Posts by Paul Vater

Nessie Stonebridge's paintings depict the explosive energy of rural Norfolk's avian splendor, where her studio is based. A flash of light, feathers, beaks; a vortex of vitality, blood, life and death!

Like many of us at this time of year Simon Carter loves to walk. His routes ofter take him to the marshes of  his native Essex. Unlike us however, he makes this pilgrimage all year round and always with a sketch book in hand.

Ella Porter has a multidisciplinary practice, which explores interchangeable material languages and processes between ceramics print and painting.

We have witnessed fantastic night skies like this recently - this one painted by Norfolk-based artist, Claire Cansick. Work like this reminds us of the natural beauty surrounding us but also represents the opportunity to lift our gaze to see beyond the everyday. Can we really live the dream?

Compendia is a new, comprehensive guide to independent businesses and organisations,that make Norwich and Norfolk so unique and such a great location to live. It includes Contemporary and Country. The guide features the best places to find culture, art, eat, drink, go shopping, for sleep and healing in Norwich and Norfolk.

Our winter 2022-23 programme begins with a selection of handmade pieces made by makers that complement each other and have been designed specifically for a domestic setting. All items are  original works, by well-established makers and available for sale. Perfect timing for those looking for a one-of-kind Christmas gift.

For C&C's summer exhibition Avant Gardeners, we have produced our first limited edition art posters of original paintings by Kate Giles and Linda Jamieson that celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Houghton Hall Estate. We're raising funds for two extremely worthwhile projects that encompass art and the national pastime, gardening.

We are counting down the final days of the River's Edge exhibition before we move on, and we still have wonderfully conceived prints of East Anglian landscapes, framed and mounted in preparation for framing.

This is week two of C&C's current exhibition River's Edge at BallroomArts, (Formerly known as The Peter Pears Gallery) - at 152A High Street Aldeburgh. Situated just back from the beach and off the main high street.

A huge thank you to Ben of Fishers Gin and his team at @fishersgin and Claire and her team at Aldeburgh Outside Catering who made our private view @ballroomartsaldeburgh last night go so well, providing refreshing smoked gin cocktails and delicious canapés. Our River's Edge pop-up exhibition runs for the first two weeks of the Aldeburgh Festival @brittenpearsarts in Snape and throughout the Suffolk coast. The Courtyard Gallery at BallroomArts contains art and handmade items by artists and makers from across East Anglia, all have a connection to the East Anglian landscape.

Making a day out rediscovering the wonders of the main house after being closed for two years due to COVID restrictions gives visitors an opportunity to fall in love with the art inside the house and outside in the gardens and parkland again.

A big thank you to the team at KL Magazine for their article covering the special 300th anniversary year at Houghton Hall. This coincided with the May 1st opening of our exhibition in the stables,"Avant Gardeners" as well as our collaboration with Jarrold Norwich, setting up The Granary Gallery, Pop-Up exhibition on the second floor at The Granary in Bedford Street, Norwich.

Coinciding with the first two weeks of Aldeburgh Festival this year, is an exhibition of new paintings by Kate Giles, with sculpture by Jack Wheeler, Beth Groom and the late Emily Mayer. They are joined by artists and makers who have a strong connection to East Anglia and its coastal landscape.
 
BallroomArts; The Ballroom / Courtyard Gallery, Aldeburgh, Suffolk: 7 to 19 June 2022

We are looking forward to welcoming you to C&C's Open Weekend of our pop-up event on the second floor Granary Gallery, The Granary, Bedford Street, Norwich this weekend, from Friday 8 to Sunday 10 April (10.30am to 4.30pm). The artists and makers in our spring installation "It's All Happening Here" have been selected for a capsule collection:

Norwich-based artist Polly Cruse's work encompasses photography and sculpture within the tradition of Still Life. She focusses on the relationships between the intangible and the material aspects of the everyday. We are showing her work in several of our pop-up exhibitions this year, including at The Granary Gallery from April 1

We are delighted to be establishing a new space for showing art and the handmade at The Granary Gallery, Bedford Street, Norwich on 1 April.  The new pop-up art gallery has been established in partnership with Jarrold, Norwich's flagship department store.

