Our new viewing room will be opening at Woolmarket House, 6 St Nicholas Street, PE30 1LY (near Tuesday Market Place).
A recent move to King's Lynn has given us the space to run viewings by appointment, for art savvy individuals, private collectors, artists, makers and the 'creatively curious' to see capsule collections of new work by the most interesting East Anglian artists and makers.
It will be a chance to see work before others, and in an intimate space without the distractions of the larger group exhibitions we put together, or the compromise of a busy private view.
From time to time, depending upon the seasonal calendar, we will also arrange for the artists and makers to be available to talk to visitors in person. This will be offered on a first come, first served basis, as we cannot cater for larger group visits. This is NOT a gallery! But it is a useful space, in a central location, that's easy to get to. We hope the experience of these informal sessions will be of value in conveying the ideas, techniques and processes behind the works on show.
The first two contributors to the first viewing room event will be painter Caroline Mackintosh and ceramic artist Laura Huston.
Caroline is a largely self taught contemporary landscape painter living and working in Suffolk. Working mainly in oil and oil and cold wax, her semi-abstract figurative style is concerned with capturing the form and contours of he landscape, rather than a literal representation of place.
Her inspiration comes largely from the Norfolk and Suffolk marshes and coastal estuaries that surround her, but also from travels further afield. Drawn to the strong shapes and lines and formed by the complex interplay of water and land in the landscape, her work acts as a visual diary, in particular walks taken. Smaller works in mixed media are formed and they, along with photographs are used to develop larger works, enabling her to further explore colour, shape, texture and abstraction.
Having studied to foundation level at Norwich Art School and for a BA in Development Studies at the University of East Anglia, Caroline lived in Southern Ireland for several years, before returning to England to train as a primary school teacher. Caroline later specialised in teaching art in local primary schools and trained other teachers in the delivery of the art curriculum. In 2021 Caroline gave up teaching to focus entirely on her own art practice.
Caroline was shortlisted for The Sir John Hurt Art Prize in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. She regularly exhibits at galleries in Norfolk and Suffolk and last year she exhibited at both The Society of Women Artists 163rd Annual Exhibition and The Royal Institute of Oil Painters Annual Exhibition at Mall Galleries, London. She has recently been invited to become an associate member of The Society of Women Artists (ASWA). This year she will be exhibiting for the first time at The New English Art Club Annual Exhibition and at The Society of Women Artists 164th Annual Exhibition, both at Mall Galleries London.
CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE OF CAROLINE'S WORK CURRENTLY FOR SALE (NOT INCLUDING VIEWING ROOM ITEMS)
Norfolk based ceramist Laura's work is rooted in an exploration of her own cultural heritage, inherited myth, memory, and the interweaving of ritual and beauty. In her quest to find meaning in a secular world that often feels stripped of ritual, reverence, and deep connection she is drawn to the quiet language of objects that resonate beyond their physical form, speaking to a symbolic or even sacramental dimension of human experience.
Initially inspired by the simple, honest beauty of Korean Buncheong ware and Japanese tea bowls where reverence can be embedded in form - how a cup, through its aura, can become a bridge between the material and the divine. She is fascinated by humanity's impulse to imbue objects with meaning - to make art a sacred activity.
Rejecting the banality and disposability of the modern world, Laura seeks to make objects that honour ingenuity, beauty, and the sacred. Objects that serve as gateways - connecting the earth to the divine, the past to the present, the personal to the collective. Art, for her, is a way of seeing the world with a childlike wonder and reverence for what has been and what might yet be.
Most pieces are unique due to spontaneity in the making and chance events in the kiln. Consequently some pieces are unrepeatable. But it is this unknowing alchemy and freedom that drives the work in new directions. Laura's pieces are wheel thrown, sometimes manipulated and continued by hand, using coils. To some a coloured slip is applied and patterns carved into the surface to reveal the clay beneath; a process called 'sgraffito'. With others a mixture of slips and glazes are used to achieve depth of texture and colour. Various types of clay are used which give diverse qualities to the finished pieces from smooth and precise to rough and weathered, like worn stone.
CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE OF LAURA'S WORK CURRENTLY FOR SALE (NOT INCLUDING VIEWING ROOM ITEMS)
CONTACT US
If you would like to book in and see Laura and Caroline's work in person please let us know, give us your contact details and the preferred dates from Friday 4 July to Saturday 2 August 2025 (10am to 5pm), when you would like to visit.
We are arranging for events where both artists will be present to talk to visitors about their work. Please let us know if you are interested to be informed of these special days when we have confirmed the details. Proposed dates at the moment run from Monday 21 through to Monday 28 July.
CLICK HERE TO VISIT THIS VIEWING ROOM EVENT
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About the author
Paul Vater
PAUL VATER
Paul conducts studio visits to maintain strong relationships with artists, designers and craftspeople who show their work with us. He manages the main C&C website and has developed the online shop where selected works are presented for sale.
Paul established his design company, Sugarfree, in 1990 and quickly gained a reputation for delivering fresh, effective marketing campaigns and brand identities for clients including Save the Children Fund, United Nations Association and UNHCR. Over the years those added to the roster include IPC Magazines, Arts Council England, The Roundhouse, Barbican Centre, Arts Marketing Association, Look Ahead Housing and Care, Paddington Waterside, BBC Worldwide, Commonwealth Foundation, Prestel, City of London Corporation, Baker Street Quarter, Victoria BID and the University of East Anglia.