VISUAL ARTS
Since 2003, the year of the first Festival, the Visual Arts section has
evolved and developed in some original and imaginative directions. This
year for the first time there is a theme - Colour - an abstract form with
a wide scope for interpretation. How do we define it? It governs our reaction
to form and substance and it brings subtlety or drama to life’s circumstance.
The Colourdome (Cornhill) is a labyrinth of passages suffused with colours.
Walking through, the viewer will feel the intensity of the differing colours
that link through to the central dome where musicians will play the colours.
Colour – a Mixed Exhibition, (Eyestorm
Gallery) covers work from Peter Blake, Damien Hirst and Sir Terry Frost,
who use colour in ‘fun and
exciting ways’. The silkscreen prints of Sir Terry Frost look as
fresh today as they did in the 1950’s.
Exploring Colour (Exposure Photo-space) places the emphasis on abstract
form, photography and digital art and pulsates with vitality. A colour
spectrum is created for the visitor to “step into and explore engaging
sensuously with colour”.
Colours of Ipswich
The artists in 49 & Rising explore the Colours of Ipswich individually.
This is colourful Ipswich uncovered. Each artist brings to light an aspect
of colour in and around the town. It explores, “the continuity of
colour and place throughout Ipswich’s history”.
Gainsboroughs’s House Printmakers come to St Mary-at-the-Quay with
Out of the Frame in Colour. To compliment the exhibition, a large-scale
collection of colourful and architectural prints will be produced and constructed
by resident artist Annabel Ridley.
Fran Crowe
Fran Crowe has produced a book, Walking to
Save some Sea, a photographic
exposé of the stark contrast between the beauty of the Suffolk coastline
and the debris that inhabits it. Her installation Cast Away, 2008 (Foyer
of Willis), illustrates this with a variety of coloured segments made up
from the debris collected from the coastline.
In Psychology of Colour, (Wolsey Gallery), selected artists have been invited
to form an abstract concept into a material object.
Other events include Old Masters in New Mediums (in the Wolsey Gallery).
Six local artists using very different mediums will select a Gainsborough
or a Constable to interpret. Visitors will observe the work in progress.
There is a chance to view the amazing work of Constance Stubbs and her
late husband, Harold Yates at the John Russell Gallery.
Other Exhibitions include the work of Orwell Genesis Mencap at St Stephen’s
church. In a variety of mediums, the work illustrates how the artists relate
to the world.
Key Arts (at St Mary-at-the-Quay) and the Suffolk
Craft Society (at Town
Hall Gallery 2), both have mixed exhibitions and there is a Chinese exhibition,
Dragons, Silks and Stories (in Town Hall Gallery 3). David
Good, Chain Saw Sculptor, is back in Christchurch Park and look out for the work of
winner of the Ip-art award Edward Goubert whose site-specific work is placed
in buildings around the town and James Fletcher whose Banksy-like notices
will appear in unexpected places. To round off this heady mix, a number
of workshops will be available both for adults and children to experience
new skills.
Ferial Evans (a Member of the Festival Management Group)
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