Untitled is an inclusive contemporary art gallery presented by Project Art Works
Twenty-One Year Itch
“Painting makes me feel free.” - Charlotte Stephens.
Charlotte joined Project Art Works in 2005. She is one of the studio’s original artist collaborators and a vital contributor to the organisation.
Predominantly a painter, Charlotte’s work is wide ranging in its style, moving between beautifully rendered studies of the world around her, to large-scale process-based works. Drawing on her love of nature, many of her paintings reflect the seasonal shift of the landscape, alongside favourite animals, and birds.
Perhaps Charlotte’s most moving works are self-reflective: portraits of herself and her family; works that place her within the context of her life. Like Charlotte, they are unflinchingly honest - daring and defiant.
Alongside her studio practice, Charlotte is an advisor to the Project Art Works board of trustees, she represents the organisation at outfacing events - presenting the narrative of her work in a style that is relatable and engaging.
Within the shared studio environment, she brings her experience as an artist, often supporting the work of others through advice and practical help.
Charlotte takes her work incredibly seriously, but not herself. Undoubtably the best qualities an artist can have.
The title of Charlotte’s exhibition at 12 Claremont, Twenty-One Year Itch, references her first solo show presented by Project Art Works in 2012, Seven Year Itch. As the title suggests, the exhibition is a retrospective of Charlotte’s work – bringing together seminal paintings from across her 21-year association with Project Art Works.
Open Friday 22 May – Saturday 13 June
Across this exhibition, paint is handled with immediacy and freedom. Paintings resist singular readings and open up space for subjective association. Colours, movement and rhythm may suggest seasonal or organic forms but also readily exceed them. The exhibition becomes less about representing nature and more about how meaning is shaped, through mark-making, material engagement and curatorial framing.
Project Art Works presents the first solo exhibition by Christopher Tite.
Christopher Tite describes painting as something that makes him "happy and excited." His paintings develop over many weeks or months, applying vibrant wings of colour in a layering process, sometimes mixing the paint directly on the canvas. He moves away from, around and up close to the surface, before energetically committing each new layer of paint with sponges and brushes.
The works in this exhibition are a selection from the past 8 years of Tite's practice amplifying his dynamic approach to composition, colour and gesture. The physicality of his process remains central: each painting records a sequence of actions, decisions andresponses, building into richly worked surfaces.
Featuring intricate drawings, bold and expressive paintings and multi-media sculpture, this exhibition explores popular culture and storytelling.
Pokémon, familiar cartoon and fictional characters and TV references are explored through unique perspectives and collectively, the works celebrate imagination, particularity, precision and the power of visual storytelling as a form of connection and self-expression.
Artists from the Project Art Works studios will be present at the gallery space of Project Art Works In Residence working together to construct an evolving installation.
They will use the whole space, from front to back, to create an environment using different media, light, projections and structures. The process will be documented and share on a blog which you can see here.
Project Art Works opens In Residence as we activate the ground floor of 12 Claremont in Hastings as a gallery, workshop and event space, and shop.
This opening exhibition will mine the Project Art Works archive which houses 25 years of practise from the studio.
In Residence is a dynamic group exhibition which will evolve over time introducing different artists from the Project Art Works studio. In the new year the exhibition programme will explore solo shows that present individual artists work and their studio practice.
In the Project Art Works studio on Braybrooke Terrace in Hastings we collaborate with 45 adult artists.