Running the 26th August to 16th September, Wantage’s Dolphin Gallery will be exhibiting for Oxfordshire Art Weeks, recheduled after unfortunate circumstances earlier this summer. With a wide range of expressive art from artists all over Oxfordshire, the exhibition will showcase everything from the abstract, to local landscapes, and even pottery.
Featuring work from: Laurie Bath, Jamie Clayton, Natalie Day, Lilla Fludra, Karen French, Kamal Lathar, Geoff Lawson, Jo Marshall, Debbie Martin, Christine Purdy, Michelle Wallington, and Jane Vaux.
What was initially a mid-summer art weeks exhibition is back after unprecedented times called for an untimely cancellation, just weeks before. The artists have returned with new art and a renewed enthusiasm for Oxfordshire and the beautiful views and inspiration it has to offer.
Of the abstract work featured, there will be highly commended acrylics of seascapes and ponds which use striking blues to evoke memories of summer afternoons by the coast. These acryics are complemented by collagraphs of similar scenes but in dynamically different styles. These are hung alongside textural leather multimedia works depicting rolling hills and local landscapes. The local beauty is again the focus of ethereal, and at times cubist, works that showcase energetic compositions and bold colours.
Cornish landscapes will pick up a more realistic artistic tone, with sweeping horizon lines bringing depth and light to familiar seaside scenes. Use of palette knives to apply the bright blues and lilacs give tangible texture to water and expansive British skies. More forested landscapes then bring in superb colour use, with a range of delicate but vibrant pieces highlighting beloved Oxfordshire vistas. Dramatic skies with feathering brush-marks create intense and majestic pieces that bring an emotive representation of similar local scenes we saw before crafted out of leather.
There will also be sharp and well-defined realism brought by fine-art creators, using clean lines and drawing inspiration from craftsmanship and architecture. Meticulous attention to detail and bold colours give a fitting artistic tribute to the surrounding areas.
Characterful animals produced by a number of artists and rendered in fine detail continue the realism into the natural world, while adding personality and life to the pieces. With both hyper-realistic and more playful styles, some pieces play on colour to encapsulate the character and nature of the animals while others show a more serious yet dramatic representation. Photographic compositions also on display, present brightly coloured horticultural intricacy through vivid pinks and violets. The flowers and other natural forms radiate a fun and absorbing take on our wildlife.
More traditional 2D art is not all, with pottery and ceramics also exhibited. Some, having been pit-fired, with complex and delicate red and purple colouration, while others are painted with abstract woodland shapes, and bright oranges and greens.
This diverse range of work produced from our talented artists within Oxfordshire will bring your memories of our wonderful, vibrant locale to life. In accordance with Covid safety, our three-day launch will be separated into 30 minute viewing sessions which can be booked for free on the dolphin gallery website: www.dolphin-gallery.co.uk
Contact us at enquires@dolphin-gallery.co.uk
Or follow us on facebook: Dolphin Gallery Wantage, or Instagram: @dolphin_gallery_wantage
Visit us at 23-24 Market Place, Wantage, OX12 8AE (09:00-17:00, Tuesday-Saturday)
