We had been asked by the Brockley Ward Assembly to come up with an idea to raise awareness of a slightly under-loved green space Luxmore Gardens; the result was SIMPLY RED AND GREEN which took place on 29 and 30 August. We asked members of the public to come along and help paint objects and material red and then adorned the park, which worked visually to create a striking contrast to the predominant natural green of the space. There was a great turn out - with music and games as well as art, and we were very pleased with the results.

SIMPLY RED & GREEN was funded by the Brockley Assembly fund and kindly supported by Lewisham Council.

For further information contact: Sara Willett - Sara@jlunn.com 07730 066 512 or Alma Tischler - almatisch@gmail.com 07717 748 753

Olwagbenga Omiata graduated as a sculptor from the Obafemi Awolowo University in 2005 and presently works as a painter, sculptor and graphic artist (book illustration). Omiata has had five group exhibitions since graduating in Nigeria and has participated in two open exhibitions in London.

As a sculptor, Omiata works mainly in mixed media, cast, metal works, terracotta, clay modeling, with interest in movements, expression, exterior or interior functional sculptures. As a painter Omiata’s interest lies in postures, movement, expression, figurative composition, portrait, landscape, culture, history and the flows between abstract and realism.

“I have over the years been able to express myself in major areas of arts because art for me is more than just an area of specialization, it is expression of the mind in a visual form, in any medium or material and my ability or interest in all areas as made it pretty difficult to stereotype my form of expressing myself in just a medium, material or area of specialization.

My Sojourn Between Two Worlds is my first solo exhibition and my third exhibition since arriving in the UK. It is a focus on my experience as an artist comparing two worlds, where I come from and where I am presently, taking into account the difference between the two worlds, in terms of way of life, environment, landscapes, people and so on. My sojourn reflects me as a practising artist over the years and exhibiting  work that I have done in the past and present from sketches, drawing, painting, sculpture, or graphic works.”

Caroline's paintings explore the transient and fragmentary nature of temporal and spatial perception in relation to memory and the physicality and permanence of the painted surface. Using a combination of her own photographs and found imagery gleaned from newspapers, she focuses on the qualities and distortions of light such as shadows, silhouettes and reflections, rather than depictions of objects or people, meticulously translating ephemeral photographic fragments into paintings that are both personal and universal in feel, and far larger in scale.

Focusing on imagery and visions that might be described as being on the periphery of our conscious visual perception, the artist painstakingly builds up the image layer upon layer, employing a muted palette and traditional oil painting techniques to accentuate subtle tonal ranges and dramatic qualities of light. In so doing she emphasises the sculptural quality of light and oil paint, often producing work that oscillates between abstraction and figuration, and unearthing the uncanny from the everyday and banal.

Each painting comprises of layers or different versions of the photographed moment, eventually arriving at the final representation.  The subtle difference between each layer of the photographic fragment acknowledges the discontinuities and slippages of perception, and the mediating effects of time and memory. The final painting becomes one that is more informed by the prior layer of the painting than by the photographic source itself. These laboured paintings of momentary and mechanically captured images evoke a nostalgic and obsessive impulse toward the familiar and universal, but also harbour a sense of loss and longing.

Caroline Higgs studied at Central Saint Martins and Camberwell College of Arts, where she graduated in 2002. She works across a variety of creative disciplines including film and photography and is a published writer.

In March of this year her photography was selected for publication in the book Accident Créateur, published by the Master Edition, Sorbonne. Her last solo show, Pause the Light, took place in 2005 at the House Gallery, London. She currently lives and works in South London.

Penumbra represents the artist's second solo show to focus entirely on her paintings.

Painter Keith Gordon returns to the Arthouse Gallery with a new collection of paintings.

Gordon describes this exhibition as "a varied collection of paintings where vivid colours and forms are fragmented and reformed by white. Paintings which tackle the relevance of painting today against the completion of the 'story' of painting and the passing of Post Modernism. Taking in musical, landscape and language notations and theories and  to explore how paintings can still have legitimacy and how paintings can still energise and inspire."

More information can be found on Keith's website:  

www.landscapememoryanddesire.co.uk

CINETOPIA

Dear friends and film fanatics.

