JULIE Ward and Mark Fieldsend will examine the exchange between architecture and landscape in their joint exhibition of stoneware and contemporary painting at Mermaid and Miller, Swinegate, York, from tomorrow.

Julie, who works from a small home studio in York, is inspired by “buildings in special places” and uses drawings, photographs and detailed observations to inform her pieces of architectural sculpture.

She expresses herself mainly in high-fired stoneware to create ceramic portraits of buildings and places, her latest group of sculptures depicting the facades of buildings and doorways, many of them in York.

Sometimes she also includes water motifs to link buildings to surrounding water through bridges and harbours.

Julie is a member of both the Northern Potters Association and Brigantia whose ceramics are characterised by different textures enhanced by oxides, resulting in areas of glaze or recycled glass contrasting with unglazed stoneware details.

Mark Fieldsend graduated from the University of Teesside in 2008 with first class honours in Fine Art. He now operates from Bar Lane Studios in York, exhibiting regularly in York and Whitby, most notably taking part in York Open Studios and the Revolving Gallery.

“Within my paintings, I’m attempting to enliven a narrative concerned with an awareness of climate change, throwing an artistic light on some of the most pressing issues we are facing,” he said.

“A fascination with the sea prompts this inquiry, which, in this context, considers the term apocalypse in its broadest sense with the intention of stirring a moral consciousness concerning the future of the planet.”

Employing a variety of media, Mark produces works that “speak of landscape but remain semi-abstract and unfamiliar to the viewer”. “Building in layers, I push and pull paints and inks, using a variety of materials including brushes and palette knives until images begin to form.

“I use the subject of landscape as a vehicle or starting point for this investigation, and incorporate mixed media as a way of pushing the boundaries of my application and mark-making vocabulary.”

Mark acknowledges his paintings often appear disillusioned and dark. “But they always have a quality of light that draws the viewer right into the landscape, paring away and disrupting the layers of reality to reveal a personal insight into an often dramatic and visually stimulating context,” he said.

Julie and Mark’s exhibition will be launched at a preview evening from 7pm to 9pm tomorrow, when all are welcome, and it will run until August 31. Shop opening times are 10am to 4pm, Monday to Saturday.