Origins
-written by Artbox studio volunteer, Beth Timmins
Artbox artists discovered and shared what inspires them in the world. And the exhibition beautifully showed the community that has flowered around this for nearly 10 years.
Boldly printed canvas bags, badges and booklets flew off the shelves, along with many of our larger wall paintings and new Christmas card packs.
Paul sold intricately colourful paintings including his ‘Greek Paradise’ and ‘Night-time Island’. He says he finds inspiration from his interest in “exotic, hot places and natural forms but also urban space and architecture”. He uses this inspiration to “imagine surreal, fantasy landscapes” and creates images using felt tips, paint and collage techniques.
Chris shares this interest in urban architecture and exhibited an imaginative piece showing a photograph of a tower which appeared see-through. Chris says he finds inspiration from the buildings in his local area of Clerkenwell and enjoys experimenting with angles and sense of space in his photography.
Among the sell-outs, Hisba says her inspiration comes from her experiments with geometry and abstract art. She chooses specific hues from the four seasons and says she’s captivated by the blaze of colours this autumn. HIsba says she’s also really looking forward to the opportunity to teach other artists come January.
Curator Iona Green loved being a part of the exhibition: “It’s amazing, colourful and vibrant - this display isn’t just about emerging artists, it lifts up to the next tier of gallery.”
Customers too went home happy. One of whom, Michael Comba, who’d never heard of Artbox before the exhibition, bought artist Mali’s ‘Bears at the BBQ’ – created using large scale painting and ipad drawing.
“Bears are my favourite animal so seeing them all at the BBQ made me very happy – I had to buy it,” he said.
Another of the artists, Bobbi, told me how the night made her feel: “I’m so lucky to be part of Artbox and it’s an incredible boost for my confidence to see people buying my work on the wall -it’s fantastic!”
The ‘Origins’ exhibition again demonstrates the strength of community and creativity that the Artbox family are proud to make. We look forward to welcoming you to our next!
Each sale of original artwork gave 50% to the artist and 50% to funding further workshops for adults with learning disabilities. Profits from selling prints and products are also split between artists and the organisation.
If you missed out and would like to arrange a viewing, please send us an email or visit us during our workshop opening hours of 10-5pm Wednesday to Saturday.
And check out the art in our online shop: