A selection of recent works by Melanie “Shay” LaRocque

Private View: Saturday 13th February 2010 - 5pm to 10pm
Exhibition runs from: Friday 12th February to Thursday 18th of February 2010
Gallery Opening Hours: Mon - Fri: 11am - 6.30 pm - Sat: 12.30pm – 5pm
Last day of Exhibition: Thurs 18th February: 10.00 am to 5.00 pm

“Citrus are composed of various fruits joined to form an apparently simple fruit.”

- pg.346, Healthy Foods by George D. Pamplona-Roger, MD

In the same way that a citrus fruit is a collection of smaller fruits storing a cocktail of nutrients, a simple painting can harbour a rich narrative. This is the basis of LaRocque’s second exhibition; to display a selection of works that are distinctly feminine in tone, Afro-Caribbean in perspective, yet universal in spirit.

Her paintings are long stories made short, conveying the action and the moral. They are “ordinarily exotic” scenes from her everyday life that are often viewed with curiosity by those outside of her cultural community. They focus on the serious, humorous, fickle and conscientious. They draw the viewer into the moment, inviting them to participate in the experience or relate to the sentiment, then walk away with a new topic of conversation.

Melanie “Shay” LaRocque was born and raised in London to Trinidadian parents. She is a self-taught Artist & Designer based in the UK and the Caribbean. You can view her works and read more about her inspirations at the following websites.

Shop: www.shaygon.etsy.com
Blog: www.cariblime.blogspot.com
Flickr album: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shaygondesigns/

An exhibition of photographs by Martin Edwards and dance by Sibylle Kockjeu.

Private View: Friday 19th of February 2010 - 6 pm to 11 pm
Exhibition runs from: Friday 19th of February 2010 – Thursday 25th February 2010
Gallery Opening Hours: Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat: 11 am - 6.30 pm
Last day of Exhibition: Thursday 25th of February: 11.00am to 5.00pm

Carnivals form part of popular culture across the world, from the Nottingham Carnival of London, to carnivals in Brazil, Venice and China. They have featured in many films and literary works, and create powerful images of seduction, eroticism and mystery.

The exhibition “Carnival” explores the theme of carnival through works by Martin Edwards and dance by Sibylle Kockjeu. Photographs from “Carnival” were premiered in New York in November 2009 and follow two solo exhibitions held by Martin Edwards in London, also held at the Red Gate Gallery, during 2009. Martin has worked with dancers and period carnival costumes to create evocative and original photographic works that explore the concept of carnival in detail. The photographs focus on a story of seduction and flirtation between three dancers, dressed in costume for a carnival in 18th-century Venice.

Sibylle Kockjeu will be performing new dance work inspired by the theme of Carnival. Sibylle is a professional dancer, choreographer and teacher based in London and Germany. From 2006 to 2008 she was Art Director for the dance company Belacqua in Germany and has recently worked with celebrities including Cheryl Cole. Sibylle features in many of Martin’s carnival photographs on display in the exhibition.

The exhibition pushes traditional still photography and performance to their limits, in a rapidly changing world where multimedia and video are profoundly changing the world of lens-based arts. “A man and a woman dancing in a carnival mask is an ambiguous and haunting image. Their faces are hidden but their disguises offer glimpses of seduction and eroticism at play. We have tried to capture their mystery and excitement in the project,” say photographer Martin Edwards and dancer Sibylle Kockjeu.

For further info: www.formcolourandscale.com

Private View: Friday 26th of February 2010 - 6 pm to 11 pm
Exhibition runs from: Friday 26th of February 2010 – Saturday 27th February 2010
Gallery Opening Hours: Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat: 11 am - 6.30 pm
Last day of Exhibition: Saturday 27th of February: 12.30am to 6.00pm

Club Tropical is a new and undiscovered collective of eight young London-based photographers. 

Red Gate Gallery is proud to present the first exhibition for this collective, showcasing new and eclectic photography by emerging artists and presenting and exciting opportunity to celebrate the launch of a potentially leading London photography group.

