Liminal Gallery Podcast host, Louise Fitzjohn, speaks with contemporary artist Olivia Strange, during her solo exhibition ‘It Softens The Blow, That Deep Melodic Bliss’ in Liminal Gallery's Main Space, in Margate from 6 July until 31 August 2024.

Pulling together the multifarious strands of Strange’s practice "It Softens the Blow, That Deep Melodic Bliss" explores notions of escape and survival through snapshot moments of euphoria and pleasure, as an act of resistance.

The work celebrates the freedom and intimacy found within singular moments in varying spaces from the domestic environment, the natural landscape to the rave scene, that offer a sense of safety to hold multiple truths simultaneously whilst providing a portal through which to explore identities away from the constraints of critical thought.

Through themes of dis/embodiment, movement, touch and tenderness, healing and empowerment, connection and ‘belonging’, Strange explores intimate moments in time that elicit a sense of escape and diversion from programmed ideas of self into altered states of consciousness and where emotions can be discharged in spaces and dimensions that provide transient moments of relief from the boundaries of day to day normative realities.

Olivia Strange's multi-disciplinary practice spanning sculpture, painting, installation, moving image and poetry, is characterised by a layered narrative and highly visceral aesthetic. The work is concerned with disarming patriarchal descriptors via exploration of her Italian roots and draws on themes of Greco-Roman mythology, historical narratives around witches, the female body & jouissance to portray an empowering image of queer female subjectivity.

Since graduating with Distinction from Chelsea College of Art- MA Fine Art (2017) having received the Vice Chancellor Scholarship, Strange has exhibited at Annka Kulty’s Gallery presenting an ambitious large scale immersive installation as part of the inaugural Cacotopia show, Southwark Park Galleries, ArtOn Istanbul, Unit 1 Gallery, Liminal Gallery (Solo Show), Every Woman Biennial, Basis Projektraum and had a solo presentation at London Art Fair with Liminal Gallery in 2024.

Strange was selected for the 2021 cohort of the SPACE Studios X London Creative Network Artist Development Programme and the Ellipsis Prints 2021 Commissioning Project and Shortlisted for the prestigious Ingram Collection Purchase Prize 2021. More recently Strange was selected for the Radical Residency 2022 at Unit 1 Gallery in London, longlisted for the Robert Walters UK New Artist Award 2022, co-curated the group exhibition ‘Bag, Pedestal, Rabbit, Potato’ which centred around Ursula. K. Le Guin’s seminal text The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction at Staffordshire Street Gallery, London and shortlisted for the GIRLPOWER Residency 2023.

Visit the Online Viewing Room here:

https://liminal-gallery.com/collections/olivia-strange-it-softens-the-blow

Contact us for all questions and enquiries: info@liminal-gallery.com

Follow us on Instagram: @liminal_gallery

With original music by Lorenzo Bonari.

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Liminal Gallery Podcast host, Louise Fitzjohn, speaks with contemporary artist Thomas Langley, to coincide with his solo exhibition ‘Nest’ in Liminal Gallery's Main Space, in Margate. Through the lens of painting and drawing, Thomas Langley's practice is deeply concerned with the fundamental mechanics of image creation, manifesting in pulsating rhythmic compositions. The foundation of this body of work lies in traps, nests, and vessels, serving as anchors for concepts of place, home and travel. Langley imparts permanence to these temporal structures through a sculpted and almost drawn approach to painting, with thick impasto application.

Here we are confronted with all the sensibilities of a minimalist painting practice, characterised by a stripped down, pared-back, raw use of materials. This material handling is combined with an expressive visual language of semi-representational mark-making, creating a dialogue between abstraction and representation.

Nests, envisioned as temporal sites of rest and safety, transform into optimistic constructions symbolising self-comfort and a shield against external adversities. This metamorphosis nods to the universal yearning for security within and the transformative power that elevates house into a home.

Langley’s vessels carry, while nests incubate, which speaks to the shared human desire for connection and comfort, underlining the sentiment which echoes a universal longing: "Everyone wants to be held."

Thomas Langley, b.1986, London, UK. Lives and works in London.

Graduated from Royal Academy Schools, post graduate diploma (MA), London, in 2018.

Langley is currently working through exploring an intersection of painting and drawing practices, he creates drawings and paintings exploring abstraction, material dialogue and personal histories. Langley currently has a focus on painterly interpretations of craft and visual languages from the natural and human environment.

Visit the Online Viewing Room here:

https://www.liminal-gallery.com/thomas-langley-nest

Contact us for all questions and enquiries: info@liminal-gallery.com

Follow us on Instagram: @liminal_gallery

With original music by Lorenzo Bonari.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Liminal Gallery Podcast host, Louise Fitzjohn, speaks with contemporary artist Lucy Lyons, to coincide with her solo exhibition ‘Seven and a half’ in Liminal Gallery's The Cupboard, in Margate. This exhibition provides a unique realm where the boundaries between reality and imagination blur, offering a glimpse into the intricate workings of the human mind.

Between the 7th and 8th floor of the Martin-Flemmer building is a small hidden doorway through which you can enter the mind of John Malkovich. At the back of Liminal Gallery is a small doorway, a different kind of portal through which you can step into the world inside the mind of Lucy Lyons.

The Cupboard serves as an intimate space, providing a journey into the depths of Lucy Lyons' creative psyche. Through collage and drawing, Lucy Lyons constructs a rich narrative, drawing inspiration from the surrealist and symbolist movements, Carl Jung's texts and her own subconscious to unearth layers of meaning and symbolism. Her intricate composite drawings, meticulously layered, evoke a sense of immersion and introspection.

The Cupboard is Liminal Gallery’s second exhibition space, tiny but sleek it is exclusively available to artists living and working in Thanet. Lyons will use this space to showcase a new body of work, evoking an interplay of images, thoughts, and feelings, reflecting the tumultuous times we live in and offering a glimpse into the artist's inner world.

Dr. Lucy Lyons is a multidisciplinary artist known for her explorations of memory, identity, and the subconscious through drawing, collage, and installation. She holds a PhD from Sheffield Hallam University, and an MMAA from the Medical Artists’ Association of Great Britain. Additionally, she earned an MA in Fine Art from the City & Guilds of London Art School and a BA (Hons) in Graphic Design from Norwich School of Art.

She has had solo exhibitions at the Hunterian Museum London, Medical Museion Copenhagen, Fábrica de Braço de Prata Lisbon and Panum Institute Copenhagen. She has participated in numerous group exhibitions and performances internationally, exploring the intersections of art, science, and life.

Lyons has undertaken several residencies, including at Latvijas Kultūras akadēmijas teātra māja in Riga, Latvia, and Larose Osler Medical Library A-I-R at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. She has contributed to various publications and articles, delving into topics such as art, medicine, and embodiment.

Currently, Lucy Lyons serves as the Lead Tutor for SSC Anatomy and Art at UCL Medical School. Her contributions to the field of art have been recognised with awards such as being long-listed for the SOLO Award in 2018 and winning the British Council Darwin Now Award in 2009.

Visit the Online Viewing Room here:

https://www.liminal-gallery.com/lucy-lyons-seven-and-a-half

Contact us for all questions and enquiries: info@liminal-gallery.com

Follow us on Instagram: @liminal_gallery

With original music by Lorenzo Bonari.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.