We visited Carolyn Brookes-Davies recently in her studio in North Norfolk. Carolyn combines recycled paper, seashell, wood and metal to explore and create sculptural constructions of manipulated natural forms, constructing three dimensional objects by conscious sourcing, gathering, collecting and assembling her material.

Our next exhibition Avant Gardeners will be in the Stables at Houghton Hall, from 1 May until 25 September 2022. It will celebrate the horticultural and cultivated landscape behind and beyond the garden wall.

Great Yarmouth artists John Kiki, Katarzyna Coleman, Brüer Tidman and sculptor Bridget Heritz have featured in several exibitions by Contemporary and Country during the last couple of years. This year we will include several paintings of tropical landscapes by painter Peter Rudolfo for the first time.

Stephen Murfitt has compiled a new publication on the Japanese ceramic firing technique - Raku.

'The opportunity to put together this book for the Crowood Press became a welcome project and a creative focus away from the relentless depressing news on Covid during the lockdowns.'

C&C will be including Cambridgeshire-based Stephen Murfitt's recent Raku fired pots in our pop-up exhibitions for the first time this year.

Art can be defined as a“diverse range of human activities in creating visual, auditory or performing artefacts, expressing the author's imaginative or technical skill, intended to be appreciated for their beauty or emotional power.” With this in mind, why is photography still not seen as art by some?

We recently attended the opening of an exhibition featuring more than fifty paintings of John Kiki's series of Infanta Paintings. The installation confirms Kiki's status as one of the country's great colourists. The brilliant natural light of the new Yare Gallery show this dazzling variety of canvases based on a common theme to their best advantage. Contemporary and Country are exhibiting a number of John Kiki's small-scale paintings consigned from a private collection in our pop-up exhibition in the Stables Houghton Hall until September 26. The Yare Gallery exhibition is on until November 5.

Autumn is upon us and I am listening to Marianne Faithfull and Warren Ellis' new album of orchestrated spoken poetry called "She Walks in Beauty" with sleeve and promo imagery provided by Norwich-based pop artist Colin Self. We are currently showing Colin's series of limited edition prints including some that feature on the album in our current pop-up exhibition at Houghton Hall.

Suffolk-based sculptor Esmond Bingham works across a variety of media both 2D and 3D and on scales ranging from the environmental to the miniature. Although essentially non-representational his work is concerned with the physical, emotional and psychological language and the creative potential of everyday preocupations and materials.

We are currently showing a cleverly conceived series etchings of British native trees by Suffolk-based printmakers Buckmaster and French - all are printed on paper made from the leaves of the trees that they depict. Delicate and ethereal using natural materials, these beautifully framed works present the print between two panes of glass so the intricacy of the paper sheet can be appreciated. They are for sale in our pop-up in the Stables at Houghton Hall until 26 September.

Bringing pop artist Colin Self's collaboration with Marianne Faithfull who used his watercolours of local Norfolk landscapes around Brundell on the album cover for her new release "She Walks in Beauty"

We are showing a capsule collection of Joni Smith's impressive paper cut artworks in our latest pop-up Rock Paper Scissors #rockpaperscissors at ther Stables Houghton Hall. Joni builds fictitious worlds using everyday printed material like maps and charts. Since the advent of digital GPS devices printed maps are seen as redundant, however not by Joni. She sees this devalued material as a rich source for inspiration, and uses maps and atlases cutting into them, reordering them creating new configurations, making landscape more fluid in its interpretation.

We made a much anticipated journey to Great Yarmouth yesterday to see the inaugural show in the new YARE GALLERY situated on the South Quay. Titled WEATHERING: NEW ART FROM EAST ANGLIA, it features  the work of the "Yarmouth 5", artists Katarzyna Coleman, Bridget Heriz, John Kiki, Emrys Parry and Brüer Tidman plus works by other artists from this side of the county of Norfolk. Including Molly Thomson, Esmond Bingham and others. We are currently showcasing the work of several of these artists in our pop-up exhibition Rock Paper Scissors at the Stables at Houghton Hall.

We will be open this coming Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday. Be sure to come and say hello when visiting the Tony Cragg sculpture exhibition, as well as the permanent collection, walled garden and the popular Houghton Horse Trials.

