Laura Green: Knowing and Not Knowing

About

20 September - 16 November 2008 Preview and Reception for the Artist: Saturday 20 September 2008 at 2pm Exciting young British artist Laura Green will exhibit an installation of new paintings and sculpture at ArtSway this autumn. Laura was the winner of ArtSway's Open07, and was awarded the prize of a solo exhibition in ArtSway's gallery one. She was short-listed for the John Moores Prize in 2004 and 2006, a finalist in the Celeste Art Prize in 2007 and has exhibited widely both in the UK and internationally since graduating from the Royal College of Art in 2004. Her interest lies in the interpretation of her source material, often stripping away identifiable features from the objects (such as architectural drawings and found images) and places (such as buildings glimpsed around the city) she bases her paintings and sculptures on, deliberately taking them out of context. There is therefore a tension between the actuality of the sculptures (which possess a strange sense of clunky, yet sometimes elegant, minimalism) and the paintings, which allude to imagined and remembered scenarios. Green comments, ‘the subjects of my works often appear ambiguous and alien to their surroundings, possessing a haunting sense of ‘displacement' which suggest that they are not of this time, and raise questions of whether the objects reside in the past or in the future?' Green's works are concerned with notions of memory, solitude, dream, reverie and loss. Through choosing a variety of eclectic, yet often banal, materials - paint on canvas; cardboard tubes stacked one on top of the other; plaster casts of moulds; found objects and cast-off pieces of chipboard Green aims to encourage a sense of questioning in the viewer. As the artist states, ‘the works form collections of memories and experiences. My working process is concerned with the ‘wanting' of an object - a longing to recreate the memory of the powerful impact the subjects of the work have had on me. The making of the work allows me to keep something of this powerful experience, and as a result the works are infused with a feeling of sadness and tenderness.' Green explores our surroundings, trying to make sense of the world around her through examining and understanding disparate objects. She is interested in psychological and physical space; her work is one of constant enquiry: why do the objects she selects have such an impact on her psyche, on our collective psyche? Associated Events: Gallery Talk: Saturday 18 October 2008 at 3pm Laura Green in Conversation with Peter Bonnell Open 07 winner Laura Green will be in conversation in ArtSway's Gallery one with Curator Peter Bonnell. Laura will discuss themes and ideas, and her new work for ArtSway. FREE: Booking Essential Laura Green's ArtSway exhibition is sponsored by Lashmars of Lymington. For press images, interviews, and further information, please contact Jack Lewis on (01590) 682260 x16 or email: jack.lewis@artsway.org.uk.