"Landscape" opened on the 13th of April

A beautiful range of work from 4 local artists representing the landscape in painting and drawing and woodturning is currently on display in the incubator building until the 25th of May. With the corridors adorned with images of North Wales, Cheshire and Liverpool and turned bowls made from wood from local parks and gardens in three cabinets, it feels fresh and colourful in the grey walls of the building.

"Landscape" opens on the 13th of April: Feature Rowena Ferguson

Rowena Fergusson is an artist with a studio in Chester but I first encountered her detailled work in last year's Liverpool Independents, in a temporary exhibition space set up in the Georgian surroundings of Hamilton Square in Birkenhead. The gallery space was set up for 3 months and called "The Six Rooms Gallery" and housed 35 artists over three exhibitions.

"My current body of work aims to simplify the colour and stylise the textures and forms in the landscape. Each work, has within it areas of intense detail, which I take particular pleasure in observing and representing.

I have always painted the landscape and love observing nature as it continually changes with the seasons."

Event registration for "Landscape" exhibition at MerseyBIO - Private View 13/4/11 5.30-7.30pm powered by Eventbrite

"Landscape" opens on the 13th of April: Feature Linda Evans

Wirral based artist, Linda Evans uses her work to explore personal imagery derived from the slate mining area of Snowdonia (Eryri) North Wales.

"My emotional response to this landscape is essential to my creative process. With this series of contemporary works, I am striving to provide a new perspective on the intriguing abstract shapes within the landscape of the moors which surround the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog. I often start with sketches done on sight and then develop them later in my studio. I paint with acrylics, a medium I find very versatile, adding strong black lines to create structure. To add movement and define the abstract shapes I draw with pastels over the finished work."

"Landscape" opens on the 13th of April: Feature Phil Dowling

Liverpool artist, Phil Dowling has been painting portraits and landscapes for nearly 30years. His main interest in painting landscapes is to capture natures abstract qualities, its light, colour, mood,but above all its energy in a harmonious way. 
Phil says his feelings about painting are best summed up in the words of french painter Pierre Bonnard.


"It's not a matter of painting life; its a matter of giving life to a painting”

Successful opening at MerseyBIO

2Bio Hosts 'Complementary Colours' Art Exhibition in MerseyBIO Incuabtor, Liverpool

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Last night hosted their first art exhibition opening event of 2011 entitled ‘Complementary Colours’ with work from Dr Patrick Druggan and Christine Toh on display in the MerseyBIO Incubator in Liverpool.

The exhibition is part of an ongoing programme called ‘art@ the incubator’ which showcases the work of local artists, students and school children from within and around the Liverpool region.

Dr Patrick Druggan is Director of R&D for Provexis Plc based in MerseyBIO, who specialise in the discovery, development and licensing of functional food, medical food and dietary supplement technologies.

The images in the exhibition were captured twenty years ago when Patrick first worked in diagnostic microbiology and was investigating impurities in crystal violet.

Christine Toh trained in France as a biochemist and became captivated by colours when she started printing in 1992 and has not stopped playing with colours ever since on paper and fabric. She obtained a First class honours degree in 2008 in Fashion and Textile Design from John Moores University in Liverpool.

Christine is establishing her practice as an innovative textile artist working from her studio at The Bluecoat in central Liverpool. Her work takes inspiration from nature, landscapes and the urban environment and has its roots in the idea of memories.

art @ the incubator is co-ordinated by Alison Roberts, Art Liaison Officer of 2Bio Ltd, who has many years’ experience in the creative industries arena and curating shows locally, nationally and internationally.

Commenting on the programme so far, Alison said “Since October 2008 I have had the pleasure of being art liaison officer for 2Bio Ltd, with the role of co-ordinating the exhibitions within the Incubator. This is the first exhibition where an exhibitor has come from one of the companies housed within the building.

“UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) has declared that the next 12 months will be the Year of Chemistry, so I am delighted that our inaugural exhibition for 2011 will combine Patrick’s microscope images with Christine’s layered textile work in exploration of colour and dyes.”

To arrange to view the exhibition by appointment, or to register your interest in exhibiting at or attending future events, contact Alison Roberts at alison.roberts@2bio.co.uk.

‘Complementary Colours’ will run until 23rd March 2011

Newsletter about Complementary Colours

Christine Toh as part of Complementary Colours exhibition

Complementary Colours

Since October 2008, I have had the pleasure of co-ordinating the exhibitions within the incubator, MerseyBIO. I hope to continue to bring you an interesting and varied calendar of exhibitions throughout the next few months. This is the first exhibition where we have had a particpant from one of the companies housed within the building. I am pleased to combine Patrick’s microscopic images with Christine’s layered textile work in this, our inaugural exhibition for 2011.





