Gallery 57’s 'Surface edge shadow' illuminates the harmony in contrasts

Light and dark, order and chaos, dynamism and stillness, even life and death, everything in the universe exists in pairs—with an ally that contradicts it but also completes it—and equilibrium prevails. These forces are incessantly in action around us, and the existence of their conflict is ironically the cause of their worth. From galaxies and stars to earthly phenomena, these contrasts appear in the physical world at all scales. This variation can be observed lucidly through the lens of materials and their tactility. Since artists and designers dabble with materials more than most, the intricate web of contrasts morphs into a playground for their creative minds.

Gallery 57, a contemporary art gallery based in West Sussex, United Kingdom, musters such minds to bring to light an exhibition of contrasts titled 'Surface edge shadow'. The art exhibition features an assortment of sculptural creations that harness the harmony between opposites through materials such as paper, clay, slate, wood, metals, and textile. The show commenced on October 8, 2022, and will remain on display until December 23, 2022. “Once drawn to an artwork, I then home in to examine detail and the various components that give character and feeling to the whole. I am particularly interested in surfaces; their textures, layers, subtlety. Do they convey sensitivity or commitment?” says Ann Symes, founder of Gallery 57.

Established in 2016 by the owner and practising artist Ann Symes, Gallery 57 is a light, spacious gallery that nods to its residential origins. The gallery provides a comfortable and inviting exhibition space in which contemporary art is meticulously curated with attention to detail. Local, national, and international artists and makers are invited to partake in a programme of meticulously curated and themed exhibitions. Due attention is paid to how work is showcased and positioned in space, consequently creating the calm aesthetic the gallery is renowned for. Their latest show ‘Surface edge shadow’ is a celebration of differences—robust and fragile, heavy and light, light and dark, textured and smooth, stillness and movement, precision and randomness of the process. “An artwork deliberately made to add shadow can create endless interest and movement. Affected by the ever-changing light through the day, artworks with shadows can alter your initial perception and spending time with them allies you to fully realise their potential,’ shares Symes.

Several contemporary artists reimagine sculptural art in a rather unconventional material: paper. London-based artist and sculptor Toni Davey’s approach to sculpture is informed by her experience as an architectural model maker. Her work reflects an intuitive journey of discovery that never fails to surprise her in the end. The structure of the grid appears in all her creations because it provides a path to retrace footsteps, understand the journey, and allow forms to follow a sequence of changes. British artist Dail Behennah has played with the possibilities of light and shadows, and the kinetic effect of light flickering through the structure of her art. Her recent work in paper employs a complex 3D and three-directional plaiting technique. The highly textured form orchestrates a dynamic play of light and shadow rendering each piece anew as the angle and light vary. Line, repetition, and surface are the protagonists of the works by Helen Cass. Guided by the mapping of space and marking of time, the artist puts ink on paper to birth, a series of drawings.

While other artists resorted to metal to channel their artistic expression, Richard Howell, an artist based in Somerset, narrates stories through his intricate wire sculptures that feature a variety of materials. Some made and some found components such as Second World War aviation residues, shards of broken studio pottery, and other evocative relics find their place in his sculptures. His creative process is fuelled by the sheer excitement that ensues unpredictability and goes beyond inhibitions. Jacky Oliver’s oeuvre encompasses unique metallic compositions from handheld objects to large-scale architectural pieces. She uses steel wire to create designs celebrating handmade craftsmanship. Fluidity and rhythm are conspicuous in the sculptures by Lawrence Dicks. Each piece by Samantha English intends to capture a sensation of an evasive memory. Through the treatment of the metals, she materialises those memories. Jessica Turrell joins the exhibitors with a series of small enamel panels informed through blind embossed paper pieces.

Creations of Oxfordshire-based sculptor Sue Jones and contemporary textile and mixed media artist Gizella K Warburton stem from experiments with slate. The shapes that nature sculpts, from the patterns on the beach, ripples in water, and texture of tree bark, to shapes of leaves, collectively feed Jones's creative endeavours. Warburton, on the other hand, showcases sculptural vessels—some simple bowls and others anthropomorphic and totemic in forms. Vessels are also presented by contemporary artist and maker in wood Oliver Chalk who intends for his works to represent his intervention with his immediate landscape. Sculptor and furniture maker Alison Crowther works exclusively with English oak sustainably sourced from within the South Downs National Park. Crowther’s sensitivity exudes from large-scale works which mirror the complex geometry of nature.

West Sussex-based ceramic artist Sian van Driel draws influence from powerful forces that the planet displays, such as weathering of rocks for her ceramic pieces. Practising an experimental approach towards ceramic processes, forms, colours, and textures, London-based ceramicist Jane Cairns encapsulates the beauty of the ordinary and mundane in her sculptures. Kate Henderson sculpts forms that epitomise purity and simplicity of form and finish. Crafted from marble jesmonite, the effortless and sensual modern pieces invite, almost demand touch. Sara Dodd uses liquid clay to create her thin ceramic pieces, which she then builds up using repetition, eventually constructing sculptures and wall-based installations. Jan Goodey’s Shadow bowls, made especially for this exhibition, play with an illusion of shadow by using contrasting tonal effects on a simple form. Textile artist and weaver Dr. Hannah White used fabrics to breathe life into sculptural forms. The sculptural artworks involve manipulating her fabrics into organic volumes, allowing an interplay between the patterns within the structure of her woven fabrics, form, and light.

‘Surface edge shadow’ reiterates the relationship between the diverging works of art, where each objet d’art dons an independent expression, yet, a sense of interdependency wafts in the exhibition space. There is a freedom that the artists surrender to, an unpredictability that sculpts the silhouettes, forces acting in conjunction and shaping their manifestations—a journey that equally surprises the artists. With ‘Surface edge shadow’, Gallery 57 calls attention to the multitude of materials that surround us, their boundless potential, and the harmony that prevails in their perceptible differences.

‘Surface edge shadow’ will be on display from October 8, 2022, to December 23, 2022, at Gallery 57 in West Sussex, UK.