Now in its fourth year, the art auction will be overseen by Martin Lambert of Fine Art Auctioneers Humberts, and includes an amazing array of work kindly donated by 30 talented contemporary artists, photographers and designer-makers.
tuesday 19th May 2009
Wragge & Co
55 Colmore Row, Birmingham B3 2ASreception and viewing from 6pm, live auction from 7.30pm
Places are limited for this free event so please RSVP HERE by 8th May or to John Latham
Founding trustee of Cure Leukaemia and Professor of Haemato-Oncology at University Hospital Birmingham
The Cure Leukaemia Art Auction continues to play an integral role in raising funds which enables patients throughout the region to have access to life-saving new drugs and treatment therapies.
Thanks to the incredible hard work of a dedicated committee the Art Auction represents a huge opportunity to make a difference to patients who otherwise have no hope. In addition it has become a unique and prestigious event in the charity calendar of the region of which the trustees are extremely proud.
Tonight would not have been possible without the generosity and talent of the artists from across the region who have given freely of their time and talents in donating some fine work for this years auction. For many of them it will be the fourth year running they have done this. We offer sincere thanks to them also.
After the success of Eric Knowles as our auctioneer last year we feel we have been most fortunate in finding an excellent successor in Martin Lambert of Humbert & Co, one of the countries leading fine art auction houses. Many thanks to him also for his support.
I therefore wish new chairman Gavin Buckley and his committee, especially stalwarts Susan McNally and Brenda Parkerson who had the original idea, every success with this year's auction, once more in the beautiful setting of the Wragge & Co Banking Hall, and thank them for all their valuable time and talents that have been put into this excellent project.
Professor Craddock
Chairman Cure Leukaemia Art Auction Committee 2009
I am delighted to welcome you to the 2009 Cure Leukaemia Art Auction.
In this my first year as Chairman of the Art Auction Committee, I am so very impressed with the commitment of the artists who have donated their work for sale. As you can see from this catalogue the work is superb and my thanks go to every one of the brilliant and talented artists who have, by their generosity, made this event possible.
I would also like to thank Wragge & Co for providing this wonderful venue, Martin Lambert of Humberts Fine Art Auctioneers and the Birmingham Post for its support in helping us to spread the word. Behind the scenes, I am privileged to work with a committee of professionals who are freely providing both their time and considerable expertise. Their names are shown at the back of this catalogue and I am immensely grateful for all they do to create, promote and deliver this annual event.
Tonight is about helping Cure Leukaemia provide world-class research, treatment and care for both patients and their families. This can only be done if we generate the money to pay for it. Every £1 we raise will go directly to the charity and has the potential to make a real difference to someone's life.
Enjoy the evening and I hope you take home an artwork that will bring you pleasure for many years to come.
Gavin Buckley
Humberts Fine Art Auctioneers
Fine Art Auctioneer and Valuer Martin Lambert started 'dabbling' with Antiques at age 13 when as he puts it; "whilst other kids were kicking footballs around in parks, I was buying up old plates and books at the local markets although I wasn't quite sure why at the time!"
Martin has spent the last twelve years working at Humberts (Cotswold) Ltd. in his capacity as principal Fine Art Auctioneer and Valuer and considers himself very lucky to be based in the tranquil, leafy Cotswolds. Before then, Martin spent some time working with other Auction Houses and training with Sotheby's in London studying 17th - early 20th Century Furniture in particular although he admits to ‘a very eclectic taste indeed' when it comes to his own home furnishings.
Martin has appeared on several of the ‘daytime Antique slot' Television programmes and is scheduled to be filming three programmes with David Dickinson in June this year on ‘Dickinson's Real Deal'
When not involved in the Sales, Martin tells us that he enjoys travelling, shooting, walking, playing the guitar (badly!) and drinking vast quantities of very good red wine which he can't really afford!
Martin is very proud to support Cure Leukaemia.
Martin Lambert
Wild Coast Flowers
Born in Antrim, Northern Ireland in 1963, Colin Carruthers completed his studies at Birmingham Institute of Art and Design in 1997 with a BA Hons in Fine Art.
