Exhibitions / Group

Confluence

Herrick Gallery, London
15–26 October 2018

Bloc Projects, Sheffield
2018

Confluence brought together ten Sheffield-based artists whose practices encompassed painting, sculpture, ceramics, textiles, installation and mixed media. The exhibition was presented at Herrick Gallery in Mayfair, London, before being shown at Bloc Projects in Sheffield.

Although each artist possessed a distinct visual language, the exhibition revealed a shared commitment to sustained studio practice, material enquiry and the act of making. It presented Sheffield not through a single aesthetic or manifesto, but through the depth and diversity of contemporary work being produced across the city.

Exhibition Context

The group developed through discussions within the Making Ways Artists’ Panel concerning professional development and the conditions needed for artists to sustain ambitious practices in Sheffield.

The artists subsequently took part in professional development and advisory sessions led by curator and arts consultant Matt Roberts, alongside representatives from the London galleries Bearspace, Eagle Gallery and Transition Gallery.

The resulting exhibition brought a substantial body of Sheffield-based practice into a central London gallery. Its later presentation at Bloc Projects returned the work to the city and studio community from which the project had emerged.

Rather than imposing a single curatorial theme, Confluence allowed connections to form between otherwise independent practices. Landscape, edgelands, urban environments, abstraction, material transformation and skilled making became recurring points of contact across the exhibition.

Participating Artists

Richard Bartle
Anthony Bennett
Al Daw
Paul Evans
Seiko Kinoshita
Mandy Payne
Sarah Villeneau
Joanna Whittle
Myfanwy Williams
Sean Williams

The project was initiated by Paul Evans and developed with the participating artists through the Making Ways programme. The exhibition at Herrick Gallery was curated by Matt Roberts.

Richard Bartle’s Contribution

Confluence took place during a period in which Richard Bartle was living and working between Sheffield and Istanbul. Following his solo exhibition A Nomad's Tale earlier that year, his practice was increasingly concerned with landscape, archaeology and material traces within the environment.

For Confluence, Bartle exhibited The Turning of the Tide and In a Tangle, two paintings from the Submerged series.

The paintings developed from direct encounters with objects trapped beneath the surface of coastal waters. Ropes, fragments of fishing equipment and other submerged materials appear suspended within unstable fields of colour and reflected light. Observed while diving and swimming, these overlooked objects became the starting point for paintings that move between observation and abstraction.

Through repeated layering, washing, scraping and sanding, the paintings move between recognisable observation and abstraction. Their surfaces reflect Bartle’s continuing interest in landscape as a place where human activity, material traces and natural processes converge.

Installation Views

With thanks to Alexei Sayle for posing with Richard Bartle’s artwork.

Selected Artwork

Reviews and Reception

Contemporary reviews recognised Confluence as a broad survey of Sheffield’s independent contemporary art scene. The exhibition was noted for the range of practices it brought together and for the connections that emerged between landscape, abstraction, urban environments, material processes and skilled making.

The diversity of the work was central to the exhibition. Rather than presenting a single identifiable Sheffield style, Confluence demonstrated the variety of approaches sustained by artists working across the city’s studios and creative communities.

Making Ways

Confluence formed part of Making Ways, a three-year programme established to showcase, celebrate and develop contemporary visual art in Sheffield between 2016 and 2019.

The programme brought together Sheffield’s artists, galleries, universities and cultural organisations, supporting professional development and creating opportunities for artists to present their work beyond the city.

Making Ways was coordinated by Sheffield Culture Consortium and supported by Arts Council England, Sheffield City Council, the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University.

Legacy

Confluence provided a significant opportunity for ten established Sheffield artists to present their work collectively in London while retaining strong links to the city’s independent studio culture.

Its subsequent presentation at Bloc Projects completed that movement between Sheffield and London, bringing the exhibition back to the community from which it had developed. The project remains a record of a particular moment in Sheffield’s recent visual arts history, when artists, studios, galleries and institutions worked together to increase the national visibility of work being made in the city.

Today, Confluence stands as a record of the strength of Sheffield's independent visual arts community during a period of significant collaboration between artists, studios, galleries and cultural organisations.

Image Credits

Installation photographs by Anthony Bennett and Mandy Payne.