Charlotte Abrahams – 11 August 2017.
“Messums has been a feature on London’s Cork Street since 1963, but the gallery’s Wiltshire outpost is a relatively recent addition to the brand’s artistic stable. It opened at the end of last year in a restored 13th-century monastic barn in the village of Tisbury, and its latest exhibition, Material: Wood (August 11-September 3), is a showcase not only of the designers, makers, artists and artisans who are working with wood today, but also of the diversity of the material itself.
Beech and ash are individually represented in a series of ethereal etchings (£320-£1,200 each) by artists Emma Buckmaster and Janet French, with each image printed on paper made from the leaves of the tree they depict. (The paper was made by soaking and boiling autumn leaves until they meshed together to form a delicate layer.)”
Fraxinus Excelsior etching on ash leaves, edition of 10, by Emma Buckmaster & Janet French,
“As a country, we produce some of the best quality and greatest variety of woods and some of the most forward-thinking and creative minds working with it,” says Messum. This quietly beautiful exhibition proves him right.