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Dark Park. 2023. ‘Inktense’ pencil on paper. 42cm x 59.4cm
The Derwent Art Prize 2024 Exhibition is now open. Out of 6000 entries, my spooky work was chosen to hang alongside 67 other pieces at the Gallery @ OXO in London until 14th April. Don’t forget to vote for your favourite in the People’s Choice award here. Many of the pieces are also for sale.
Installation view of the exhibition ‘Solastalgia’. Works shown are by Anita Wadsworth, Matt Bannister, Asha Fontenelle, Flora Hunt, Dave Miller.
“Solastalgia occurs when someone feels a sense of anxiety, grief, or loss due to the degradation or alteration of their home environment. It is the inability to find solace in one’s surroundings.”
The end of 2023 marked Turf Projects’ 10 year anniversary. It has been a time to look back at the journey the organisation has been on, celebrating all that we’ve achieved; and also to look forward to the space we are yet to carve out, the Croydon of the future we would like to create.
Following on from themes from our last programme ’Desire Paths’, and linking in to Turf’s year of ‘demystification’, Turf staff, studio holders, and collective members have contributed works to a group show exploring our relation to home, to sense of belonging, to Croydon and space – or lack thereof.
‘Solastalgia’ incorporates the work of 21 artists and groups to create a communal Croydon folklore; some works that celebrate our shared space, and some that show longing for those that have been lost.
Installation view of the exhibition ‘Solastalgia’. Dark Park by Matt Bannister.
Installation view of the exhibition ‘Solastalgia’. Works shown are Dark Park by Matt Bannister and pieces by Asha Fontenelle, and Dave Miller.
My large scale drawing (the largest I’ve done for a good few years) Dark Park is on display for the first part of the exhibition until 22nd March. From 23rd March to 27th April other pieces by me TBC will be on show.
Installation view of the exhibition ‘Solastalgia’. Photograph: ©Zoe Maxwell.
‘Solastalgia’ at Turf Projects. Photograph: ©Zoe Maxwell.
February by Matt Bannister (framed)
Here’s my work ‘February’ that Croydonians may also recognise from the banners hanging from lamp posts in and around the town (See previous post). Not surprisingly there were lots of great pieces by the artists at the exhibition at The Mall Galleries. There is now an online catalogue to view the show here.
Swerve. 2022. Framed.
© TheGallery AUB
The AUB hang was curated by Violet M McLean and Millie Lake. The annual Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize celebrates talent and excellence in current drawing practice. The exhibition provides an important platform for artists, designers and makers and champions the role, breadth, and value of drawing today.
Installation view. TheGallery AUB. Photograph by Eliza Nade. © TheGallery AUB
Installation view. TheGallery AUB. Photograph by Eliza Nade. © TheGallery AUB
Open until 16 April 2024.
Tuesday to Thursday: 9.00am – 5.00pm. Saturday: 9.00am – 1.00pm.
TheGallery AUB, Arts University Bournemouth (AUB), Poole, Dorset BH12 5HH
For more information visit aub.ac.uk/latest/trinity-buoy-wharf-drawing-prize-2023-touring-exhibition
Montage using Glenn Foster photography
Three designs of lamp-post banners - featuring slices of my paintings ‘February’, ‘People’ and ‘Night Flowers’ are now hanging up and repeated on the High Street and elsewhere in Croydon. Alongside them are some other really bright, eye-catching works on banners by local creatives Miguel Sopena, Divya Sharma, Skye Baker and Melanie Russell. The Creative Croydon initiative set up by Croydon BID has returned to Croydon town centre this Winter creating an open-air art gallery for people to enjoy.
Thanks so much to Julia at 31% Wool and the Check Out Croydon team for making this happen. Thanks to Glenn Foster for taking these photographs, too. The whole display of work is up until April 2024.
For more background to the project visit Croydonist.