This exhibition focuses on how each individual artist perceives their surroundings through capturing images. Themes such as portraiture, landscape and documentary are explored throughout the collection of work.

Club Tropical is a great example to other young aspiring artists, showing them that there are no boundaries in the art industry. Anyone can showcase their own work with determination and direction and that is what this new group has done. Going against the conventional east London art scene, Club Tropical presents an innovative yet realistic approach to today’s art society.

Private View: Friday 5th of March 2010 - 6 pm to 11 pm

Exhibition runs from: Friday 5th of March 2010 – Thursday 11h March 2010

Gallery Opening Hours: Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat: 12.30 am - 6.30 pm

Last day of Exhibition: Thursday 11th of March: 11.00am to 6.00pm

Themes and Variations’ is a group exhibition of works by Errol Linton, Dom Hanley, Justin Hindley and Maggie Winnall.

Errol Linton’s work transports the spectator immediately into a world of hustle and bustle filled with music, and voices, melting them into an explosion of colour, pattern and form. Some of Linton’s previous works take simple scenes to the extreme with magnified voices, shadowy figures and prying eyes. Bold in colour and brush stroke, Linton’s paintings at first remind the viewer of fauvism and surrealism yet they are very idiosyncratic in style and denote of the artist’s unique power of imagination and strength of expression. Brixton born, Errol starts from a small simple sketch, developing the composition from memory and imagination.

Maggie Winnall draws her textile inspiration from original art quilters such as the women from Gees Bend Alabama and other contemporary quilting practices from the US and Europe. Her favourite influences include Nancy Crow, Lisa Call, Eleanor McCain, and Pamela Allen. Drawing from these women Maggie uses recycled cloth, textures and lines to create colourful abstract art through her quilts. She combines her traditional influences with her contemporary vision.

Justin Hindley has had a growing fascination with nature and woodwork since he became a carpenter and furniture maker. He explores his love of nature through the wood material with its endless, varied, and fascinating material, its colour, texture and grain of the knots combining to create a unique beauty for each piece. Within this world of wood, images magically emerge. He uses the wood to explore its practical and creative potential.

Dom Hanley is showing his art as part of a creative reawakening after being dormant for many years. His work tries to embrace a variety of approaches; both abstract and figurative. Dom feels he is on a new journey, always discovering more about art; having said, “It’s like learning a new language, there is always more to learn (2009).”

For further info on Errol Linton’s music go to http://www.myspace.com/errollinton

An art exhibition by Spiritual Healer, Psychic Artist and Lightworker Amura-An.

Private View: Friday 12th of March 2010 - 6 pm to 11 pm

Exhibition runs from: Friday 12th of March 2010 – Thursday 18h March 2010

Gallery Opening Hours: Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat: 12.30 am - 6.30 pm

Last day of Exhibition: Thursday 18th of March: 11.00am to 5.00pm

Tugce, Amura-An was born in Istanbul, Turkey and studied Fine Arts at Mimar Sinan University where she specialized in ceramics and textiles within the traditional Turkish surface design format. After obtaining a Masters Degree in the History of Art she worked as a designer, ran her own studio, and finished her studies of Digital Design for Communication at the London College of Printing. Amura has since been working as a Spiritual Healer which has enabled her to access deeper dimensions which encourage her to make further discoveries into new doors and find new ways to express her feelings. She shares these experiences with others by colour therapy and the transmission of light through her art. Simple and effective.

Her self taught art is inspired by the Light, Love, Life and Creation itself. Amura-An paints her own experiences and inner journeys to Higher Realms which leave her with a sense of infinite peace, serenity, and tranquillity, showing her how deeply we are connected to each other, to our Soul and the Source and how everything is part of the same oneness. And she would like everyone to be able to feel this. Amura-An loves sharing so therefore she loves to paint. As an artist Amura combines colour therapy with healing as a channel for healing energies by focusing on opening the viewer’s perception beyond their five senses and getting in touch with their inner feelings so they no longer feel the need to refer to this type of art as abstract. She also wants to remind everybody ‘who we really are, and where we come from.’ Beyond these canvasses the paintings are alive, and they work as “a tool for the manifestation of healing and unconditional love” (www.amura-an.com). Her collection uses vibrant colours mixing together to create a spiritual cosmos.

