The North Wall Arts Centre in Summertown is reopening this month with a new exhibition of paintings and textiles, curated by Jenny Blyth.
Contemplation: Snow Into Water is a celebration of the beauty of nature and its mental benefits, with work by artists Chloe FREMANTLE (paintings) and Cassandra WALL (textiles).
Chloe Fremantle’s practice uses her own hieroglyphic language of symbols and shapes to reflect the world around her and the rhythms that reoccur in nature.
In recent years her work has marked a return to more urban and rural vistas infused with the alphabet that she has developed over years. As one’s eye unravels the patterns and marks within Fremantle’s compositions, so the mind is free to explore and interpret.
Cassandra Wall has been working with textiles since childhood. All her compositions capture the spirit of the landscape – the crests of purple heather-clad hills with backdrafts of golden green mosses.
Her quilts, each created over months, are completed as contemporary textile paintings floating in tray frames, unglazed.
Initially, she creates collages in torn papers, precursors and hints of the patterns and tessellations to come. Transposing her ‘sketches’ to cloth, involves sourcing vintage and hand-coloured fabrics that she tones with tea, matching her swatches against her chosen subjects en plein air. Once her patterning is decided upon, the tessellation begins and her textile paintings are stitched.
Art aside, a selection of socially-distanced events will be taking place in the North Wall, as announced over the next few weeks.
Next up is a stand-up showcase from Jericho Comedy on 26 September.
Further upcoming exhibitions at The North Wall this autumn include Society of Wood Engravers’ Centenary Exhibition, and photographer Phillipa James’ 100 Women of Oxford, part of the Photo Oxford festival.
The venue’s Christmas exhibition features illustrator Korky Paul’s much-loved characters Winnie the Witch and Wilbur.
Visit the North Wall’s website for the latest information about what’s on and how to book: www.thenorthwall.com
