Approved: 04.02.2015

Fiona Grady

Artist, Curator, Writer

Approved: 04.02.2015

I create site-specific wall drawings using sequences of dispersing geometric shapes. My practice recognises the relationship between architecture, installation art and decoration; often using traditional mediums in a modern context. In my most recent body of work ‘Fields of Light’ I play with light, surface and scale. Each piece changes with the light of day; emphasizing the passing of time and the ephemeral nature of the work. 

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Artist Statement

I create site-specific wall drawings using sequences of dispersing geometric shapes. My practice recognises the relationship between architecture, installation art and decoration; often using traditional mediums in a modern context. In my most recent body of work ‘Fields of Light’ I play with light, surface and scale. Each piece changes with the light of day; emphasizing the passing of time and the ephemeral nature of the work. 

My site-responsive works manifest in a way that highlights the character and features of their environment: mimicking the architecture, colours and ambiance of the space. The drawings are spatial systems composed from repeating intervals of numbers that change in scale or direction.  The use of repetition is a means to set in place an unconscious balance or understanding; that is interrupted by the introduction of a changeable factor.  The alteration tends to be very subtle making the initial change hard to identify; but its aim is to create a movement.  The artworks are imaginings of how light move throughout a space, stretching and rotating with the throughout the day. However I do not seek to literally map light but instead create rhythms; light is used as a metaphor for something deeper, perhaps it is a vessel that implies the viewers’ presence within their environment.

 From a distance the drawings appear mechanical but on closer inspection their intricacies are revealed. The gestural brush strokes, embossed edges of the masked line and faded pencil grid are tactile traces of the artists touch. I work with handmade materials that do not attempt to conceal the imperfections of the wall surface but embrace it and find that the delicacy of these mediums compounds the temporary nature of the work. I am exploring how to create an emotional response to the clean lines of geometric shapes. My installations are contemplative areas that create a meditative moment that often lead away from the space. By working directly onto the walls surface my drawings suggest an extension beyond it edges. They are often situated adjacent to windows reflecting the world from within whilst leading the viewer outside. My practice aims to challenge our perception of architectural environments and how we absorb our surroundings; I want to create brief moments that occur through observation and connection with art.

 

CV & Education

EDUCATION

MA Fine Art, Wimbledon College of Art, University of the Arts London, 2010 - 2011
BA (Hons) Fine Art, Cardiff School of Art, University of Wales Institute in Cardiff, 2004 – 2007
Foundation Diploma in Art and Design, Leeds College of Art and Design, 2003 – 2004

 

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2018       Kaleidoscope, Broadgate, London, UK
2018       Shadow Play, Chapter Gallery Art in the Bar, Cardiff, UK 
2017       Light Shifts, The Tin part of the Coventry Biennial Programme, Coventry, UK
2017       Fractured Visions, St Marys in the Castle, Hastings, UK 
2017       The Movements, Adhoc, Bochum, Germany 
2016       Rendered Invisible, The Art House, Wakefield, UK
2015       Tempered Deflections, Footfall Art, London, UK
2014       Fields of Light, Barbican Arts Trust, London, UK 

 