We're opening the doors to our latest pop-up exhibition encompassing art and handmade objects fashioned with the process of their making in mind. We are welcoming visitors from Wednesday19th May, until September 26. Come and discover beautiful, dynamic and thought provoking works from more than 40 exhibitors.

Visit the website for opening times and ticket prices to enter the Houghton Hall estate and to gain entry to the Tony Cragg sculpture exhibition:Houghton Hall Book Tickets

Contemporary and Country’s exhibition Rock, Paper, Scissors encompasses art and handmade objects fashioned with the process of their making in mind. It will run alongside the exhibition by Tony Cragg, opening at Houghton Hall, Norfolk on 19 May and closing 26 September, 2021. Tickets to enter the Houghton Hall Estate are on sale from 19 April (entrance to the Stables will be part of the entrance fee)

We are pleased to present three new paintings by Linda Jamieson from her popular Seahenge Series. Based in North Norfolk this well established artist continues to produce the most beautiful paintings continuing her desire to capture and represent glimpses of the Norfolk coastal landscape in all its colour, light and shade.

The hand-drawn lines on Katharina Klug's ceramics make the work lively, rough, immediate and unique and preserve the moment of mark- making. Inspiration comes from little snippets of observation in her environment. Lines are jumping out at her in almost anything – stripes on cloth, wires and cables, plants and grasses, architecture and streets to name a few.

We are delighted to continue to work with a selection of established and new artists and makers in 2021. We are also working hard in reaching out to new creative talent from our area, east of England. Some are struggling to keep up their practice under the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions but many are working on creative expressions of hope.

Many thanks to all the artists and makers we have worked with over the past year. We also send our best wishes for a creative year ahead with all the challenges we face together. Happy New Year to our supporters for a prosperous and healthy 2021.

Having supported East Anglia's Children's Hospices for a number of years for the Nook Campaign, through to on-site fundraising during our 2018 season at Houghton Hall, we are delighted now to have been able to help source artworks from artists' C&C work with to donate towards their next fundraising auction to be held in February / March 2021. More details will follow early 2021.

Very best wishes for Christmas and the New Year to all our friends, customers and those artists we've met and worked with over this past year. Join our mailing list and be the first to hear about our 2021 events or add something unique to your home from our Anglian Collection.

We are delighted to be able to offer a small number of Maria Pavledis' "Owl Sanctuary" prints this year - from a limited edition of 100, all signed by the artist. The print is taken from one of her smoke drawings created by the transfer of carbon from the burning flame of a candle held close to the surface of the paper.

Pick up this limited edition set of laser cut decorations depicting the 12 Days of Christmas by Norwich based artist Ruth Howes. Ruth studied Fine Art, specialising in sculpture and over the years has shifted to painting and illustration in her work. All her work has the paper cutting process at its heart.

As Suffolk-based sculptor Roger Hardy says "As individuals we have a great desire to project our own humanity and emotions onto the most primitive human form". This is certainly true of Roger's many sculptures now available as part of our Anglian Collection.

Revisit our pop-up via our walk-through tour or view our "Anglian Collection" via our website - see link in bio. Pick up something to grace your home or delight a loved one this Christmas.

Colin Self has been a long standing friend of Marianne Faithfull since they first met in the 1960s. Colin has provided some of his wonderfully lyrical and dreamlike landscapes to illustrate the cover and booklet accompanying Marianne's next CD when she will be narrating verse by England's greatest poets.

We are delighted to see this new series of work by Norfolk-based photographer, Debby Besford. Brought up in Great Yarmouth, Debby herself was a junior champion of roller skating as a teenager and knows all too well about the community of competitors seeking to excel at this sport.

We are delighted to present more new work in our pop up at Houghton Hall. From beautiful design for the home with Katharina Klug's ceramic creations; to amazing handmade paper cut works by Ruth Howes; to breathtaking large photographic art by Gareth Hacon and new painted landscapes from Kate Giles. We are also pleased to have installed new sculptures by Jonathan Clarke.

Peter Wylie, currently included in our pop-up exhibition at Houghton Hall Stables, has had a painting selected by artist Jane and Louise Wilson, for their Curated Room at this year's Royal Academy Summer Show - October 2020.

