Ringstead Village Hall, High Street,
Ringstead,
PE36 5LA
23rd September to 1st October 2023
10am to 5pm
We are four WNAA artists – Jane Brun, Helga Joergens, David Lendrum and me – Barbara King, whose art is informed by the wild and untamed beauty of our natural surroundings.
We all live in West Norfolk and are inspired by our glorious countryside and coastline. We are very aware of nature’s fragility but also its unbounded resilience and celebrate the natural world whether it be flora or fauna, sea, skies, or seasons, absorbing the energy of nature and reflecting and interpreting our encounters in our own unique and individual ways. Our artistic impressions and expressions will be on show in association with this year’s Norfolk Open Studios.
We are also pleased to be supporting the Norfolk Wildlife Trust who does so much to protect the type of wild places that inspire ‘Wild Form Artists’ and in recognition and support of their work, a collection box and NWT information leaflets will be available at the exhibition to raise funds in aid of their work. The NWT is of course well known in this area for its management of the Ringstead Downs and the nearby NWT Holme Dunes Nature Reserve. and two of our members are life members so will no doubt be an additional source of information for people wanting to know more about the NWT.
Styled and beguiled by wild nature these four prominent contemporary Norfolk artists, Jane Brun, Helga Joergens, Barbara King and David Lendrum, are inspired and fired into action by the untamed beauty of their natural surroundings. They celebrate the natural world in visual form whether it be flora or fauna, skies, the seasons, the different times of day, weather conditions or other natural phenomena. In an increasingly urban-centric world, the importance of nature is becoming undervalued, disregarded and destroyed. The loss will result in dire consequences for all living forms.
The power of nature, verdant, unstoppable, and unrestrained in all its habits and guises, is what inspires these artists.
Whether insidiously creeping through cultivars in our manicured gardens or reclaiming abandoned man-made structures with rust and ivy, its power is to be respected. Left to itself, it will rewild without any help or intervention.
The energy of nature is absorbed by each artist who reflects and interprets their encounters in their own unique and individual way.
The Norfolk Wildlife Trust does much to protect the type of wild places that inspire ‘Wild Form Artists’ and in recognition and support of their work, a collection box and NWT information leaflets will be available at the exhibition.
Jane Brun
In some of her paintings, Jane Brun appears totally immersed in the wild, whether deep in the tangled branches of a dense wood, or in the middle of fields of flowers. Jane finds power and inspiration from natural landscapes that shape our countryside. Her paintings follow traditional oil painting techniques which transforms into luminous colours, optical illusions and enchanting qualities. She has spread her wings into more abstract forms which in turn create conversational pieces. https://janebrunartist.com
Helga Joergens
Sunburst
In her interpretation of nature, Helga Joergens combines observation with feeling. Her work suggests natural forms and phenomena without representing them in a literal way. They are a starting point from which she can develop her pictures in the process of creation using her intuition. The dialogue between her eye and the colours, lines or strokes of the evolving picture leads her on an adventurous journey full of surprises. Struggles are regarded as challenges in order to reach the final results. She also likes to give the viewer the opportunity to interpret the pictures in their own way. www.helgajoergens.co.uk
Barbara King
Marsh View, Thornham
Barbara King takes the wild forms of nature head on with her impressions of plants found in the hedgerows and wastelands, roadsides and meadows. Wild and native, thriving as intended on uncultivated land, these humble plants have become her inspiration. Their changing forms and simple and complex designs are explored and depicted in animated and textured paintings created with acrylic paint, palette knives and other mark making objects. In some of her more recent work she is using the wildflowers themselves – home grown, pressed and dried, and assimilated into the artwork. www.barbaraking.co.uk
David Lendrum
Southerly Sunrise
David Lendrum lets the natural world feed and guide his extraordinary abstracts which often pay homage to the most intangible and atmospheric form of all – the sky. The primary aim of his paintings is to give a sense of awe and wonder that he finds in nature. He is particularly interested in things that happen by chance, like the elusive qualities of natural phenomena: reflections in water, unexpected combinations of colours in a specific location, a particular light effect or the mysterious effects of clouds. He often pours diluted acrylic paint onto unprimed canvas, stapled to the floor, and spreads the colours freely with sponges and squeegees. He then adds thicker textures of paint to create a sense of deep space. www.davidlendrum.co.uk
Instagram wildformartists
Fundraising in aid of Norfolk Wildlife Trust