Abstract Japan 04 Sep — 25 Sep / 10am-5pm

Exhibiting together for the first time, Brigitte Hague and Pat Southwood have drawn inspiration from their recent joint visits to Japan – each artist creating an exciting body of new work. Combining printmaking, collage, painting and ceramics, the exhibition reflects their individual reactions to a culture steeped in both art and craft.

Always referencing  Mans’ effect on the landscape,  Pat’s new work celebrates her long relationship with Japanese culture and the fundamental beauty of her chosen material. Using a new clay body strongly suggestive of a mountainous and volcanic land she mixes both thrown and sculptural techniques to produce strong forms  clothed in pattern and texture which reflect the formality of both urban and natural structure,  the delicacy of decay – and all of the spaces in-between.

Fascinated by the juxtaposition of different elements of Japanese life and culture, Brigitte’s new work provides a fresh exploration of geometry and simplified forms, combined with pattern, collage and painting. Inspired by small pockets of tranquillity and beauty, alongside awe-inspiring landscapes, cities and gardens, the work oscillates between rhythms of energy and a more meditative calm, inviting the viewer on a sensory journey beyond the compositional qualities of line and form.