We are delighted that Keron Beattie, currently showing in our pop up in the stables at Houghton Hall, has been nominated for the Sir John Hurt and Sworders Art Prize, Holt Festival this year. Keron  gained a First Class BA (Hons) in Contemporary Art and Design (2016) and a MA Fine Art with Distinction (2018) from NUA. His work for A Fine Balance is concerned with the natural world under pressure including disconnection with nature and natural cycles.

As we expand our work with artists and makers from East Anglia we are entering the second half of our pop up event alongside Anish Kapoor at Houghton Hall, Norfolk - open until November 1.  At the time of writing there have been over 50,000 visitors on site and we have secured over 300 sales for local artists and makers. As works are purchased and taken away we are able to fill gaps to keep our exhibition fresh - making sure that any return visit will not disappoint!

The painters we are showing in A Fine Balance at Houghton Hall Stables, capture the splendor of the natural landscape; depict the beauty of coastal reaches; open fields, fens and woodland. Some work in an abstract style while others are more figurative in representing the landscapes they see and wish to convey.

Springs Fireplace Road is the title of the group of etchings by Colin Self and printed by master printer Maurice Payne at Editions Alecto between 1968 and 1971. We are showing this incredible print edition at A Fine Balance, in the stables at Houghton Hall. Payne has printed for Hockney for over 40 years and it was at a chance meeting with Self in the 1990s at a David Hockney private view, that reconnected them.

We would love to see you in person to show you the works by local artists in A FINE BALANCE - running alongside the Anish Kapoor exhibition at Houghton Hall this summer. You can visit us online too… take a virtual tour of our exhibition with hot spots that link through to each artist on our online shop, so you can see each work that interests you in detail.

We are delighted to announce that our pop up event A FINE BALANCE will open 12 July in the stables at Houghton Hall alongside Anish Kapoor's much anticipated exhibition. Please see the main Houghton Hall site to see opening times and ticket prices. All tickets need to be purchased in advance of your arrival under COVID-19 guidance. Social distancing measures will be in operation.

There has been an unprecedented amount of interest generated by the decision to hold a major exhibition of sculpture by Anish Kapoor at Houghton Hall. Many media outlets ran broadcast reports on the evening of 9 July - read on to view just two of them, with more promised...

Just as we are contemplating the last lentil at the back of the store cupboard, today is World Environment Day – (see links for more information at the end of this newsletter).  For many this concern stretches way beyond a single day of course, but it does give us pause to consider this incredibly important challenge we will all share in the months ahead, as life opens up again.

Thanks to Dominic Castle, Editor of Norfolk magazine. It's June edition, just published, features Contemporary and Country on pp52 and 53 - take a look when you get your copy of the magazine this month. We hope you enjoy the range of work we are able to show online. There are some extremely talented, creative people in this part of the country. If there is an artist's work you are particularly interested in, let us know and we will put a collection of their work together for you to view on screen that only you will have access to, in the comfort of your own home.

Each of the painters featured in our latest newsletter capture the splendor of the sea and landscapes of our region, depicting the beauty of coastal reaches, open fields, fens and woodland. All examine aspects of familiar places now distant and yearned for as we observe lock-down conditions. Read on to discover more about Kate Giles, Will Cutts, Natalie Odile Lang and Pandora Mond

Zarya Austin-Fell is a multi-media artist whose work explores the relationship between everyday life and the objects that accompany it. Like many of us and from an artist's persepctiveexperiencing this unusual period, Zarya is looking at life from the inside out.

Springs Fireplace Road is the title of the group of etchings by Colin Self and printed by master printer Maurice Payne at Editions Alecto between 1968 and 1971. We are delighted to be offering this immaculate limited print edition consisting of six individual images created by Self. They are presented here in beautiful painted wooded frame and protective UV glass.

Our latest e-newsletter presents more about some of the artists we are showcasing in our online showroom. Colin Self is born and bred in Norfolk while painter and printer Peter Wylie was born in Lowestoft and continues his fascination with the Suffolk landscape and the North Sea. Katargyna Coleman and Roger Hardy moved from London to Norfolk and Suffolk respectively. All find ways of articulating a sense of belonging and have uncovered and maintained a deep connections with our region.

