Step into the captivating world of Binnel Studios, an artistic retreat located in the former dwelling of Isle of Wight Studio Glass in St Lawrence.
It’s a rarity to find a place pulsating with such ‘understated elegance’, but this well-loved sanctuary – now firmly anchored in the local creative landscape – indeed emanates this unique charm.
An exclusive annual showcase
The anticipation culminates with the yearly Summer exhibition, the only time each year when the eight masterful resident artists showcase their latest endeavours to the public.
Binnel Studios is ready to pull back the curtain this August bank holiday weekend. This event is a precious gem, offering a behind-the-scenes look into the vibrant and progressive world of these imaginative creatives, some of whom are internationally revered.
This year’s event is a great opportunity to see new work by the resident artists; Molly Attrill, Matthew Chambers, Jane Cox, David Firmstone (at his Orchid House studio), Sue Paraskeva, Sadie Tierney, Amanda Wheeler and Celia Wilkinson.
Molly Attrill
Molly Attrill has been a potter for over 30 years. Inspired by Bernard Leach she initially trained as a repetition thrower with his son, Michael, in North Devon before gaining a place at the prestigious Farnham Art College. She then worked in potteries in France and Canada.
In 1982 Molly established her own pottery at Mersey Farm, Newchurch (now the Garlic Farm). In 2014 she moved to Binnel Studios.
Molly works in stoneware as well as maiolica (tin glazed earthenware). A feature of her work is her distinctive figurative decoration using brushwork, wax resist and scraffito.
Last year Molly launched her satirical take on Brexit and Johnson’s government in a series of decorated maiolica plates and illustrated pamphlets titled Shysters & Charlatans. Produced over three years as the events unfolded the three volumes provide an interesting record of a shameful period in our Country’s politics and maybe a timely warning.
Recently she has been experimenting making brightly coloured ceramic buttons.
Matthew Chambers
Award-winning ceramic sculptor Matthew Chambers began his ceramics career in 1993 as an apprentice potter, which eventually led to an education finishing at the Royal College of Art in London in 2004.
Matt has been working on the Isle of Wight ever since then and has had his work represented by galleries in the UK, as well as internationally in Paris and New York.
Matthew’s works have been purchased for several museum collections including The V&A London, National Museums Scotland, and The Sevres National Ceramics Museum in Paris.
He has also worked with Spanish fashion House, Loewe, who house a permanent display of his ceramics in their Rome boutique.
Jane Cox
Award winning artist Jane Cox is exhibiting a range of new sculptural tableware inspired by Constructivism.
Recently a collector bought a whole range of this very special work.
Jane says,
“‘A visitor to a recent exhibition spotted the work and bought a piece and was so taken by it that they later returned the same day and bought the whole collection.”
Jane specialises in earthenware combining slip decoration and sgraffitto with translucent glazes in three main colours: “Aquitaine” a rich vibrant turquoise, “Loire” a deep green, and “Carcassonne” a resplendent blue purple.
This year Jane has exhibited at the ‘Oxford Studio Ceramics’ Fair and more recently ‘Celebrating Ceramics’ at Waterperry, Oxford.
Jane says,
“If we think of precedents like William Morris at Kelmscott and the Red House, the designs were created in his garden, as close to the source as possible.
“Working at Binnel, surrounded by green leaves, summer blossom and the sea, I couldn’t be closer to my inspiration. It’s always the dream I had.”
Jane is a Fellow and former Council member of the Craft Potters Association (CPA) and Past Master of The Art Workers Guild (AWG).
From 2019 to 2021 Jane Chaired the Outreach Committee of The Art Workers Guild coordinating teams running projects across various institutions such as the V&A, Courtauld Institute, Watts Gallery and Imperial College and contributed to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Craft (APPG) set up by the Heritage Craft Association.
From 2021 onwards Jane helped set up, organise and run the successful annual ‘London Craft Week’ event “The Art of Making” at the Guild, involving Demonstrations, Exhibitions, Talks and architecture tours of the Art Workers Guild’s stunning building.
David Firmstone
Award-winning painter, David Firmstone MBE, has been involved in art all his life.
He has won the Turner Watercolour Prize, the Threadneedle Painting Prize, the NOP International Painting prize, the Fabriano International Watercolour Prize and has had exhibitions in Italy and China.
David’s landscapes and seascapes of the Isle of Wight and abroad are incredibly commanding and must be seen in person.
David said,
“All my work is concerned with sea and landscapes. I am fascinated by the marks that painters and those that humans make when they work the land.
“The spirits of artists and land workers past and present shape my view. I work in a large scale in watercolour, oils and tempera; I use tradition as my touchstone and modernism as my flight.”
Technique is critical to David’s aesthetic. He constantly searches for new ways to make paintings and can never quite remember his previous approach – so each painting is an act of learning to paint again.
You can see David’s work at his studio, Orchid House, Old Park Road adjacent to the Binnel Studios car park (where you should park to visit both studios).
