About
Stuart makes drawings and printing plates outside in remote rural sites. Frequently returning to the same places, he forges a close familiarity with each particular location.
Physical elements of the landscape are used as part of the process and often as the medium for the work. He draws with pigment extracted from earth and makes stains and dyes from wild plants. Mud and organic plant material are stuck to the paper or printing plate. Sticks and stones are used to scratch and incise the surface. This use of natural, native materials to create the work helps to establish a direct physical and empathetic relationship with his environment.
In his working practice he aims to stay true to a philosophy of minimal intervention, conscious of the impact his activity may have on the environment. The imagery is developed as a consequence of this sensitive interaction with natural elements. It is also determined by an instinctive and spontaneous response to variations in weather and light, and to seasonal temporality: the transience of nature. His work is an expression of his direct experience of being in these places. Not only is it specific to place but also strictly specific to time.
Stuart studied for his BA degree Fine Art at The University of Hertfordshire before graduating from Camberwell College of Arts, London with an MA in Fine Art Printmaking.
Please contact me directly for commissions or to enquire about purchasing my work.
Exhibitions
2022 → The Environment, Fronteer Gallery, Sheffield, South Yorkshire
→ Art from the Heart, Artist of the Month
→ Courtyard Open 2022, Hertford, Herts
→ Essence, Purposeful Mayonnaise, TPM gallery
2021 → Monochrome, Nude Tin Can, St Albans, Herts
→ Wirksworth Festival, Wirksworth, Derbyshire
→ Gelbersessel, Nature, Online exhibition
→ PTM, Online exhibition
2005 → Sketch, Rabley Contemporary Drawing Centre, London
→ About the Chilterns, Buckinghamshire County Museum, Aylesbury
2003 → Dundee Contemporary Print Show, Dundee
2002 → London International Print Biennale, London
2001 → Eastern Open, Kings Lynn Arts Centre, Norfolk
→ Eastern Open, The Place, Letchworth, Herts
→ Art Works, Ernst and Young, Luton, Beds
2000 → From the Edge, Atrium Gallery, London
1999 → Solo Exhibition, The Hanging Space, London
→ Group Show, Barnet Spires, London
Residencies / Study
2022 → Artist in Residence
Mawddach Residency, Arthog, Gwynedd, UK
2005 → Printmaking Fellowship
Digswell Arts Trust, Welwyn, Herts, UK
2004 → Artist in Residence
Centre d’Art I Ecologist d’Abella De La Concha, Catalunya, Spain
1999/2001 → Camberwell School of Art
MA Printmaking
1996/1999 → University of Hertfordshire
BA Fine Art (1st Class Hons.)
1995/1996 → Watford School of Art
Access Course in Art and Design