Merton Arts Festival Part One: Artists To Look Out For

Five Wimbledon artists are preparing to exhibit their work in a stunning eco home near South Park Gardens in support of The Neuro Foundation.

A wide range of work will be on view, costing from as little as £15 to over £1000 for some of the larger pieces. Part of the proceeds from the exhibition are being donated to The Neuro Foundation, a charity that provides crucial medical and non-medical support to those living with the neuro-genetic condition, Neurofibromatosis.

The exhibition is part of Merton Arts Festival, which every year sees hundreds of Merton’s painters, ceramicists and printmakers throw open their doors to show off their work during the last two weekends of September.

Lady Wimbledon was lucky enough to have a preview of the work and to talk to the artists. There are five artists exhibiting at 22 Dudley Road – Sandy Layton (ceramics), Jo Holdsworth (paintings), Chrissie Craig (screenprints), Jill Sutcliffe (ceramics) and Valerie Busby (textiles). In this, our first instalment about the exhibition, you can find out more about Jo Holdsworth and Sandy Layton.

S andy Layton

Sandy Layton is a ceramicist with a love of form. Sandy is curating the Open House exhibition at 22 Dudley Road and feels strongly that art in Merton is an integral part of the community. Living and working in London with its diverse architecture and culture gives Sandy a constant library of images and ideas.

Sandy primarily works with clay but recently has been exploring wood, metal and plaster. On display at the Open House will be a variety of her work, ranging from beautiful vessels and delicate porcelain birds to more avant-garde pieces. Some of these, such as the thought-provoking piece called ‘Attachment’ have distinct echoes of Sandy’s former psychotherapist roots, and the juxtaposition of clay forms and metal creates a modern and desirable urban feel.

Visit: sandylayton.com

Jo Holdsworth

Jo Holdsworth is a London based artist who lives and works in Wimbledon. She is a painter with a keen eye for colour and an almost cinematic appeal. The paintings are panoramic and range from striking figure paintings to modern landscapes, all painted in subtle hues. “My current body of work focuses on capturing and reassembling fragmented moments in time. Often painted from photographs in which I have freeze framed individual shots in a panoramic image, many of the paintings are made up of panels or divisions which reassemble the image to make a whole. Each snapshot therefore reflects the passage of time as well as space.”

Jo is exhibiting many of her recent oils on canvases, including a wonderful large triptych of the Hampshire hills. As well as the contemporary landscapes that are on show, Jo’s paintings of figures have a particular visual richness and spontaneity.

Visit: joholdsworthstudio.com

Look out for our second instalment next week to find out more about Chrissie Craig, Jill Sutcliffe and Valerie Busby, the other three artists exhibiting at 22 Dudley Road.

Dates: Saturday 16th-17th September and Saturday 23-24th September 2017
Opening Hours: 11am-5pm
Venue: 22 Dudley Road, SW19 8PN
Entry: Free

The Neuro Foundation
Every day a baby is born in the UK with Neurofibromatosis, a neuro-genetic condition which can have debilitating consequences. There are over 25,000 people in the UK with the condition and, as yet, there is no cure. The severity of the condition varies considerably from person to person. The Neuro Foundation, with its administrative office in Raynes Park, advises, supports and fundraises for those affected by NF, raises awareness of the condition and supports research into the prevention and treatment of NF. The artists exhibiting at 22 Dudley Road are donating part of the proceeds from the Open House to The Neuro Foundation in the hope of raising awareness of the condition, and to help The Neuro Foundation with their invaluable work.