Dr Patrick Druggan is Director of R&D for Provexis PLC based in MerseyBIO, who specialize in the discovery, development and licensing of functional food, medical food and dietary supplement technologies.

These images were captured twenty years ago when Patrick first worked in diagnostic microbiology and was investigating impurities in crystal violet.






“The United Nations have declared 2011 to be the Year of Chemistry. The origins of the modern world can be traced back to William Perkin’s accidental synthesis of Mauvine in 1856. This first commercially available synthetic dye caused a technological and social revolution. It spawned the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Within fifteen years of Perkin’s pioneering work in chemical synthesis and commercial exploitation of the products he made, the artistic movement Impressionism had been born. Its radical use of light and colour was made possible by synthetic chemistry. Painters like Monet, Pissaro, Cezanne, van Gogh and Gauguin exploited the brilliance of the new light stable synthetic paints, and modern art was born. You can still buy the same paint they used to this day.”
Patrick Druggan 2011

More later about Christine's work

COMPLEMENTARY COLOURS

Today is the last day of the "Twelve Working Days til Christmas" exhibition at MerseyBIO which was received very well and resulted in quite a number of sales for many of the artists involved.

Thank you very much to all our past exhibitors and extras who contributed to the show. We plan to do the same again next year and make it an annual event.

Our next show in the incubator for starting in February will be a joint exhibition exploring colour from two different but related perspectives. The show is entitled "Complementary Colours".

The modern world around us, is a highly coloured one, with a palette of bright colours made with synthetic dyes. Synthesised dyes in themselves are very beautiful, yet we never see them for what they are. This exhibition exposes these dyes in all their glory from a microscopic perspective from Dr Patrick Druggan of Provexis and the artistic results when used on fabrics from Liverpool artist, Christine Toh.

The Twelve working days til Christmas

Janice Thorn- mosaics, Theresia Cadwallader- bead jewellery and Nathan Pendlebury

The show is on until the 20th of January, email alison.roberts@2bio.co.uk to visit, with many Christmas gift ideas from local artists and contemporary craftspeople.

Artwork coming in

We have books from Stephanie de Leng, 15 photos from Michael Burns, lots of photos from Roger Sinek and Nathan Pendulbury, 4 prints from Joel Bird, 1 giclee print from Claire McCarthy, lots of works by Susan Meyerhoof Sharples including Christmas trees, Prints and cards from Freida McKitrick, watercolour/ink drawings from Jane Hughes, mosaics from Janice Thorn, 4 framed photos taken this weekend by Sebastian Cowden, prints of Chris Millichamp's watercolours, jewellery from Alison Bailey Smith and Theresia Cadwallader....and more!

Susan Meyerhoff Sharples

Susan Meyerhoff Sharples’ an international artist is based at Elevator studios Liverpool, was born and educated in the Merseyside area gaining a first class honours degree in Fine Art from John Moores University, Liverpool. In 2004 she was awarded a Fellowship from Wirral Art School.

Her work is concerned with evolution, provocative defence systems and the primal instinct for survival achieved via diversity and adaptation. Repetition is a constant element in the work: repetition within diversity and diversity within repetition.

She creates hybrid sculptural forms exposing a glimpse of evolutionary fantasy, suggesting relationships between ancient organisms and their modern descendants. Their ambiguity reflects cultural, social and environmental concerns of identity, protection, genetic engineering and global warming. Viewed from a playful perspective, they transform a materials utilitarian functionality into mythical forms linking prehistoric with futuristic.

Recent work, Cultural Crossing Series has been supported by World Museum, Bluecoat Liverpool, Atelierhaus Salzamt Austria, Ars Electronica Austria, Maerz Kunstlervereinigung, Austria, Sinebrychoff Gallery, Finland.

Exhibitions, commissions and collections include: America, UK, Eire, Canada, Spain, Austria and Israel.
Larger outdoor sculptures can be seen at:
Lancelyn Green Sculpture Garden, Poulton Hall Wirral.
The Woman’s Hospital, Liverpool.
The Leonardo Centre, Neston, Wirral.
South Wirral High School. Wirral.
Hope University, Liverpool.
Mount Pleasant Gardens, Cheshire.

BA Hons Fine Art
www.susanmeyerhoffsharples.com

Jane Hughes: About here

Jane Hughes was born and educated in Liverpool, gaining a first class honours degree in Fine Art at Liverpool John Moores University.
Since November 2008, Hughes has been involved in a documentary project at Liverpool Hope University where she has been Artist in Residence. This follows a similar archival project at Liverpool John Moores University.
Hughes’ work has been shown in a number of juried national and international exhibitions. During October/November 2010, a series of her drawings will be featured in an internationally selected exhibition in the Czech Republic.
Hughes’ landscape paintings are all developed from on-site drawing and note making, never using a camera in preference to a much longer engagement with the real experiences of being there.
This may involve moving through, or simply sitting reflectively in the landscape. Sometimes a series of drawings emerges as a finished statement, and at other times they become part of an evolving and reductive process, resulting in acrylic paintings.
Hughes’ paintings concern the purity of the experience, often with all recognisable shapes being stripped away to leave the landscape represented by simple bands of colour.

