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.
‘Seep’ 2024. Photograph by Carmel King‘Seep’ 2024. Photograph by Carmel King‘Seep’ 2024. Photograph by Abi Spendlove‘Suspended Loop’ 2024. Photograph by Carmel King‘Suspended Loop’ 2024. Photograph by Carmel King
THISS 2024, The Hide Installation + Sculpture Showcase, The Hide Artist Retreat, Pinfarthings, Stroud, June 2024. Exhibition text:
This year The Hide will be showcasing the work of eight established woman artists whose practices align around themes of transience and impermanence. The artists come from London, the South East and West of England as well as Stroud. THISS 2024 will include performance, site responsive work, sustainability, elemental influence, and structures on the point of collapse. The selected artists all consider the amount of ‘stuff’ in the world, so they re-cycle and re-use to make ideas visible, and their actions are un -monumental and economic, often rooted in their bodies or in nature. Their work, repeats, shimmers, dissolves, and passes through their breath. The exhibition is curated by Alice Sheppard-Fidler, who approaches the role of curator as a caretaker of work and ideas, encouraging artists to take risks and explore a dialogue between their practice’s within the outdoor setting of the garden at The Hide. At a time when war, poverty and global consumption are at a monumental scale, and power often feels in the wrong hands, THISS 2024 aims to lean into the micro, to pay attention to, pick at, tease and soothe very human moments and feelings. Visitors to the exhibition are invited to enter into the flux of the garden, hover with the work in its fleeting state and be open to engage through the work’s absurdity and awkward tenderness.
(in)finite Beginnings was a participatory artwork for the University of Hertfordshire’s Festival of Ideas in May 2024.
“UH Arts + Culture commissioned artist Abi Spendlove to create a unique participatory artwork for the Festival of Ideas. Members of the public joined us to contribute to a growing painting, created using ice and ink, to explore and celebrate our relationship with the environment. This interactive, live creative process invited everyone to add their input to an artwork aiming to be both beautiful, and emblematic of the incredible minds present at the Festival of Ideas.
Abi will created two large-scale paintings outdoors over the course of the Festival, inviting participants to contribute to the each of the works following a simple set of instructions. The work will grew and developed based on the number of participants, the impact of their bodily interaction with the placing of ice, and the ever-changing climate of the outdoor environment. The interactive artwork invited participants to connect with the present moment and notice the environment around them.”
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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