She has previously exhibited her works at many exhibitions and festivals, having travelled to Brighton, Stonehenge and Glastonbury to share her work and healing therapy with others. Amura-An also does Spirit Guide Portraits with readings at numerous festivals (psychic festivals, mind-body festivals, and so on) and has been regularly attending such festivals as the Freedom Festivals in Crawley, the Magical Faery Festival in Canterbury and in Croydon to share her spiritual healing and guide portraits.

An exhibition of young people’s artwork organised by Action Space

Private View: Friday 12th of March 2010 - 6 pm to 11 pm

Exhibition runs from: Friday 19th of March 2010 – Thursday 25h March 2010

Gallery Opening Hours: Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat: 12.30 am - 6.30 pm

Last day of Exhibition: Thursday 18th of March: 11.00am to 5.00pm

This ARK is full of art!

ARK is an exciting group show featuring work by six young artists from Action Space’s South London Young People’s Group.

This spectacular exhibition explores the themes of animals and journeys. There will be a dynamic array of artwork, including drawing, painting, sculpture, photography and animation.

The young people will take you on a journey around their art world and look at how art can build a community of people with different needs who have a similar aim.

For further information contact Action Space:

Tel: 020 7209 4289 Email: sheryll@actionspace.org www.actionspace.org

An exhibition of works by Nelly Curtis, Benjamin Glean & Melanie Blackwell

Private View: Friday 9th of April 2010 - 6 pm to 11 pm

Exhibition runs from: Friday 9th of April 2010 – Thursday 22nd April 2010

Gallery Opening Hours: Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat: 12.30 am - 6.30 pm

Last day of Exhibition: Thursday 22th of April: 11.00am to 5.00pm

A new Exhibition at Red Gate Gallery - Nearly 2 years after leaving The Byam Shaw School of Art, Nelly Curtis, Benjamin Glean and Melanie Blackwell have decided to celebrate their progress in a group show of their latest work.

With Curtis’ newest paintings inspired by a trip to Africa and Blackwell’s investigations on Artist/model relationship you could describe them as traditionalist. Also we have photography by Glean looking at themes surrounding male identity.

Benjamin Glean: His latest work investigates themes of male identity. These include ideas of how men are represented by the media and themselves. Within his practise Glean has looked at various genres of photography including fashion and documentary. Using a mix of studio and location, staged and snapshot, he hopes to make his audience consider the way that men appear and how we may make judgements on appearance be it true or false. www.benjaminglean.com

Melanie Blackwell: She had striped her current practice back to the bare essentials. With this work, she is planning to re-learn and re-educate herself in not only the beginnings of her painting, but also with the development of the relationship between artist and sitter. This work is the commencement of a continued investigation to develop something personable and beautiful.

Nelly Curtis: Within a month Curtis stayed in ‘Dar Es Salaam, Kigamboni,, Arusha, Moshi, and Zanzibar’. She lived and worked with a group of people from around the world during a time when they were creating an N.G.O called ‘Kigana Chapazi’ translating as ‘A Hard Working Youth’.

“Working on these paintings brought me back to an amazing time and place. The colours, vibrancy and humour (of Tanzania) had an energy that captivated me. The importance of the family and community as well as all the Art forms that are in bloom there were what I found to be at the core of what makes this country so beautiful and rich. This however provides a stark contrast to the struggles and harsh realities that the vast majority of Tanzanian people face. It identifies aspects of their day-to-day life that many of us in the western world will never really be able to truly understand” (Curtis 2010)

Previously Curtis had been inspired by her family, friends and local community (Kentish Town). The transition to paint such a different culture was a challenging yet wholly enriching and fulfilling one.