Cinetopia and Lewisham Art House are reuniting to bring you a second evening of glorious cinematic splendour. So, please bring your friends and join us for a few drinks, a fun film quiz (points mean prizes) and a great mystery film (you won't know what it is 'til it's started).

Past Cinetopia evenings have been themed around a wide range of genres from classic comedies to hard-boiled thrillers, including Nine Queens (Argentinian heist thriller), The Shining (epic horror), Adaptation (writers and Hollywood) and Together, (love, sex, childhood and the music of Abba in a Swedish commune). The theme for this event is corruption, cabaret and corporate sleaze.

We look forward to seeing you.

Best wishes,

Cinetopia - Gill, Andrew and Simon

The current economic climate has highlighted a disturbing trend for an outlandish decadence in approaches to art making, which can have the unsettling side effect of encouraging a 'lazy eye' in both artist and viewer. This exhibition turns the focus on artists working on the other end of the material spectrum, to those who deliberately employ meagre means in their practice.

Despite the ever-increasing material and technological means at our disposal, artists are repeatedly drawn back to low rent materials, especially in sculptural practice. The exhibiting artists' reasons for their material choices are as varied as the results, harnessing the potential of lo-fi quotidian materials from comic value to unexpected grace. Often these choices allow them to take a more experimental approach to their work without the added weight of more valuable materials, extracting the often negative element of preciousness that can hamper further investigation.

There is a general consensus among these artists that the physical presence of a work is as important as the image rendered and the use of lo-fi materials lends itself particularly well to this end. Although these artists are drawn to materials for their physical properties, by working with low cost and acquired items they are also well positioned to continue to develop their practice without compromise, in these uncertain economic times.

Poetry and short story readings with tea and cakes with Anne-Marie Glasheen, Joan Byrne and Pia Randall-Goddard - Sunday 15th March 3.00 - 4.30 p.m.  

This exhibition celebrates the work of diverse women photographers in South London and marks the return of The International Women's Week show at the Lewisham Arthouse, which is linked to a worldwide celebration of women's achievements.  Traditionally International Women's Day takes place on 8 March each year and is celebrated all around the world to mark women's struggle for equal rights, justice, peace and progress.

We aim to reflect the innovation, diversity, and creativity of women in photography   reaching out to a broad range of practitioners, from local colleges, artist's studios, community groups and schools. This work contributes to the outstanding achievement of female photographers world wide, which has been recently been reflected in block busting exhibitions at The National Portrait Gallery. Submission to the exhibition has been open and unrestricted and promises to be refreshing and stimulating for all our visiting public.

In 2003 Nazneen Ayyub-Wood embarked on a living project which saw her transform herself for a month at a time into a cat-human.  This project brought her to the attention of the influential American curator Jaishri Abichandani resulting in a public art commission from the Queens Museum in New York and supported by a grant from the British Council. For this solo exhibition at the Lewisham Arthouse the artist presents selected works from The Cat Project, including large-scale photographs, drawings and video as well as a customised display system for artefacts.

The Cat Project is a project in three parts. In November 2003 in New York, the artist adapted the form of a hijab into the features of a black cat. This mask she then wore in public for a month, in the manner of Ramadan, whilst going about her daily business. The second part of the project took place in London in June 2005 and involved wearing a tail for a month. The tail eventually grew to 19 metres in length and reached down into the Thames river from the Millenium Bridge.

For the third and final part of the Cat Project in New York in October 2006, the artist and her 8 month old daughter wore matching cat costumes modelled on the Indian style ‘Churidar’ suit which were tailored by the artist herself and included masks, bonnets, tails and accessories.

Matters of the Heart celebrates St Valentines Day in style, opening up those secret matters of the heart that underline the complexities of human relationships and exploring them through a combination of performance and visual art.

An evening of events will take place on Saturday the 14th February, where performance artists from different disciplines will collaborate to present a series of Romantic Interludes, from the surreal to the tender.

Gallery Open: Wednesdays to Sunday 12 - 6pm
Admission Free
Disabled Access
Transport: Rail/Underground - New Cross/New Cross Gate Buses - 21, 36, 136, 321