Episode 25 - Lucy Lyons

07/23/24 • 47 min

Liminal Gallery Podcast host, Louise Fitzjohn, speaks with contemporary artist Lucy Lyons, to coincide with her solo exhibition ‘Seven and a half’ in Liminal Gallery's The Cupboard, in Margate. This exhibition provides a unique realm where the boundaries between reality and imagination blur, offering a glimpse into the intricate workings of the human mind.

Between the 7th and 8th floor of the Martin-Flemmer building is a small hidden doorway through which you can enter the mind of John Malkovich. At the back of Liminal Gallery is a small doorway, a different kind of portal through which you can step into the world inside the mind of Lucy Lyons.

The Cupboard serves as an intimate space, providing a journey into the depths of Lucy Lyons' creative psyche. Through collage and drawing, Lucy Lyons constructs a rich narrative, drawing inspiration from the surrealist and symbolist movements, Carl Jung's texts and her own subconscious to unearth layers of meaning and symbolism. Her intricate composite drawings, meticulously layered, evoke a sense of immersion and introspection.

The Cupboard is Liminal Gallery’s second exhibition space, tiny but sleek it is exclusively available to artists living and working in Thanet. Lyons will use this space to showcase a new body of work, evoking an interplay of images, thoughts, and feelings, reflecting the tumultuous times we live in and offering a glimpse into the artist's inner world.

Dr. Lucy Lyons is a multidisciplinary artist known for her explorations of memory, identity, and the subconscious through drawing, collage, and installation. She holds a PhD from Sheffield Hallam University, and an MMAA from the Medical Artists’ Association of Great Britain. Additionally, she earned an MA in Fine Art from the City & Guilds of London Art School and a BA (Hons) in Graphic Design from Norwich School of Art.

She has had solo exhibitions at the Hunterian Museum London, Medical Museion Copenhagen, Fábrica de Braço de Prata Lisbon and Panum Institute Copenhagen. She has participated in numerous group exhibitions and performances internationally, exploring the intersections of art, science, and life.

Lyons has undertaken several residencies, including at Latvijas Kultūras akadēmijas teātra māja in Riga, Latvia, and Larose Osler Medical Library A-I-R at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. She has contributed to various publications and articles, delving into topics such as art, medicine, and embodiment.

Currently, Lucy Lyons serves as the Lead Tutor for SSC Anatomy and Art at UCL Medical School. Her contributions to the field of art have been recognised with awards such as being long-listed for the SOLO Award in 2018 and winning the British Council Darwin Now Award in 2009.

Visit the Online Viewing Room here:

https://www.liminal-gallery.com/lucy-lyons-seven-and-a-half

With original music by Lorenzo Bonari.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Visit the Online Viewing Room here:

https://www.liminal-gallery.com/lucy-lyons-seven-and-a-half

With original music by Lorenzo Bonari.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Episode 24 - Abigail Hampsey

Liminal Gallery Podcast host, Louise Fitzjohn, speaks with contemporary artist Abigail Hampsey, to coincide with her solo exhibition ‘Walking in Limestone Country’ in Liminal Gallery's Main Space, in Margate. Having returned to the land of her youth on the edge of the greenbelt between Lancaster, the Lake District and West Yorkshire, this new body of work is an exploration of landscape, a retrieval of place and a recording of the relationships formed within them.

With a sense of homecoming, Hampsey's brushstrokes become a conduit for the deep-rooted connections she holds with these terrains. "Walking in limestone country" serves as both an ode to landscape and an exploration of personal history. Through an interplay of colours and textures, Hampsey channels her intricate relationship with her surroundings, bringing together notions of memory, nostalgia, and discovery.

Her canvases resonate with the echoes of childhood tales and folklore, now tinged with the sobering realisation of environmental fragility and societal change. What once sparkled with youthful wonder is now imbued with a bittersweet patina of loss and reflection. As a metaphor for the transition from childhood to adulthood, memory to the present, "Walking in Limestone Country" utilises the landscape as a powerful symbol.

Abigail Hampsey is a working class painter, maker, storyteller and imaginer. Born in Lancashire (1996) She received her BA in Fine art from Newcastle University (2019) and her MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art (2022). Hampsey’s work has been exhibited throughout the UK, Including WORKPLACE Gallery, London, The Holden Gallery, Manchester and Gallagher and Turner, Newcastle, amongst others.

Hampsey was the recipient of The Basil H.Alkazzi Scholarship Award in painting at the Royal College of Art (2020-22) and has been shortlisted for multiple awards such as the Beep Painting Biennale and the Jacksons Art Prize (2023). As well as this, Hampsey is a Painting Tutor at Newcastle University, A Baker, Farm Hand, Barista and the newest member of the Contemporary British Painting Collective (2023).

Visit the Online Viewing Room here:

https://www.liminal-gallery.com/abigail-hampsey-walking-in-limestone-country

With original music by Lorenzo Bonari.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

Episode 26 - Thomas Langley

Liminal Gallery Podcast host, Louise Fitzjohn, speaks with contemporary artist Thomas Langley, to coincide with his solo exhibition ‘Nest’ in Liminal Gallery's Main Space, in Margate. Through the lens of painting and drawing, Thomas Langley's practice is deeply concerned with the fundamental mechanics of image creation, manifesting in pulsating rhythmic compositions. The foundation of this body of work lies in traps, nests, and vessels, serving as anchors for concepts of place, home and travel. Langley imparts permanence to these temporal structures through a sculpted and almost drawn approach to painting, with thick impasto application.

Here we are confronted with all the sensibilities of a minimalist painting practice, characterised by a stripped down, pared-back, raw use of materials. This material handling is combined with an expressive visual language of semi-representational mark-making, creating a dialogue between abstraction and representation.

Nests, envisioned as temporal sites of rest and safety, transform into optimistic constructions symbolising self-comfort and a shield against external adversities. This metamorphosis nods to the universal yearning for security within and the transformative power that elevates house into a home.

Langley’s vessels carry, while nests incubate, which speaks to the shared human desire for connection and comfort, underlining the sentiment which echoes a universal longing: "Everyone wants to be held."

Thomas Langley, b.1986, London, UK. Lives and works in London.

Graduated from Royal Academy Schools, post graduate diploma (MA), London, in 2018.

Langley is currently working through exploring an intersection of painting and drawing practices, he creates drawings and paintings exploring abstraction, material dialogue and personal histories. Langley currently has a focus on painterly interpretations of craft and visual languages from the natural and human environment.

Visit the Online Viewing Room here:

https://www.liminal-gallery.com/thomas-langley-nest

With original music by Lorenzo Bonari.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.