Open: Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 4pm
and by appointment
You are invited to the Private View on Friday 29th May from 5 to 9pm
An exhibition of new and recent paintings by the Margate-based artist, Nicola Lebon. The show explores themes of nostalgia and loss, found in the accumulations of trinkets and souvenirs throughout life.
Lebon paints from found objects, such as ornamental figurines and holiday memorabilia, sourced from boot sales and the internet. Drawing from her childhood memories of visiting museums, auction houses, galleries and zoos, Lebon presents each commonplace item as an important artefact, carefully lit and arranged with other objects. Removed from their place on the mantle-pieces and window ledges of strangers, they take on a new significance and life of their own – although their red glowing eyes suggest they might still harbour the memories of sinister suburban histories. Lebon’s portraits are painted from photographs she has taken of family friends, usually young women and children. Like the still life paintings they are carefully staged, with costumes and props.The almost deathly pallor of their skin tones, reflects a fragility associated with the inevitable passing of time.
ABOUT NICOLA LEBON:
Born in Chelmsford, Essex, Nicola Lebon is a self-taught artist who has been exhibiting in London and the South East for the last twenty years. She has exhibited in venues including The Floating Gallery – Westbourne Park Grove, The Barley Mow Centre – Chiswick, The Eureka Group show, The Alternative Art market-Spitalfields, Quantum Contemporary Art at the Affordable Art Fair and ACR Gallery- Suffolk.
Also in the gallery will be a series of ink drawings by ANDREW SHRUBB.
These drawings are based on Margate landmarks, warped through a prism of nightmare, surrealism and B-movie imagery.
Andrew Shrubb is a Margate-based artist and designer who grew up in Chelmsford, Essex.
In addition there will be a headphone station permanently playing spoken recordings of poems by Whitstable poet Penn Simpkins. The poems teem with the sense of loss and longing, with visceral language inflected by local colours.
For more information contact:
info@nicolalebon.co.uk / 07984 971042