"People often value paintings of a place they have visited because they need to feel a connection with it. The sounds, the smells, the sensation of being healthy and alive. I want my landscapes to share in that sensation..." Colin Carruthers
Composition in Blue and Orange
Award winning print maker Sarah Coulston is based in Birmingham though her work is influenced by the north where she comes from, with its industrial landscapes she has before described her work as being weirdly beautiful much like Teesside, her work has a grittiness to it. She frequently exhibits in both London and Birmingham and is currently in an exhibition at Solihull Art Gallery. Work has included completing a wooden wall installation with three other artists for a residency at Periscope, Birmingham Artists. She sells work in Urban Outfitters and Studio 4 gallery as well as doing commissions.
Distance with Black Ridge 2008 + Distant Space II
Julie comes from a musical Eastern European background, rich in folklore, myth, fairytales and dance. The artist grew up in Britain, then relocated to New York in the 1970s to study art. She returned to the UK in the 1990s and continued her work as a visual artist. She also creates hand made books with her poetry, text, and illustrated stories. The work begins in drawing and develops with pastels, crayons, inks, oil paints and monoprints.
"It is as if I see transience and fragility echoed in the illusive and the ineffable. It is something which remains hidden and forever escapes our perception. The pathways are those on which we never arrive. The horizon is beyond where we will never see. These are the daydreams of infinity"
Inishsirrer Co Donegal
Jason Hicklin has donated a piece of work that was made following a walk on the Donegal coast in 2007.
Jason's work is largely based upon the British landscape, its weather and coastline. Jason was educated at St Martins and Central School of Art in London and has exhibited at Art London in Chelsea.
Hope Is The Thing With Feathers
After graduating from University of Central England in 1997 Ben endeavored to make art in his spare time whilst also working a number of unrelated and uninspiring day jobs.
During this time his interests in making "fine art" gradually shifted to an interest in design and illustration. The two catalysts for this transformation were his involvement with the Outcrowd collective and the introduction to making work on a computer, a tool that has continued to play a significant role in the production of his illustrations. Ben's work always displays a strong hand made aesthetic and consists of simple forms, a strong sense of colour, composition and a keen interest in hand rendered type. Ben has also worked for The Guardian, Timeout Magazine, Static Caravan, Capsule and is a proud member of the UNSEEN agency amily.
Water
Ross Jones' highly finished and detailed drawings are cuttingly political. For all the messy issues with which they deal, Jones' recent works are characterised by calm, considered reflection. In each of these works he seeks to distil a complicated political issue into just one of its visual constituent parts. The result stands as an iconic symbol for each individual problem in its entirety.
Jones has already received substantial interest; being selected to exhibit at the Celeste Art Prize (2006) and shortlisted for the Jerwood Prize (2007). In 2008 he was selected by Richard Billingham to exhibit at the West Midlands Open and was one of thirteen artists at the Exeter Contemporary Open, where he won the Proof Award. Later that year he was awarded the regional prize for the west of England at the National Open Art competition.
Snow Queen
This painting comes from a series of images produced over the last five years of women. James has always been fascinated with all types of representations of women in art and photography. This particular painting came from scouring the fringe, ultra hip fashion magazines such as Wonderland and Another Magazine. It's of Kate Moss during her ‘cocaine' period, the original image echoing a Roxy Music album cover feel.
Wisdom Clouds
Simon Peplow graduated from the Birmingham Institute of Art & Design in 2004 with a 1st Class BA Honours in Illustration. Soon after, he received the Channel 4 Creative Class award, recognising him as one of the top 20 creatives working in the Midlands. Since then Simon has continued to forge a career as a freelance Illustrator working in the various facets of editorial, advertising and animation, as well as exhibiting work in London, Italy, Hong Kong and New York. Clients include - Pointer Footwear, Carhartt Clothing, Suburban Bliss, Vogue, SOYJOY, Sidewalk. Anorak ‘The Happy Mag For Kids', Stranger and PlanB. Simon's work has appeared in selected publications - Creative Review, The Illustrated Ape, Fused, Modart, Lodown. Concrete to Canvas - Skateboarders Art and American Illustration 2009.
'Post Graphaelite' Collection
At just 11 years old, a young Arron Bird picked up a can of spray paint for the very first time and created his first painting 'Street Level'. Now, 26 years later, Arron is more famously known by his tag, Temper, and has achieved phenomenal success as a graffiti artist.
