Bonnie Brown

"The use of place and memory are inherent in my practice from my studios in Dorset and the Charente-Maritime in France. These sources provide me with both starting points for my work which is both evocative of time, place and light, combining inner and outer worlds in a lyrically rich fabric of texture, pattern and colour.

The paintings are abstract in the sense that formal visual elements are placed in a medium of marks and surfaces, to combine into rhythms and balances. They are, however, also figurative in their awareness of place and objects which then leads to a visual refinement of these observations into emblematic imagery.

The paintings are mixed media and oils on canvas, board or paper. Working from sketchbooks and drawings the paintings are developed through a series of layered images in paint, colour, texture, frottage and monoprint. They are often explored through small series of varying scales following a particular concept or idea which may have originated from observational research, and take many months to resolve allowing for the continual reassessment of the surface and the source of the idea."

Bonnie studied at Winchester School of Art, and her paintings have received awards from The Laing Competition and The Discerning Eye.

Exhibitions

2008
Air Fire Water Earth, Broadway Gallery, New York
2007
Postcards From St Ives, Belgrave Gallery, St Ives
Vitreous Gallery, Truro
Southern Contemporaries, Town Mill Gallery, Lyme Regis
New Ashgate Gallery, Farnham
Havant Arts Centre
7 Artists, Forest Arts Gallery, New Milton
Bowlish Contemporary Gallery, Shepton Mallett
Queen Street Gallery, Emsworth
2006
The Art Stable, Kelly Ross Fine Art, Child Okeford
Bell Fine Art, Affordable Art Fair, London
Belgrave Gallery, St Ives
50 Wessex Artists, Brewhouse Gallery, Taunton
7 Artists, Alpha House Gallery, Sherborne
Galerie Michel, St Hilaire de Villefranche
Thompson's Gallery, London
Pelham House Gallery, Cowes
7 Artists, Grapevine Gallery, Norwich
Atrium Gallery, Bournemouth University
50 Wessex Artists, Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Honiton
7 Artists, New Ashgate Gallery, Farnham
Artmill Gallery, Plymouth
2005
Lemon Street Gallery, Truro
7 Artists, Salisbury Playhouse
Southern Contemporaries, Purbeck
Bridport Open, Bridport
Artsway Open, Sway
Belgrave Gallery, St Ives
University College Winchester Loan Collection
2004
Lemon Street Gallery, Truro
Alpha Gallery, Swanage
Gallery Tessara, Wincanton
Artmill Gallery, Plymouth
Southern Contemporaries, Guildhall Gallery, Winchester
Belgrave Gallery, St Ives
Blue Wing Gallery, Padstow
Bishop Phillpotts Gallery, Truro
Black Swan Gallery, Frome
2003
Touché Contemporary Art, Stroud
Alpha Gallery, Swanage
Origins-Study Gallery, Poole
Belgrave Gallery, St Ives
The Link Gallery, King Alfred's College, Winchester
Atrium Gallery, Bournemouth University
Euroart, Barbizon
2002
Alpha Gallery, Swanage
Belgrave Gallery, St Ives
Artframe Gallery, Plymouth
Beatrice Royal Gallery, Eastleigh
Solo Exhibition, Highcliffe Castle, Highcliffe
White Gallery, Brighton
Black Swan Gallery, Frome
Number Nine The Gallery, Birmingham
Touché Contemporary Art, Stroud
2001
Turner Gallery, Exeter
Lena Boyle Fine Art, Art On Paper, Royal College of Art
Moreton St Gallery, London
Belgrave Gallery, St Ives
Royal West of England Academy, Bristol
Bournemouth University Loan Collection
Number Nine The Gallery, Birmingham
2000
Royal West of England Academy, Bristol
Bournemouth University Loan Collection
Affordable Art Fair, London
Beatrice Royal Gallery, Eastleigh