Welcome to the Naze Tower

Summer Exhibition : 27 June - 6 September 2009

The Naze Tower Summer Exhibition will feature Solo Shows by Dale Devereux Barker, Joanna Wilson, Richard Allen, Chris Gamble and Roger Gamble. There will also be a new Mixed Show in the Tea Rooms showing a body of work by Anne Paton, Clare Dawson, Jean Muir, Meriel Ensom, Dawn Hall, Verena Daniels, Sarah Bays, Jane Bygrave and Nigel Pepper. Expect an exciting show perfectly suited to the summer with colourful yet light and subtle works that emphasis the power of drawing, observation, humour and the quirky by both established and upcoming artists from East Anglia working in print, paint, glass, ceramics, photography and on driftwood.

Solo Shows

Dale Devereux Barkermakes art out of all sorts of things. Out of words, out of humour, out of frustration, out of sitting on the beach. Since graduating from the Slade in 1986 he has developed a pictorial language that is distinctive in its combination of figurative imagery and complex layering of more abstract planes and textures. Dale has exhibited extensively and is also known for his public artworks including the colourful enamel panels at St Katherine’s Dock, London. He has recently been making a new set of lithographs at The Curwen Studio to celebrate twenty years of swimming-inspired art some of which will be featured in this exhibition.

Joanna Wilson specialises in relief printmaking, particularly vinyl and woodcut and her main influences are the natural world and the sea. Whilst studying Illustration at Middlesex University she won the Printmakers’ Council prize in 2008. She now works in the print room at the University, enabling her to extend her knowledge of all forms of printmaking. Jo has a long association with Walton on the Naze and has been an enthusiastic beachcomber from an early age; collecting fossils, driftwood, materials and images of the coast that inspire her works.

Chris Gamble attended Lowestoft Art School and after teaching for ten years she retired to concentrate on painting full-time. Drawing continues to be a strong element in her work and her subject matter largely comprises human figures in a 21st century context. “I am interested in the limitations and possibilities of the media in which I work, and the balance between broad areas of colour and sharp definition or detail, which creates rhythms as in music. I believe that visual art must create visual impact and interest of its own, unsupported by written explanations. To this end I enjoy experimenting with colour, texture and distortion.”

Roger Gamble was educated at the Norwich School of Art and trained as a Lithographic Artist. In 1996 he retired from a career in publishing to concentrate on painting. ‘My images these days are frequently, but not exclusively, urban. I am drawn to people and contemporary paraphernalia in everyday contexts, and try to unearth the ironic, the brief snapshot. I also have a great love of boats and the seashore, and this subject matter has a habit of recurring from time to time.’

Both Roger and Chris Gamble have had work selected for exhibitions at the Mall Galleries, London, the Eastern Open and exhibit in a number of galleries in East Anglia.

Richard Allen has been a freelance illustrator and painter for over twenty years. If his work looks familiar that is because his illustrations have been used in numerous books, magazines, newspapers, on interpretation boards and for stamp design, the latest being a set of bird stamps for Belize. In 1993 he won the ‘Bird Illustrator of the Year’ competition. “I’m never more happy however than out in the field sketching the birds and landscapes of the Essex coastal marshes. I’m particularly drawn to birds with strong patterns, and my sketchbooks are filled with drawings of lapwings, avocets and shelducks. The patterns of water, mud and marsh also attract me, and I like the immediacy of watercolour to capture the moments.” This exhibition will show a selection of watercolours depicting wildlife and landscapes, mostly produced in the field on the NE Essex coast.

Mixed Show in the Tea Rooms:

Clare Dawson “Flora and fauna are my love. I shoot multi layered, Still Life images in my studio. I balance the background colours with the flowers and pay particular attention to depth of field and perspective. I also create Plant Portraits but these are shot outdoors in their natural surroundings.” Clare graduated in 2007 and won a Nikon Discovery award and an Arts Council bursary to develop her photography. Due to the seaside location of the Tower Clare will also show some new works of water and shells.

Anne Paton received her training at the Chelsea School of Art where she studied painting and printmaking. After a career in publishing, Anne now works full time as a painter in Walberswick, Suffolk. She likes to work expressively, responding to the landscapes and seascapes of East Anglia using mixed media. She endeavours to convey the essence of a scene with an economy of line. Anne has been featured in numerous publications and shown in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibitions, the New English Art Club and The Chappel Galleries.

Meriel Ensom’ detailed paintings of birds and fish on driftwood are so good you just want to take them home with you! “My work is about re-use and weathered finds which can be transferred into objects of greater interest and beauty by creativity and interpretation using images related to sea and shore where the wood was found. For this exhibition at the Naze Tower I will show work along this theme.”

Jean Muir specialises in ceramic and glass sculpture. Her main source of inspiration stems from images found in nature, she is particularly inspired by the shoreline and often combines textures and colours from this fragile environment within her work. Jane Bygrave will be showing a new selection of her popular functional stoneware and raku ceramics including seaside inspired pieces for the summer season. Sarah Bays will also be following this theme in her etchings, paintings and pastels. We are also featuring new work by Tower favourites Verena Daniels, Dawn Hall and Nigel Pepper. This year Verena expands her selection of coastal inspired glass artworks with beautiful scenes of boats on the backwaters. Talented Walton on the Naze painter Dawn Hall will include paintings of the local area and a new set of prints including the Tower from across the Backwaters and the wild Naze beach. Walton based Nigel Pepper will show new photographs of wildlife and weather that have the wow factor, capturing beauty and drama.

For more information go to Exhibitions.