Christine O'Reilly Wilson: About here

"The Language of Colour

Painting Colour has been my chosen method of artistic self expression for the last ten years or so. Through the language of abstract colour combinations I attempt to evoke a glimpse of past experience. Using translucent paint is a means of allowing the colour to build in intensity while also allowing the previous mark-making to be seen.Working on a large scale allows me to become absorbed into the colour and generates an intuitive response allowing further creative development.

Printmaking formed a large part of my working process throughout my years at University but I never had the same enthusiasm when leaving the easy access to a printing press, upon graduating. Working mostly upon canvas, painting in acrylics employs many aspects of the printing process.

I will pour, splash, sponge and imprint colour onto the surface. Paint is applied to the surface of the canvas and can be scraped, scoured, sponged, wiped away or applied in thick opaque areas to cover over the previous painting. Colour intensity develops within the translucent layers.

With colour I am attempting to convey my own experience of humanity. Using the confines of the stretched canvas as the rigid boundary of my expression I concern myself with colour and the structure of a balanced composition. Over several layers the colour develops intensity and allows me to become absorbed into the colour.

Christine O’Reilly Wilson
2010

Our new exhibitors

Our next exhibition at MerseyBIO opens on Wednesday evening
in the incubator building, MerseyBIO
at the Biosciences building on Crown Street, Liverpool.


Susan Meyerhoff Sharples
Wendy Williams
Jane Hughes
Christine O'Reilly Wilson

Alex Corina - Collectibles

The collectable ware in the cabinet in the kitchen is made of bone china and features Alex Corina's Mona Lennon and 3 graces. The pieces are decorated by hand using printed ceramic transfers, hand finished then fired to 800 degrees. The picture here was taken in Alex's studio in Garston.

When our exhibition is finished the mugs and placques can be purchased through this site http://www.liverpoolshop.com/blog/new-liverpool-art-mug-collection-october-2009

Alex's show will be finishing on the 14th of July so enjoy the artwork in the incubator while it is still there. We will be having a break from exhibitions for the summer while we resolve the issue of the lack of natural light due to the building work next door.

Mersey Bio show | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n

Mersey Bio show | Project blogs | Artists talking | a-n


Julie Dodd who was our previous exhibitor at MerseyBIO with her exhibition "Life in Paper" has been blogging as part of her progress as a student, then as a graduate and now as an exhibitor and she has written up her experience of exhibiting at MerseyBIO.

Alex Corina- Past, Present and Future

Alex's opening is on Wednesday 5.30pm to 7.30pm. Wine and nibbles served.

Parking sadly, is virtually non-existent because of the building work.To find our building is easy, follow the white hoardings!

The best description of where we are is the Pembroke Place end of Crown Street, behind the Royal Hospital. We are between Brownlow Hill and Pembroke Place/West Derby Street.…

Currently we are a building site with white hoardings around where the car park used to be, so parking is a nightmare. My best advice is come by public transport and then you can have some of our lovely wine. If you are travelling by train go to Lime Street then walk up the Hill towards the University Campus or get a taxi.

RSVP's essential - alison.roberts@2bio.co.uk

More info on Former Exhibitors

Former Art @ the incubator exhibitor Desdemona McCannon, who showed "Under a Victorian Microscope" and "Characters in Search of Science has been in touch about developments for her project


NWSAD staff and students will be running a 'Character Lab' creating 3d characters with scientific properties in collaboration with children during Wrexham Science Week
1st- 10th July 2010
Festival link is http://www.wrexhamsf.com/en/

"Characters in Search of Science was a very successful research project we ran with students from NWSAD and Rhosddu school in 2007, introducing children to scientific ideas using drawing, making, storytelling and animation. We asked them to create characters that embodied concepts in the school curriculum, and it was a great experience for all involved.

Since then I have given conference papers and talks in Oxford, Tokyo and Mumbai on the project, and have had a great response from educators, students and children as to the use of creativity in teaching traditionally 'dry' subjects in schools. We exhibited the puppets and animations from the project at the Wrexham Science festival in 2007, and have been invited to run a 'Character Lab' during this year's Festival in July.

The Festival runs from Thursday 1st - Saturday 10th July 2010, and we aim to run the 'lab' on two days including the Saturday. We would like to use the character lab to encourage children to make a 'science monster' in 3d, which we will photograph on the stand, and rate as to its scientific abilities. This may be part of its personality or make up or may be embedded in the character- magnets, propellors, lights etc."