Sue Paraskeva
Sue Paraskeva’s multidisciplinary conceptual practice comprises of stand-alone pieces, installation, film and tableware which is collectively defined by a distinct language.
Current work is rooted in traditional techniques, thrown forms made on the wheel, firing in real flame kilns and using natural wood ash and the reduction flame to add unpredictable embellishment, using the ash deposits to flow around the pieces with the flame to create individual patina during a 14 hour firing.
In 2021 at Binnel Studios, Paraskeva built her first wood fired kiln and future work will be fired in this way adding new depth to her work.
Throwing the finest porcelain forms and dramatically altering them, she responds to this intuitive accident and repeating this is a language she has been working on for many years. Domestic tableware is a separate area of production. Valuing the importance and enjoyment that daily use of beautiful functional ware brings.
Sue Paraskeva graduated with a BA(Hons) in 3D Design and Ceramics from Middlesex University, London. In 2000 Paraskeva began a three year residency at Quay Arts on the Isle of Wight which saw the development of her tableware, a refinement of larger porcelain works and she established regular ceramic workshops, summer schools and raku firings.
Exhibitions at Make Hauser and Wirth, New York in 2022, Saatchi Gallery London and Turner Contemporary Margate.
Current and previous clients include, Osip Restaurant in Bruton, Calvin Klein Collection New York, Tom Kerridge at The Hand and Flowers, Design Museum, EE Home, USA, Toast and Herriott Grace in Canada
Sue will also be exhibiting work fired after her recent Porcelain Performance as part of Ventnor Fringe.
Sadie Tierney
Sadie Tierney has two new woodcuts on the walls of this year’s Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in London. Both hand printed at Binnel Studios on her dutch printing press.
Tierney has an MA from the Royal College of Art and works in a tradition of English landscape painter/printmakers, taking sketches of places where form is linked to emotion, and interpreting them through distinctive colour and line.
Recent work includes large canvasses of mountains, carousels and ships at night, with lit up windows and multi-coloured skies, reflected in the waters around them.
Tierney says,
“I love welcoming visitors to Binnel Studios for this annual event – it’s a peaceful, beautiful place to work and a great community of artists to be part of.”
Expect to see hand made original prints and unique artist proofs alongside larger canvasses on her studio walls.
Amanda Wheeler
It’s been a busy year for Amanda after last year’s very successful exhibition, creatively and with juggling all the other elements of life. The studio is her sanctuary however, with her brushes and canvases always calling.
Amanda explains,
“I’m motivated primarily by our Island’s beautifully diverse and dramatic coastline, seasonal changes and wild weather, but travels have also inspired me this year too.
“I love the fresh and dramatic feel brought upon by mountains and snow and then the burnt sand, bright desert flowers and green Atlantic waves of warmer coastlines.”
Amanda added,
“I’ve come to realise that painting is a deeply spiritual process and for me there is a strong desire to manifest the true beauty and feeling of a place that is not always seen. And that is what I love.”
Her work is forever evolving, but primarily Amanda paints semi-abstract coastal seascapes using acrylics and watercolours.
Celia Wilkinson
Isle of Wight Landscape painter, Celia Wilkinson, primarily works with Acrylic on canvas. She graduated from her BA Hons at St Martins College of Art in 1989.
Celia comes from a long line of artists in her family. Her unique style incorporates the design influence from her father and painterly influence from her mother, amongst others.
Her paintings are semi-abstract, vibrant, energetic, and colourful, and although they depict the landscape, they are very much about her representing a visual diary and life events. Some of her most recent paintings are a response to climate change. Sometimes brooding, sometimes optimistic, they always reflect her mood.
It has been a busy year for Celia with two solo shows, the next is in October, an art fair in New York and two new galleries in the UK. In 2021 she was awarded the Lorenzo Il Magnifico award for 2nd place in the painting category at Florence Biennale. Her paintings are very much in demand and are bought by collectors worldwide.
A mélange of styles and mediums
Reflective of the diverse talent housed within its walls, Binnel Studios promises an exhibition bursting with a broad array of styles and mediums.
Whether you’re a fan of traditional techniques or modern twists, there’s bound to be something that speaks to your artistic preferences. So, get ready to embark on a unique sensory journey this August, where every corner holds a new discovery.
Where and when
The Summer Exhibition takes place on Saturday 26th, Sunday 27th and Monday 28th August 2023 – open daily between 11am – 4pm.
If you are unfamiliar with St Lawrence, from Ventnor continue on the A3055 past Ventnor Botanic Garden until you reach Old Park Road (on your left) and then follow the signs for Binnel Studios.
Entry is free, but don’t forget to visit the cash-point first, because you might just fall in love with what you see. Credit/debit cards can also be used.
See the Binnel Studios Website for more information.
Our thanks to Binnel Studios for sponsoring this event feature. They and other businesses taking paid promotion enables you to continue reading OnTheWight for free
