Spellbound: September at Sarah Wiseman Gallery

Spellbound: Magic and Nature by Daniel Ablitt and Flora McLachlan

10th September – 1st October

Sarah Wiseman Gallery is proud to announce ‘Spellbound’ an exploration of myth and landscape by two prominent contemporary artists: Daniel Ablitt and Flora McLachlan.

‘We brought these two artists together as each works in their own distinct way tapping into and responding to landscape, but in a deeper sense, revealing the magic within real world settings,’ explains Sarah Wiseman, director of the gallery.

Bristol-based Daniel Ablitt focusses on scale and wonder playing on the viewer’s sense of yearning and wanderlust. He creates fleeting, story-like scenes featuring distant figures engaged in conversation or small boats lit up on a starry lake. They give the impression of a story in progress, rather than a fixed narrative. His paintings are informed by his extensive travels across the globe, each work containing the awesome landscapes of Latin America, South-East Asia, and the birch forests of Northern Europe.

Flora McLachlan is well known for her interpretations of myth and the embedding of ancient stories and legends in the land under our feet. However, more recently she has been exploring the playful magic in nature, immersing herself in the sappy, scented greenery that teems with life. Flora’s latest work is looser and more expressive, exploring weedy ‘edge lands’ that she recalls would cover over her head as a child, but now is waist high. To Flora, it’s a transformative place where she becomes rooted in its midst, eye level with the tiny beings that live there.

She says: ‘I can enter this magical world at will, loop myself with goose-grass and move empowered through the dew of every morning.’

Sarah Wiseman Gallery is preparing an e-catalogue where you can preview all available works and texts about the artists. Sign up via our website, or email us to request a link: info@wisegal.com

Marina Bauguil: ceramics

In addition to new works by Daniel and Flora, we are delighted to present striking new pieces by the acclaimed ceramicist Marina Bauguil. Marina’s work is mostly figurative, creating serene, gently smiling spirit-like creatures. Each is individually sculpted in an intuitive way. Some have crowns or antlers or are decorated with flowers.

Raised in France, as well as Africa and England, Marina draws inspiration from different cultures and a deep connection with nature. It is her understanding that we were once deeply connected with forests, rivers, mountains, plants, and animals and that we in contemporary society are losing that connection.

At the core of Marina's creative practice is a sense of animism, aiming to imbue her pieces with a spirit that will inspire the viewer to rekindle a connection with the natural world.

Marina’s new collection will be available to buy in person at Sarah Wiseman Gallery or on our online shop.

Click here to preview: https://bit.ly/marina_bauguil

Notes to Editors

[ENDS]
Notes for editors:
‘Spellbound’: Daniel Ablitt & Flora McLachlan RE
10th September - 1st October 2022
Sarah Wiseman Gallery
40-41 South Parade
Oxford
OX2 7JL
Tel: 01865 515 123
www.wisegal.com

Twitter: @sarah_wisegal
Instagram: @sarah_wiseman_gallery
Facebook: sarahwisemangallery

Opening Hours:
Tues-Saturday 10:00 – 17:30
Monday: 10:00 – 16:00

About Sarah Wiseman Gallery:

Admission is free.
All works on display are for sale
Works are also available for purchase online. We ship UK and Worldwide, please contact us for quotations for larger items.

Sarah Wiseman Gallery is the largest independent gallery space in Oxford and has built a strong reputation for ambitious and engaging exhibitions of contemporary art by established as well as emerging artists. Director Sarah Wiseman opened the gallery in 1998 and it was quickly established as a leading space for contemporary art in Oxford. Sarah has sought out a varied group of artists with an eye to individuality and technical accomplishment, reflecting her passion and commitment to contemporary art.

Over the years, we have come to focus our expertise primarily on contemporary British painters. As a gallery, we support original voices in painting, seeking opportunities for our artists to further develop their careers. We aim to create a point of focus through presenting an interesting gallery programme of solo exhibitions as well as carefully curated, themed group exhibitions.

The breadth of artists we work with reflects the diversity of our clients, who range from experienced art collectors to those intending to make their first art purchase. We aim to enthuse our visitors with a variety of artwork in a spacious, relaxed setting and to encourage engagement with contemporary art.

A destination for lovers of contemporary art, Sarah Wiseman Gallery is an inspiring experience for locals and visitors to Oxford alike. The gallery is situated on South Parade in Oxford's stylish Summertown area amongst independent boutiques and restaurants.

Flora Mclachlan RE:
Flora McLachlan's work takes its inspiration from the meeting of myth with ancient landscape. She is drawn to themes of romantic medieval poetry and ideas of setting out on a quest, through trees and thorns and 'searching out a glimpse of a white hart'. Her printmaking is softly lit with areas of deep shadow, alluding to a darker, more untamed woodland. Using a multitude of printmaking techniques, each image is layered with time-worn textures, her aim to make work that is reminiscent of an ancient relic, briefly brought back to life.
Flora McLachlan studied English Literature at Brasenose College Oxford, before completing a diploma in Illustration at West Herts College, where she made her first etchings. She became a member of the Oxford Printmaker's Cooperative where she continued to develop her work, exhibiting nationally. She was elected an associate member of the Royal Society of Painter Printmakers in 2008, becoming a fellow in 2013. Flora has recently relocated to remote Pembrokeshire, where she has set up her own studio. She has recently completed a Masters in Fine Art at Aberystwyth School of Art.

Daniel Ablitt:
Daniel Ablitt is a great observer of landscape; he does not set out to record a likeness of a particular location but he seeks to engage with the profound effect it has on us as human beings. His paintings depict partly-imagined places and half-remembered landscapes captured mostly from his travel experiences and childhood. These memories are pieced together with other fragments of influence that have been absorbed through film and literature, combining to express and explore his personal mythology. The work has a haunting sense of familiarity presenting the viewer with a symbolic and dreamlike imagery, perhaps a landscape feature that has settled onto our human collective consciousness such as a secluded lake, forest or mountain.
Daniel Ablitt's use of light brush work brings out tiny details, such as glowing lights or blossoming flowers, in contrast to larger areas of washed out, inky mark-making, even staining the canvases which adds to the dream-like quality. Like a dream, the landscapes in them seem to recede into a mist or glow, with no particular beginning or end-point. They are full of detail but never over-worked or sentimentalised.


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