texture - The Way In Is Not The Whole Way Through

Haydn Albrow, Katrina Cowling, Conor Rogers, Fleur Yearsley

The Way In Is Not the Whole Way Through - a group exhibition that questioned the idea of novelty within contemporary art, and its impact on how we value and understand artworks.

The exhibition brought together a group of artists whose works each contain an immediately striking or unconventional element, something that could easily be described as novel. Rather than dismissing these as gimmicky or unserious, the show presents them as opportunities to delve beyond the surface. Alongside them, each work was paired with a piece of writing, seeking to explore alternate ways through the work.

Conor Rogers

Fleur Yearsley

Haydn Albrow

Katrina Cowling

Conor Rogers uses unusual objects as surfaces to paint on. Items such as a Royal Mail delivery note, or an A-Z of Sheffield become part of the work, their surfaces weaving in and out of the paintings.

Katrina Cowling presents a kinetic sculpture, at first a humorous, almost silly piece, that explores scale, fragility, movement and monumentality. A small fish and a cocktail umbrella dance nervously, simultaneously appearing celebratory and mournful.

Haydn Albrow works with tufting, creating strange and mysterious imagery drawn from dreams, and creating a visual language that attempts to build a bridge between imagined worlds and reality.

Fleur Yearsley paints scenes that could easily have been sprung from the viewers memories. They explore the heady warmth of nostalgia; rooted in her own experiences, but universal in their exploration of human experiences.