YORK artist and upholsterer Jo Walton is working with Pyramid Gallery, in Stonegate, York, on a collaborative show.
Jo, who runs Rogues Atelier studio in Fossgate, has curated the main exhibition room at Pyramid with displays of her own seascape paintings, rust prints and fabrics, set alongside selected pieces from artists in the gallery's summer exhibition.
On show are works by ceramic sculptors Blandine Anderson, from Devon, and Jennie McCall, from Lincolnshire, and glassmakers Crispian Heath, from North Shields, and Will Shakspeare, from Somerset. Harrogate ceramicist Fiona Mazza attended last Thursday's opening evening to display her vessels inspired by the wing patterns of Monarch butterflies.
Pyramid Gallery owner Terry Brett wanted to create a "different look and atmosphere" in the exhibition room for the 2017 summer show and duly decided to relinquish the display's planning to Jo Walton.
Fox And Trees, porcelain, by Blandine Anderson
"Jo has a reputation for innovation, having established the Rogues Atelier studio in 2013 in a building that used to be a tannery," says Terry. "The studio has been the home to several artists and craft makers and affords Jo plenty of space to prepare her large ‘rust’ prints on paper or fabric and pursue her commissions for fabrics and upholstery."
Jo, who also runs courses in upholstery in the studio, works with rusty metal objects to create prints on silk, linen and paper and has designed her own fabrics from her rust prints via digital printing for upholstery and scarves.
"Her seascape paintings capture memories, an intrinsic feeling, a distant dream," says Terry. "Jo works on gold or silver metal leaf to illustrate the ever-present light when on the sea.
"Her art has sold well in the past three York Open Studios and graces the walls of three former City of York Lord Mayors, while her upholstery and fabrics feature in the interiors of well-known bars in York, such as The House of Trembling Madness on Stonegate and The Angel on the Green on Bishopthorpe Road."
The Pyramid Gallery Summer Show with Jo Walton runs until September 4. Gallery opening hours are 10am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday; midday to 4.30pm on Sundays. The exhibition can be viewed online at pyramdgallery.com
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