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2019      Drawing Biennial, Drawing Room, London, UK
2019       London Art Fair, Flowers Gallery Stand 22, Business Design Centre, London, UK
2018      Small is Beautiful, Flowers Gallery, London, UK
2018       Matérias Primas, PADA Gallery,  Barriero, Lisbon, Portugal
2018       Defining Structure, Cello Factory, London, UK
2018       Dialogues: Fiona Grady, Tess Jaray, Bridget Riley and Carol Robertson, Flowers Gallery, London, UK
2018       Dentons Art Prize, Dentons, London, UK 
2018        Shapes: Fiona Grady + Stephen Jaques, Cannon Place, London, UK 
2018       Light in Plenty, Shadow in Plenty: Yukako Shibata + Fiona Grady, White Conduit Projects, London, UK 
2018       Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti, Griffin Gallery Perimeter Space, London, UK
2018       The Pink Panther Show, Gallery 46, London, UK curated by Dateagleart 
2018       Expanding Systems, APT Gallery, London, UK
2017       Notes on Painting, Koppel Projects, London, UK 
2017       A Many Sided Thing, Wimbledon Space, UK 
2017       Mono, Flowers Gallery, London, UK 
2017       Colour, Order, System, Sid Motion Gallery, London, UK
2017       Inside the Shadow, Art House1, London, UK
2017       Shaping the Void II, Tannery Arts Project Space, London, UK
2017       A5 x n, dalla Rosa Gallery, London, UK 
2016       Exchange Rates - a Sluice Project hosted by Arte 3 / Saturation Point, New York, USA  
2016       Shaping the Void, Bankley Gallery, Manchester, UK 
2016       STEAM: Ahead, South Square Gallery, Thornton, UK 
2016       The Overview Effect, Lewisham Art House, London, UK
2016       Youth Uncovered, Gerald Moore Gallery, London, UK
2016       Prison Drawing Project, Scarborough Old Town Prison, Scarborough, UK
2015       Beyond Repetition, Bowery Gallery, Leeds, UK 
2015       Schichtwechsel, APT Gallery, London, UK 
2015       The Imaginary Museum: Monuments and Landmarks, Leeds City Museum and Leeds
               University, Leeds
2015       Spatial Centres, Projektraum, Am Flutgraben, Berlin, Germany 
2014       Again, From Here, Harts Lane Studio, London, UK
2014       A Restless Geometry, Union 105 Gallery at East Street Arts, Leeds, UK -
               curated by The International 3
2014       Geometric Sequences, HUSK Gallery, London, UK
2014       neo:print prize 2014, neo:gallery 22, Bolton, UK 
2014       A5, Lubomirov-Easton, Platform Projects, Art Athina Art Fair, Athens, Greece 
2013        Leeds Light Night, Leeds Town Hall, Leeds, UK
2013        APT Open Studios collaborative project, APT Gallery and Studios, London, UK 
2013       Bainbridge Open, Embassy Tea Gallery, London, UK 
2013       The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, ArtLacuna, London, UK
2013       Synesthesia, Darnley Gallery, London, UK
2012       Deptford X, Deptford Rail Station, London, UK 
2011       Postgraduate Printmaking in London 2011, Clifford Chance Gallery, London, UK 
2011       Print & Design Now! 2011, SW1 Gallery and BEARSPACE, London, UK 
2011       MA Degree Show, Wimbledon School of Art - University of the Arts, London, UK
2011       Students, Patients, Paupers, St Philips (London School of Economics), London, UK
2011       Fly Tipping, The Centre for Drawing, London, UK
2011       Unexpected/Unexplored, Acquire Arts, London, UK
2011       Futura Oblique, The Nunnery Gallery, London, UK 
2010       Salad, Wimbledon College of Art, London, UK 
2010       A Library of Mirrors, Bookartbookshop, London, UK
2008       Ex, Leeds College of Art & Design, Leeds, UK 
2008       UWIC Printmakers, The Millennium Centre, Cardiff, UK 
2008       UWIC Degree Show, Cardiff School of Art & Design, Cardiff, UK 
2008       Contemporary Printmaking, The Old Library, Cardiff, UK 

 

RESIDENCIES

2018       PADA, Barreiro, Lisbon, Portugal
2018       Griffin Gallery collaborative studio residency with Charley Peters, London, UK
2017       Wimbledon School of Art, London, UK 
2016       The Art House, Wakefield, UK 
2014       Beacons Music and Arts Festival, Yorkshire Dales, UK 

 

COMMISSIONS

2018    Twister for Haru Showroom, London, UK
2017     Natural Triangulations for Walthamstow Wetlands Visitor Centre, London, UK
2016     Count the Hours for Prison Drawing Project, Scarborough, UK
2015     Outside Perspective for Bowery Gallery, Leeds, UK
2015     Sunrise Shuffle for Jealous Gallery Rooftop Mural Project, London, UK
2014     Parallax for Beacons Festival, West Yorkshire, UK 
2013     Illumination III for Leeds Town Hall, Leeds, UK
2013     Shortlisted for Newnham College Kennedy Corridor Commission, Cambridge University, UK 
2012     A Field of Light for Deptford Rail Station, London, UK


COLLECTIONS

Paul Smith Ltd, London
Various private collections in Canada, Germany, Norway and UK 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

2018       Review of ‘Defining Structure’ by Art Lyst, published September 2018
2018       Interview with John Bingham 'From the Windows, To the Walls' 
2018       Review of 'The Pink Panther Show' by Friends of the Art
2017       Elephant Magazine online 'Toolbox: Fiona Grady's Bespoke Drawing Tools'
2017       ‘There was neither non-existence nor existence then’ essay by Kathryn Lloyd, exhibition catalogue
2017       Interview with Dateagleart 5x5, published August 2017
2017       Interview with the Aesthete Hunter, published July 2017
2016       ‘Shaping the Void’ essay by Sara Jaspan, exhibition catalogue 
2016       'The Overview Effect' essay by Anna McNay, exhibition catalogue
2016       The Prison Drawing Project including an essay by Lucy O'Donnell, exhibition catalogue
2015       Hexopolis publication, text by Katya Robin 
2015       Woolgather Art Vend publication 
2014       ‘A Restless Geometry’ essay by Paulette Terry Brien
2014       ‘Thoughtful Lightness’ essay by Joss Cole
2014       Neo:print prize exhibition catalogue, texts by Gordon Cheung and Professor Paul Coldwell 
2014       ‘Home front at Neo print 2014’ by Victoria Herns
2014       ‘The Breakfast Menu’ essay by Karen David, exhibition catalogue
2013       ‘Synesthesia curated by Gabrielle Cooper from creative hub, Leap into the Void is aimed at encouraging people to experience art in the flesh’, Enfield Independent
2012       Postgraduate Printmaking in London: a survey exhibition catalogue, text by Nigel Frank
2011       Students, Patients, Paupers catalogue, text by Christien Garcia