'CHROMANTICS'
A Celebration of Colour

Launch event: 6th April 2019, 5-8pm

This April the Cornerstone Arts Centre in Didcot will be splashing its walls with a bright and colourful array of art works as it hosts the Chromantics exhibition. A selection of artworks from OVADA's Associate artists pair together for a dramatic collection of colour and creativity.
This playful arrangement of striking work, including paintings and sculpture, set out to challenge the audience on what contemporary art can be. Curator and artist, Tommy Watkins, invites you to explore this unique exhibition and meet the people who are shaping Oxfordshire’s art scene.

The title of the show comes from a fusing of the words ‘Chroma’ and ‘Romantic’ as a poetic way to say ‘To be romanced by colour’. This show hopes to highlight the special chemistry found when pairing different styles of art into a cohesive body of work. These artworks revel with the brilliance of summer and extol the crispness of a spring day, but most impressive, is that this show has brought together over fifty artists, demonstrating the strength of the creative community in Oxfordshire. With inclusion being the guiding principle for selecting artworks, Watkins was resolute when saying;

“My goal with this show was to bring many different creators together and let us admire the unique and special traits we all have as artists and even more so as people. I see a chance here for us to appreciate and celebrate what makes us all individuals and at the same time emphasise how we are so much stronger when we come together as one.”

To add even more emphasis on unification Watkins has opened up the exhibition to include three poems from international poets and included artworks from a group of young artists through ‘The National House Project’, a charity that provides support to young people, enabling them to develop their own local housing.

As the first off-site exhibition for OVADA Associates, Chromantics demonstrates the organisation’s artist-led ethos. This event is the first formal collaboration between Cornerstone and OVADA and we can expect to see great things ahead with these two innovative organisations in collaboration. Cornerstone Arts Project Manager, Jessie Coller expressed her excitement by saying, “Cornerstone are delighted to be welcoming OVADA artists to our gallery with their stunning work. As a thriving arts centre, we are committed to supporting local artists and building relationships in the Oxfordshire area and we are thrilled that our conversations with OVADA have culminated with this fantastic exhibition.”

Launch event: 6th April 2019, 5-8pm
Exhibition runs: 3rd – 28th April – 28th 2019 (see Cornerstone website for times)
Venue: Cornerstone Arts Centre, 25 Station Road, Didcot, OX11 8RJ, UK.

Poets: Alan Ilagen, R.M. Engelhardt, Jasen Ward

Exhibiting OVADA Artists: Wendy Aldiss - Kate Aries - Didi Baldwin - Juliet Bankes - Lisa Bates - Betsy Bell - Sarah Birch - John Blythe - Luis Rafael Borja - Joshua Browitt - Sue Chamberlin - Aileen Creegan - Clare Crombie - Jan Crombie - Robin Danely - Phil Dobson - Elizabeth Gascoigne - Emily Gong - Julie Gooddy - Ellen Hausner - Mary Haynes - John Hazell - Katie Hellon - Deborah Hudson - Ala Jazayeri - Elaine Kazimierczuk - Gabriele Kern - Monica Lewis - Rebecca Lyne - Andrew Manson - Adriana May - Jacqueline McLaurin - Kieran McLean - Miranda Millward - William Milne - Jeremy Morgan - Naomi Morris - Christopher Neal - Sue Perstitious - Lucy Phillips - Jezella Pigott - Deborah Pill - Marina Price - Roger Pugh - Catalina Renjifo - Melissa Rodd - Marigold Short - Alex Singleton - Matt Smart - Brigitte Stepputtis - Katie Taylor - Tommy Watkins - Gill White - Sarah Wills-Brown

Please note that works in this exhibition are family friendly.