His big break came in 2001 when he was chosen to produce the design to go on 100 million Sprite cans. His tag was seen all across Europe in the biggest graffiti advertising campaign to date.
Temper went on to undertake commissions for the likes of Coca-Cola, Saatchi and Saatchi and the BBC to mention but a few. He was the first graffiti artist ever to be awarded a solo show in a major public gallery space – Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery.
Temper has gone on to receive massive commercial success, paving the way for many graffiti artists and was the first to ever paint a conceptual collection in the UK. He has subsequently achieved an outstanding ten sell-out collections. In 2007 he became the first graffiti artist to be awarded a commission for a major piece of public art for Birmingham's 'The Cube' development, which will be unveiled in 2010.
His 'A New Day' collection marked the beginning of a new chapter for Temper, as he moved towards traditional fine art. In November 2008, Temper made an impact in London by launching his spectacular collection 'Post Graphaelite' at the Banqueting House, Whitehall Palace.
Untitled
Barbara Walker lives and works in Birmingham. She has developed a practice which is concerned with social and political issues with particular reference to history and cultural differences in contemporary society. Recent exhibitions include Unit 2(London), EMACA, Nottingham, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Bag Factory, (South Africa).
Walker has also been the recipient of a number of funding and research awards. In 2005, Walker spent a month at Accademia Italianna, Florence, Italy, studying drawing and painting. In 2008 she completed a three month Triangle Art Trust, International Residency at the Bag Factory, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Untitled (Sidon, Lebanon, 2008)
Dan Burwood is a photographic artist whose work is based in documentary practices. Often concerned with negotiations of identity and location, interested in the possible utilities of visual representation in non-traditional artistic contexts, he has produced significant bodies of work in Cuba and Lebanon, as well as the West Midlands where he lives. Recent/ongoing projects include: farming and the changing rural economy; a study of Henley-in-Arden Market; a series on land use change; and Rescue Geography (www.rescuegeography.org.uk) an exploration of people and place in Digbeth.
Franz Joseph
Photographer and Film Maker Chris Keenan, has a reputation for his missions with cameras. Working internationally on a diverse range of self initiated and commissioned projects. Perhaps the most significant mission has been his repeated trips to New Orleans, originally documenting the city's underground music in February 2005, the effects of Hurricane Katrina only a few months later led to Chris revisiting in February 2006 and again in February 2007.
With commissions from Southern Comfort and photographic work published in Dazed and Confused, Vice, Blowback and Fused magazines, 2007 also saw Chris winning a prestigious 4 Talent Award established by Channel 4.
The Franz Joseph Glacier, New Zealand
Garages
Stuart Mills is an artist and photographer based in Birmingham. He has recently taken a break from photography to concentrate on his other passion, filmmaking. Stuart's most recent project has been a short, narrative drama about a young offender, which is currently being screened on the festival circuit.
The photograph donated for the Cure Leukaemia Art Auction is from a series of works looking at the urban environment at night. Using existing lighting the series attempts to capture an aura of a place as well as a naturalistic likeness.
(part of) Mad in a Sane World, Sane in a Mad World
Based in the West Midlands, Michael originally intended to do no more than gain a basic qualification in photography in order to set up a small part time business mainly doing ordinary social photography. However, this plan was soon changed when introduced to a more artistic use of the medium when at college. He then moved on to complete a BA (hons) in the subject, and is now working towards an MA in fine art at Birmingham Art School.
Aladdin House, 004
Stuart Whipps is an artist based in Birmingham UK. Recent exhibitions have included East International, 2009, Ming Jue at New Art Gallery Walsall, and Utopia at Museu Colecção Berardo, Lisbon. Stuart was the recipient of the Observer Hodge photographic award 2006.
'Doily' Brooches
Sally Collins graduated from Birmingham City University in 2008 with a Masters at Distinction level, in Silversmithing, Jewellery and Related products.
In her latest collection 'Make Do and Mend' Sally has created a range of jewellery from recycled fabric and wool, crochet, precious and non precious metals.
