New sculpture-based pieces by six emerging artists working within the rural context of the gallery at Fermynwoods Contemporary Art form the latest exhibition at Northamptonshire’s leading contemporary visual arts organisation.

“6 times 6” demonstrates the enduring relationship between the natural environment and artistic practice.

The artists featured are:

Richard Gibson – Richard makes site-specific, object-based work and installations that actively engage the viewer in references to past episodes in his life. He makes creative use of interior space, commonplace objects, recognisable materials, amplified sound, and projected still and moving photography.

Rachel Hazell – landscape is a central theme informing Rachel’s work. Her subject matter comes from the exploration of places both physical and metaphysical, with her progress recorded in book form as a travelogue, incorporating natural found objects.

Nick Horrigan – Nick’s work brings together natural material with architectural form. For “6 times 6”, his spiralling installation of locally-sourced timber will erupt from the windows of the water tower which houses Fermynwoods Contemporary Art. Nick has just been awarded a first-class honours degree in fine art from University College Northampton.

Linda Johns – Linda’s interest in the drawn line and the three-dimensional possibilities of sculpture is combined with dissatisfaction with the physical detachment of both these traditional art media, resolved in the use of wire and pine needles to create delicately-crafted figures.

Alyn Mulholland - Alyn’s piece uses the famous local Weldon stone, combined with layers of card, to create seed pods and cones, metaphors for the regenerative abilities of nature.

Michael Shaw – Michael uses drawing, printmaking, installation and sculpture in resin, plastic, rubber, bronze and neon light to explore our perception of physical space.

Artists featured in the exhibition will be running workshops for children throughout the summer, and there will also be two talks. On Thursday 4 August Richard Gibson will give an insight into his work. Michael Shaw will talk about his recent work and the processes it involves on Friday 12 August. Both talks start at 8pm and the admission cost of £5 includes a glass of wine.

For more information, please contact Fermynwoods Contemporary Art on 01536 373469 or e-mail gallery@fermynwoods.co.uk.

The exhibition, workshop and talks have been made possible by funding from LEADER+.