Halima Cassell now presenting her works of art at Watts Gallery
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Thursday, November 14, 2024


Halima Cassell now presenting her works of art at Watts Gallery
Halima Cassell at work in her studio. Photo by Martin Eastwood.



SURRY.- Watts Gallery will be presenting the exhibition by Halima Cassell: From the Earth celebrating the career of one of Britain’s leading contemporary sculptors until June 18th, 2023. The exhibition brings together objects from the artist’s own collection – a number of which are rarely on public display - with new work inspired by Watts Gallery’s founding artists, George Frederic Watts (1817-1904) and Mary Watts (1849-1938), to explore Cassell’s evolving practice over the past 25 years.

Significantly, this will be the first solo exhibition by a contemporary artist at Watts Gallery.

Halima Cassell MBE (b.1975-) was born in Kashmir, Pakistan, grew up in Lancashire and now lives in Shropshire. A fusion of cultural environments has shaped her identity and underpins her practice. Called a “foreigner” as a child growing up in Manchester and introduced as a ‘foreigner from England’ when she returned to Pakistan in 2009, through her work Cassell explores what connects us rather than what divides us, finding expression for this in simple forms with complex surface patterns created through deep carving into unglazed ceramic, marble, wood and more.

Introduced recently to Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village, Cassell is drawn to the practice of the Museum’s founding artists, in particular to the life and career of Mary Watts. Cassell identifies much of her own practice with Mary’s: in her choice to work in clay, her choice to create intricate patterns inspired by nature, her shared interest in diverse cultural influences that characterise both their work and in an enduring fascination with architecture which, for Mary Watts, culminated in her creation of Watts Chapel (1895-1898) – the extraordinary Arts & Crafts mortuary chapel, now Grade I listed, conceived as a community arts project and built using Compton clay.

Over a century later and with echoes of Mary Watts, Cassell has created new work for this exhibition using local, Compton clay. The exhibition opens with this latest work, which includes a commission – the first acquisition by a living artist to join the Watts Gallery Trust collection. The commission will show the influence of both G F and Mary Watts: the piece’s spherical shape takes inspiration from G F Watts’s The All-Pervading (1887-90) - a version of which hangs above the altar in Watts Chapel – whilst Cassell’s choice of unglazed material, carved pattern, and sculptural form reflects the work of Mary Watts.

This section of the exhibition also looks at how Cassell is part of a lineage of earlier artists who were influenced by world religion and culture, and in particular architectural spaces of devotion. A maquette made for Reading Museum, inspired by the capitals found in the ruins of Reading Abbey and currently on display in the museum, demonstrates Cassell’s ongoing interest in the intersection of sculptural form, architecture and craft in monumental spaces.

Monographic in concept, highlights of work created throughout Cassell’s career and the influence of her time spent as Artist in Residence in Japan, Pakistan and Pietrasanta, Italy will be the focus of the main exhibition space. Featured will be Virtues of Unity, an evolving installation of exquisitely carved ceramic vessels each representing a country of the world and made using clay from that country. Each vessel is named after a virtue, those which connect all of humanity.

Laura MacCulloch, Head of Exhibitions and Collections at Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village, comments:

“It has been a delight to uncover the synergies between Halima Cassell and the artist Mary Watts. Despite being separated between time and background, both artists favour unglazed terracotta but have embraced other mediums, blurring the boundaries between, sculptor and potter, craft and fine art. Both women also explore ideas of humanity and the common ground that can be found by all in nature.”

“It is incredibly exciting to see the new work created by Halima in response to Mary's work at Watts Gallery - Artists' Village and also to show the latest iteration of Virtues of Unity - a work I believe Mary would have found inspirational.”