Heather Connor lives with learning difficulties that have made it impossible for her to find regular employment. To generate an income she has has been making these beautiful cushions since 2016 and been helped by her family and friends to sell them to build her own support network.

Many of the artists we are showcasing online at the moment have long held concerns about climate change and the environment. All four of the artists in this post record the beauty and fragility of the natural world. View works by Kate Giles, Liz McGowan, Pandora Mond and Paul Wolterink.

Read our latest e-newsletter about our hastily re-arranged season for online only exhibits. The selection of artists and makers in this edition have been preparing work for A FINE BALANCE for several months so we wanted to give you the opportunity to see this body of work and to support artists and makers during these newly compromised times.

On a studio visit to see sculptor Rachael Long as we prepared for our showcase - A FINE BALANCE - 6 weeks ago, we were fascinated to learn more about a scheme that she and her family have been involved with on their farm land that lies to the south of Norwich. She explained that they had been working with Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) and Norfolk Wildlife Trust (NWT) since 2010.

We are delighted to be able to take orders for some unique ceramic pieces from North Norfolk based ceramic artist, Laura Huston. Take a look at her ceramics in our home collection .We are delighted to be able to take orders for some unique ceramic pieces from North Norfolk based ceramic artist, Laura Huston. Take a look at her ceramics in our home collection .

Rachael Long is an award-winning artist with many public commissions across the UK including "Lifeboat Horse" at Wells next to the Sea. We are delighted to be showcasing her smaller sculptures of horses and deer in our current online showroom.

Amidst this current crisis we are all trying to find a positive way forward. Whether you, your friends and family are working from home or just trying to catch up with family matters, we hope our e-newsletters will help make things during this extraordinary time feel just a little bit better. Join our mailing list to keep in touch as we reveal more about our showcase online.

As some of you will already know, our showcase #finebalance will not open at Houghton Hall until this current health crisis has abated. However you can still support our artists by viewing and buying their work online to nurture the cultural talent across our region.

Read more here about C&C who have worked together for the past 5 years to bring artists and makers to a wider audience. Contemporary and Country (C&C) brings together the organisational talents of curator Paul Barratt and designer Paul Vater.

Our designer-makers create beautiful decorative furniture, soft furnishings and objects for the home using a diverse range of materials, often natural, associated with the eastern region. From basket weaving, seashells and furniture, to hand-turned wood and textiles.

There are a number of local sculptors we are showcasing in our online showroom. Each artist has chosen a medium through which to express their particular point of view. From stone, forged iron, steel and aluminium to wood, textiles, glass and lead.

As we move into 2020 we invite you to take another look at the wonderful collections we have put together covering the artforms of painting, print, sculpture, drawing, photography and design for the home.

More to come later this month but we begin with a look at WORKS ON PAPER

We have added new paintings to our collection for 2020. Take a look at works from artists from across the eastern region. Each captures the splendour of the natural landscape, the beauty of coastal reaches, open fields, fens and woodland, employing traditional painting techniques in figurative and abstract styles, including oil, watercolours and acrylic paints.

Join us at Art Fair East - St Andrews Hall, Norwich. From 29 Nov to 1 Dec 2019 (PV on 28 Nov) See website for opening times and details of all the exhibitors we will be showcasing at this event. Drop an email via the website if you want to come to the Private View on Thursday 28 November (6pm-9pm)

We are showcasing a number of artists and makers - old and new - at Art Fair East this November at St Andrews Hall, Norwich. Let us know if you would like to attend the Private View on Thursday 28 November by sending an email via our website. Art Fair East closes on Sunday 1 December

Don’t miss the Henry Moore exhibition at Houghton Hall that ends tomorrow, Sunday 29 September. Come and pick up a work by local artists, designers and makers. Huge thank you to our sponsors including Norfolk Cottages, ArtOffice, Cheffins and Original Travel and of course for the support of Lord and Lady Cholmondeley and their staff for making this all possible.

Nicholas Serota talks more about this in his article published in The Guardian newspaper, dated August 26. We have always looked at promoting the contemporary and country based artists and makers across the eastern region.