Opening
times: Tue-Fri 12-5pm; Sat & Sun 11am -4pm;
Closed
Monday
Artist and Photographer Susan Bonham displays her recent
collection of Contemporary Abstract Photographic prints
in the O3 Gallery. These form part of a larger series
of contemporary abstract composite images that were
inspired by her long-term fascination with texture
and colour found in the built environment. The images
are a natural progression from the large abstract canvasses
Bonham has painted previously, drawing on grid structures.
Bonham is particularly interested in the relationships
that are formed between the individual 'cells' within
a grid and how these elements affect a whole composition.
Oxford
Born Susan Bonham moved to Reading where she obtained
an honours degree in Fine Art and Education. She developed
a keen interest in a form of abstration that drew influences
from such disparate sources as: the rich of colour
of Pierre Bonnard's work, to Mark Boyle's 'Journey
to the Surface of the Earth' works. Howard Hodgkin's
work was, and remains, a strong influence that dates
back to an exhibition at M.O.M.A. Oxford. Susan Bonham's
earlier work is represented by one canvas in this exhibition.
At this stage, photographic records of found surfaces
and textures, often in extreme close-up, would provide
information for the painterly outcomes. Rich saturated
colour, mark-making, surface pattern and a sense of
balance and harmony were always prime concerns.
The advent of high quality digital photography has enabled Susan Bonham to use
the camera and computer as a fresh and direct way of
making her compositions, as an alternative to translating
them into paint on canvas. The raw materials for these
abstract artworks are invariably found in the built
environment. These collections of found close-ups are
then taken out of context and assembled into a grid
structure of, typically, nine rectangles: each rectangle
itself echoing the form of the whole. There is often
movement and sharply defined detail in these 'cells'
and each of them has intrinsic visual interest. It
is always the balance of colour, form, and picture
space in the whole composition that Susan Bonham is
striving for. These photographic prints have no obvious
narrative, nor are they documentary or concerned with
people or objects, but meant as visually arresting
and sumptuous assemblages.
In 2008 Susan Bonham has also exhibited her work at 'The Gallery' in Ilkley,
Yorkshire.
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