Halima Cassell MBE says:

“Like Mary Watts, throughout my career I have used spherical forms and vessels reflecting my connections to the earth and the spirituality of the universe. Seeing Mary’s work, I felt instantly connected to her multidisciplinary practice, which reflects my own way of working and her intense use of faceted forms, shapes and patterns drawn from nature and a variety of cultures. I have also found inspiration in our shared passion for clay, a material that allows us to explore the idea that we all come from the earth and we all return to the earth.”

Alistair Burtenshaw, Brice Director and Chief Executive, Watts Gallery Trust, comments:

“Halima Cassell and Mary Watts share a fascination with clay and with place. In Halima’s case, clay from different locations that speak to the similarities and nuance, rather than solely the differences, of the ground beneath our feet and notions of ‘where we are from’, and in Mary’s case clay from a seam in the grounds of her home here in Compton, that spoke very specifically to a sense of place and community that she found here in the Surrey Hills.”

“It is a huge honour and fitting that Halima Cassell will be the first contemporary artist to have a solo show here at Watts Gallery. We are very much looking forward to sharing Halima’s work, including new work inspired by Mary Watts, our co-founder who, with her husband the artist George Frederic Watts, established Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village to make art accessible for all.”

“This exhibition celebrates the enduring legacy of Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village and, through art, connects our past with our present, providing a source of inspiration for our future.”

A new book, Halima Cassell: 25 Years of Carving will be available in the Watts Gallery shop to accompany the exhibition. And coinciding with Halima Cassell: From the Earth, Watts Contemporary Gallery will present its annual ceramics show. Watts Ceramics: Living Traditions (30 March – 18 June) celebrates some of the best-loved traditions of ceramics and explores how these are being re-invented today, featuring work by nine leading contemporary makers.

Watts Gallery Trust is an independent charity established in 1904 to enable future generations to connect with the art and ideas of George Frederic Watts, one of the leading artists of the nineteenth century, and his artist-wife, Mary Seton Watts.










Today's News

May 27, 2023

A sanctuary for psychedelic art opens in the Hudson Valley

Kenneth Anger, filmmaker who left a pop culture legacy, dies at 96

Avedon at 100: Photos of seduction

After the Warhol decision, another major copyright case looms

Canada's first public art commission by Mexican Artist, Pedro Reyes, arrives in Vancouver

Church of San Carlo, Cremona offers site-specific presentation by artist Oliver Mosset

Baroque: Out of Darkness, The effervescent story of the European Baroque at the National Gallery of Denmark

"Fondazione La Raia - art culture territory" presents "Inventory" a new site-specific work

Heritage presents stunning collection of Art Deco gems

Mystic Seaport Museum presents Alexis Rockman: Oceanus

Halima Cassell now presenting her works of art at Watts Gallery

Hurvin Anderson's 'Barbershop' exhibition is now on view at the Hepworth Wakefield

Emin Mete Erdoğan's solo exhibition 'Over the Under' now open at Anna Laudel Bodrum

Payne, Laurence, and Gamble lead Moran's California & American Fine Art auction results

Harrowdown Hill: A photographic investigation of how places remember events

Young Hong Kong painter with surreal and vivid landscapes Hilarie HON: Sunlight Murmur at EXIT

In this Swiss town, Tina Turner was a neighbor, not a star

Living the golden life: DanceAfrica welcomes Ghana to Brooklyn

Tyler Joseph Krasowski elevates the sketch in new solo exhibition at Missoula Art Museum

Predawn picket lines help writers disrupt studio productions

'Primary Trust' Review: Sipping Mai Tais, until bitter reality knocks

An opera composer of intimate spareness returns to myth

Tornado. Treasure. There was nobody like Tina Turner.

A pianist's rare visit to New York reveals his personality

Jewellery Store in Brisbane: A Guide to Finding the Perfect Piece

Components of Supply Chain - A Detailed Guide

Pay By Phone Bill Casino: The Ultimate Guide To Convenient And Secure Deposits




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Holistic Dentist
Abogado de accidentes
สล็อต
สล็อตเว็บตรง

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful