Drawing Matter - Eleanor Bartlett, Lucinda Burgess, Carole Pearson - 26 June - 31 July 2021

Drawing Matter - Eleanor Bartlett, Lucinda Burgess, Carole Pearson will be on show from 26 June to 31 July 2021 at Drawing Projects UK in Trowbridge, Wiltshire. A timed entry ticket must be booked in advance to attend the exhibition. This exhibition was originally planned for March & April 2020, but was postponed due to the global pandemic and public health restrictions, so we are delighted to finally be sharing the exhibition and much new work made by the artists during lockdown.

Eleanor Bartlett, Lucinda Burgess and Carole Pearson all emphasize the nature and character of different kinds of matter, be it graphite, chalk, wax, tar, paper, wood or metallic paint. They are also united by a limited colour palette and frequent use of line. This exhibition is an exploration into the expanded field of drawing, blurring the boundaries between sculpture, painting, architecture and drawing. The accompanying exhibition leaflet includes text about the work of the artists by Debbie Hillyerd, Director of Education at Hauser & Wirth.

Eleanor Bartlett had no formal training and began her practice in 2010, drawing from natural forms. She progressed to painting and making sculpture and has shown her work nationally and in Europe. She has installed sculpture in Salisbury and Wells Cathedrals, and has exhibited in other public spaces and museums. Her work is held in private and public collections. Eleanor Bartlett works with industrial materials, describing elemental forms painted with tar and wax. The behaviour of the materials has an important implication on the direction of the work, but ultimately the work has to have the power to persuade.

Lucinda Burgess trained and taught as a painter, but then became involved with oriental philosophy and spent time in a monastic setting. Continuing a pattern of dramatic change, she went on to become a successful landscape designer. Since 2010 she has resumed her Fine Art practice, working primarily in three dimensions. Her background in oriental philosophy and landscape design has led to a fascination with the raw elemental qualities of materials, and informs a sculptural practice that accentuates the reality of constant change, undermining the idea of a fixed thing, object or identity. Her art has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including among others Nunnery Gallery, Beaux Arts Gallery, Jerwood Space, Mall Galleries and the Arndean Gallery in London, Newlyn Art Gallery, Municipal Gallery in Athens, The Tapestry in Liverpool, Aesthetica Art Prize in York and the travelling Jerwood Drawing Prize. She will be exhibiting at Bartha Contemporary and RaumX in London, October 2021.

Carole Pearson lives in Bath. She worked in museum collections before studying for a degree in Ceramics, followed by a master’s in Fine Art. She works mostly on paper and also makes three-dimensional objects. Her selection of materials is low-tech, utilising found and everyday objects. Her thinking reflects her childhood growing up on farms in North Yorkshire and her strong connection with the land. She looks for marks in the landscape, focusing on impressions and traces that objects have left behind.

Visitor Information: This long-planned exhibition, is curated at Drawing Projects UK by Fiona Cassidy and Gary Sangster, and will be presented in The Entrance Hall, Chief Secretary's Office Gallery, Long Gallery and Project Room 1. The full exhibition will be open to the public by pre-booked tickets on Fridays and Saturdays via Eventbrite (free entry) during the exhibition from 12noon to 4pm.

At all other times, visitors to Drawing Projects UK will be able to see the works on show in The Entrance Hall and the Long Gallery and other ancillary public spaces when Miranda's Coffee Shop is open - from Tuesday to Saturday, 8am to 3pm.

Online events: There will be a programme of online events in association Drawing Matters, so please keep an eye on our website, Eventbrite page and social media channels as we announce and update this associated events programme. More information will be available soon.