This Exhibition is in part a sample of two years’ artistic expression as the country emerges with “relief” from the shadow of Coronavirus. Three Printmakers from The Art Academy London; Jodi Jones, David McGrath and Simon Occleshaw, share some of their escape routes from Lockdown - at least in their individual imaginations.The term “relief” is also applied to a variety of printing methods, and principally on display are etchings and linocuts. The show demonstrates a range of their technical possibilities: from meticulous precision to the jagged edge; from pastoral abstraction to expressive angst; from subtle graduated hues to glaring bursts of colour.We hope you enjoy both their affinity and contrasts
The Artists
Simon Occleshaw is a printmaker living and working in South West London. He has also studied at Putney School of Art and Design, and the London Print Studio.
For this exhibition Simon has concentrated on two themes: firstly, capturing the often overwhelming scale of the surrounding world. He grew up running around the woods of Wendover and Wiltshire where he developed a love of the endless patterns found in nature. His linocut prints are intricately constructed, often combining multiple delicate layers to create highly evocative scenes.
Secondly, reflecting on past travels: a magical couple of weeks spent travelling around Japan and visits to family in South Africa (prior to recent restricted times) has left an indelible mark on his imagination.
Jodi Jones is a London-based mixed media artist inspired by the natural world. Graduating from Bath College with a BA Hons in 1995, she has continually honed her craft, travelling the world to find inspiration, taken courses, and experimented in new techniques and different mediums.
Discovering the joy of printmaking a few years ago has added a whole new dimension to Jodi’s work. Inspired from courses taught by printmaker Katherine Jones at the Art Academy, Jodi now focuses mainly on etching, single and multi-plate printing, and loves soft ground and sugar lift techniques as a way to make and build up marks.
A true lover of nature, Jodi finds it a massive source of inspiration, often losing herself and experiencing a magical connection where she sees the world in abstract way, with landscapes transformed into shapes and patterns. Being in nature also helps Jodi reconnect and be present, peaceful and grounded – particularly during the pandemic.
“I always feel a sense of relief and calm in nature, whether it is my local park in south London or the expanse of Cornwall, or the South Downs in Sussex, and I try to capture that sense of peace and balance in my artwork.”
The prints on show are all inspired by nature.
David McGrath
Manchester-born artist David McGrath graduated with a First from the Art Academy London, in 2018. The work on show here has a point of departure in the self-portrait monoprint from the start of the first Lockdown in 2020.
The remaining linocuts are mainly to be viewed as a series entitled “Amsterdam”. Using glowing neon water-based inks against black oil surfaces, David takes inspiration from an array of sources: Hungarian photographer Brassaï’s graffiti of 1930s Paris; pitiless Weimar artist Otto Dix; 60s Horror Film posters, and many others. These are then melded with the lyrics of songwriter Jacques Brel’s epic shanty “Amsterdam”: a tribute to the tragi-heroic exploits of sailors carousing in bars and fleshpots while momentarily ashore from the loneliness and isolation of their langueurs océanes. The images here chart the desperation of their gluttony, drunkenness and lechery amid the neon allure of red-light zones. (See Jacques Brel at: Jacques Brel - Amsterdam (Live officiel Les Adieux à l’Olympia 1966) ).
David’s background is in Romance Languages, (he has a doctorate in Spanish) and he was previously a teacher/translator/academic writer, before turning to Art. He is based in Bedfordshire.