She aims to explore a traditionally domestic approach to recycling and sustainability, whilst placing emphasis on excess detailing and frills, taking pleasure in unusual or abundant combinations of fabric and textures. In her jewellery Sally strives to explore the concept of the ‘Superfrilly' and ask the question, ‘When is enough really enough?'
Photograph By Mike Inch
Bending Backwards
In contrast to traditional precious metal, the unglamorous ubiquity of plastics and its availability in a wide range of colours led Tusheeta to explore its properties further. Colour is crucial to Tusheeta's design aesthetic and she combines hand-dyed bright colours with fluorescent acrylic. Tusheeta's work explores the play of light in the material, thus exploiting its properties of edge-lighting and transparency.
Tusheeta is inspired by the mystery that microscopic images convey - a sense of wonder of a parallel life veiled beneath perceived existence. Thermoforming techniques assist her in creating sensuous forms in acrylic which act as the canvas for these elaborate patterns. In her designs she uses existing technology in a new context. The result is an exciting symbiosis of colour form and material.
Horse and Carriage Necklace and Pegasus Wing Necklace
London’s Tatty Devine is now in its 20th season and is famous for its unique and quirky accessories, which elevate jewellery to art status through a winning combination of English eccentricity, jumble sale kitsch and traditional craftsmanship.
Inspirations include rock ’n’ roll, fairy tales, deep-sea creatures, old horror films, flora and fauna and circus sideshows! Tatty Devine have enjoyed working with other artists, musicians and designers, forging partnerships with everyone from avant-garde Berlin girl group Chicks on Speed to the V&A.
They have designed a collection exclusively for Tate galleries. Most recently they designed an exclusive range for Gilbert and George, for their show at the de Young Museum in San Francisco.
Brooch - Untitled
Gill Galloway-Whitehead lives and works in the West Midlands.
Gill has developed a method of working with fine wire, which allows her to express herself in much the same way as you would when painting. Differing densities of wire can be manipulated to create surface changes in tone and texture. Using the whiteness of fine silver in combination with the rich yellow of fine gold as well as the black through to grey of oxidation gives a satisfying colour palette.
The wire strand in isolation is fragile, but when manipulated into mesh gains strength. The contrast between the look of fragility and actual resilience plays with perception when embodied in one piece of work.
Graphic Necklace
Originally a sculptor, Sara Preisler produced her first collection of jewellery in 1993. Since then she has built up a reputation for quality and originality of design and now stocks her exclusive collections in selected stores and galleries throughout the UK and EU. During her time in business, she has been selected to design and make jewellery for prestigious clients such as The Royal Shakespeare Company, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Molton Brown Cosmetics London and Selfridges, and more recently has been commissioned to design and make an exclusive range for the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
Fan Ring
Although formally trained in traditional metalwork, Anthony’s real love for materials is found in wood after being introduced to working with various species by a violin maker. Anthony applies delicate flowing lines and sweeping curves, meticulously layering sheets of laser cut wood into 3D forms. He is drawn to the patterns found within geological rock formations and also identifies with French ‘Fin de Siecle’ design. The jewellery he creates function as sculptural objects as well as wearable pieces of body adornment in their own right.
Roussel has already made an impression on both the art and fashion markets with distinguished awards to his name and stockists that include the Electrum Gallery, The Tate Modern Shop & Musée des Arts Décoratifs, amongst others.
Textured Silver Jewellery Set
Award-winning designer Rebecca Steiner has put together a mini collection to be auctioned especially for Cure Leukaemia.
Since establishing her business in 2006, Rebecca has exhibited her work across the country, and hand makes unique pieces for customers nationwide. Her organic style, inspired by micro-organisms and hidden worlds, encourages the wearer to look inside the work and explore its little tunnels and passageways.
To see more of this collection, please visit www.rebeccasteiner.co.uk. Rebecca is currently exhibiting at ‘Emboss’ at the RBSA, and will be taking part in Coutts London Jewellery Week later this year.
Silver jewellery set. Photography by Rebecca Steiner.
Lace Edge Bangle
Fine Art graduate, Bonnie Styles produces fabric inspired handmade jewellery, fusing textiles with precious metal, transforming what was once delicate into enduring pieces of adornment. Her main collection Antique Lace utilises just a single piece of Lace to make stud earrings, pendants, brooches, rings and bangles.
