Tag: sculpture

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Chalk Wanderings

Photograph by Greta Zabulyte

Photographs by Diana Hurley

Chalk Wanderings
March – August 2026
Hat Works, Bute Street, Luton

This exhibition showcases artworks inspired by Luton’s Chalk landscape, shown alongside maps and factual information.

Luton’s chalk landscape is globally rare. The distribution of chalk across the surface of the Earth is mostly concentrated in the South East of England and Northern France. The ecological habitats created by chalk landscapes are more rare than tropical rainforests and coral reefs. 

Luton’s chalk was created during the Cretaceous period, 84-99 million years ago. These soft, white limestones were later lifted and sculpted by erosion over millions of years, particularly during the last Ice Age around 2.6 million years ago. This was when the glacial landscape, which formed the Lea Valley was formed. The chalk beneath Luton is part of the Chiltern Hills, created when the area was covered by a warm, shallow tropical sea.

Chalk Wanderings is a project designed by Luton-based artist Abi Spendlove. During the project Abi has worked with a number of community groups, sharing stories of Luton’s chalk and encouraging people to draw with it. 

This project is an Evolution project, part of the Luton Create Fund. The Luton Create Fund is funded by Luton Arts, Arts Council England, Luton Rising and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, managed by BLCF.

Special thanks to collaborative partners: The Wildlife Trust BCN, Culture Trust, Timothy Crombie, Luton Literature, St Matthew’s Primary School, Luton Health & Nature Partnership, Revolution Fitness

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Holding Space

Holding Space Installation Photos by Jo Hounsworth

Problem 1 Performance Photos by Greta Zabulyte

HOLDING SPACE
The Launderette, 145 Cheltenham Rd, Bristol, BS6 5RR
January 2026

Nine established artists from across Britain come together at The Laundrette in Bristol for a captivating exhibition exploring the relationships between objects, bodies, and space.

Holding Space brings together sculpture, sound, drawing, and performance to investigate the delicate and vibrant threads that bind us to objects, environments, and each other. 

At a time when knowledge is contested, the climate is shifting, resources are strained, and movement is increasingly restricted, Holding Space stands as a collective commitment to community. It asks how, by thinking and making together, we might creatively imagine a path towards a shared future.

Working together through regular online dialogue, the artists have explored themes of care, community, and connection. In a rare moment when they gather in person, you are invited to join them for a weekend of interactions to investigate ways that ideas can be realised through form and action.

Artists: Abi Spendlove, Alice Sheppard Fidler, Anno Mitchell, David Bradley, Ellie Shipman, Helen Acklam, Melissa Pierce Murray, Simone Hesselberg, Stevie Ronnie.

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Multi Authored Poem

Photography by Milena von Schulthess

POSITIONS Berlin Art Fair 2024 – Abi Spendlove

12.09.2024–15.09.2024

Multi Authored Poem

The Olivier von Schulthess Collection was collaborating with British artist Abi Spendlove for the eleventh edition of the art fair. Abi Spendlove’s work is characterized by its focus on the process of melting colored ice, which is particularly evident in her so-called Ice Drawings. These works reflect not only her deep fascination with the different materials and their constant, fluid changes, but also her fundamental interest in the dimension of time and the subtle but powerful effect it can have. By combining these elements, Spendlove creates artworks that are both visually stunning and intellectually profound, inviting us to reflect on the transience and transformative power of time.

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Washed Out

Washed Out, 2022, Installation at Robinson College, Cambridge. Cotton, copper, steel, river ice, marigold, madder, chloropyllin, turmeric.

Immersions: Into the River Cam, curated by Mattie O’Callaghan and Holly Pines. Washed Out was installed above Bin Brook, a tributary of the River Cam, which runs through Robinson College in Cambridge. The work was made from river ice collected at Bin Brook and a selection of natural dyes. The sculpture, titled ‘Washed Out’, references the history of women’s labour and the washing of linen that happened upstream in The Cam.

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Glacial Movement One

Photography by Greta Zabulyte

Glacial Movements was an Arts Council Funded project undertaken in 2022. The project involved research collaborations with glaciologist Dr Bethan Davies and V&A sculpture conservator Sarah Healey-Dilkes. The research culminated in a site-specific ice sculpture made from found water and found materials.