of paint are applied with fluidity and emphasis.

CAROLINE POPHAM

Caroline Popham is a British artist living and working in London, England. She studied Fine Art at the Chelsea College of Art, London, graduating in 2016 with a postgraduate diploma. Her work engages deeply with the aesthetics of minimalism and abstraction. Popham creates compositions with multilayered narratives that represent her way of seeing and creating her own visual language. She has exhibited in UK and Europe, most recently in Roman Road x The Columbia (2020), Lines Around Ideas, London (2019), What Lies Beyond, CIRCLE1, Berlin (2019) and Exhibit A London (2019)

KATE BURNS

Kate studied in the beautiful city of Bath. On achieving a BAHons she went on to enjoy a successful career in the art and design world.   In 2016 Kate enrolled in a Fine Art course at Central St Martins, London, reigniting her passion for painting. Painting with oils is Kate’s passion however she explores and revels in the continuous learning process of mixed media painting. Inspired by meaningful responses Kate’s work aims to challenge perceptions. She plays with the fine line that can be drawn between ‘Abstraction’ and ‘representation’.

LAURA WICKSTEAD

Laura Wickstead is a self-taught artist based in London. Laura creates abstract pieces that are studies of shapes and structures. By examining both form and colour, she often uses soft and muted tones to create dreamlike abstractions whilst pairing these with geometric shapes. She produces her work using acrylic paint and pastel pencils to create art that celebrates expression and imperfection.

M.CLARK

M. Clark creates dynamic conversations between constancy and chaos by sculpting malleable metals onto flat surfaces. As light interacts with the textures and shapes in the artwork, the reflective surface creates diffuse patterns producing a shifting luminosity that is unique to her work. This provides the viewer with an infinitely evolving viewing experience.

While Clark's art is nonrepresentational, the use of space, movement, and line in composition evoke emotions like peace, confidence, disquiet, or vigor. The mood of a piece might call up a memory or point in time. 

SYLVIA HOMMERT

Light and the reflection of light, how it interacts in an environment, is a constant thread that  flows through Sylvia Hommert's practice.  She is captivated by the silvery light glistening off alpine icicles and the lavender iridescence of sunset on water. It’s elusive, full of movement, ever changing, and it’s this ephemeral quality that intrigues her. How the passing of time
plays off the luminous surfaces of each painting--the highs and lows, the shadows and relief. The color subtly shifts too, as the light moves through a space from sunrise to sunset,  recording both physical movement and the passage of time.  Hommert's technique has evolved as a way to capture the liquid and fluid nature of light, and she is drawn to materials that enhance and illuminate.