Cook Book Stilettos (in perspex box)
Through methods of weaving, waxing, bonding, fusing, trapping, embedding and stitching Jennifer creates unusual materials, which are then developed into garments and accessories. She utilises plastics, papers and fabrics in her pieces. The works have the power to communicate ideas about recycling, as well as themes exploring the body. Jennifer scours markets, charity shops, fruit and vegetable stalls and pound shops to find the materials from which her work is created. She tends to find these items then investigate a way in which they can be reused and transformed. Much of the work is nonfunctional and aims to encourage people to speculate on the nature of value. Jennifer enjoys the idea of working with disposable organic materials that are transient in nature, imbuing them with worth and creating something intriguing and beautiful.
Cavernous Deep
John’s photography aims to capture the disturbance to surfaces created by acts of joy riding and arson, by zooming into disfigured vehicle parts, then with technology transform the image into a Beautiful Landscape.
"When I photographed this car I found several loose panels, I took them home to work on these with different solutions to gain diverse effects. I cleaned the rust with Coke Cola, accelerated corrosion with salt water, changed the surface colours with dyes and used different gloss finishes, and the weather also changes the condition of the surface. Here after a very cold night the frost particles are beginning to melt. I have never thought of myself as a perfectionist but this photograph was taken after 3 months and about 3000 images of experimenting."
Long Leaves
Inspired by the trail left by the death of an electron, or the pitted surface of the inside of a copper tank, Eryka continues to explore the diverse relationship glass has with metal, and the relationship she has with glass, metal, process and scale. She continually tries to push the boundaries of the material within a fairly simple process, and sometimes with a simple form, a square, a circle, a triangle. She works with the possibilities created by incorporating recycled materials within her work. Particularly with copper, metals acquired from manufacturing processes contain their own unique reaction when fused in glass. She also challenges the sometimes perceived fragility of studio glass, and invites the perception of a robust, tactile and enduring material. Most of her pieces can withstand temperature and moisture changes and are therefore suitable for outside spaces.
The Voyeur
Betty Pepper’s work links jewellery, textiles and fine art. Her ongoing project Book Keeping is inspired by the old adage “never judge a book by its cover”. The artist finds inspiration in stories, poems and fabrics. In most of her work Betty uses old books to inspire, provide materials and present the jewellery and to reflect the story-telling aspect of what she does. Betty graduated from the Birmingham School of Jewellery with a First BA (Hons) degree. She is an award-winning artist and has exhibited her work nationally and internationally including at the prestigious Origin, the annual selected Crafts Council show in Chelsea that shows work by the UK’s top designer makers and New Designers at the London Design and Business Centre.
Gridlight
Ruth Spaak Glass interventions offer a bespoke service creating unique designs for interior and exterior spaces for public, private or corporate clients. Ruth’s functional/ decorative pieces are designed and made using materials chosen for their inherent qualities and also their suitability for specific settings. Designs are produced in consultation with the client and explore a range of options and alternatives.
Recent work includes a giant Perspex and galvanised steel commissioned letterform sign, a seven metre plastic and metal commissioned cylindrical hanging which falls through two floors, a rubber commissioned sculpture for a conference and two commissioned sailcloth banners for the OEOn the Verge‚ project in Milton Keynes. Ruth works from a studio in Stratford-upon-Avon.
Untitled
Karina Thompson has worked as a textile artist for 20 years and in that time has exhibited widely in the UK, Europe and the USA. Her work was recently selected for Quilt National, the most prestigious large scale textile exhibition in the world.
The piece in the auction comes directly from a series commissioned by Cure Leukaemia for The Centre for Clinical Haematology, University Hospital Birmingham. Using special software and state of the art sewing machines, Karina has programmed her work to be embroidered by computer with pin point precision. The piece contains over 250,000 stitches and used nearly 6 miles of thread. The text is a month’s worth of Cryogenetic diagnoses in the centre whilst the blue image is a BCR ABL FISH analysis, another method used in the diagnosis of Leukaemia.
Photographer: River Studio
The Cure Leukaemia Appeal is a multi-million pound project launched in 2004 to create a world class centre of excellence for clinical leukaemia research at University Hospital Birmingham.