Hannah James

2007

Biography

b. 1985 Nottingham

2004–2007 BA [hons] Fine Art, University of the West of England, Bristol


Previous Exhibitions:
2007 The Inner Beast, Centre Space, Bristol
2007 11A, Fringe Arts, Bath
2007 FAB, Centre Space, Bristol
2006 Enjoy the Silence, Spike Island, Bristol

Selectors' Comments:
Hannah James's wood sculptures struck an immediate chord: they're deadpan and hilarious and look like nothing else I'm familiar with – my partner suggests the Americans William Wiley, or HC Westermann, but Wiley is more cartooney and Westermann more consistently folksy. James's brilliantly titled Whale and Triangle walk the tightrope between modernist authority and colloquial fun with incredible panache; they also play graphic allusion off sculptural massing and engage something more anthropomorphic and domestic [as in furniture]. I'd add that the titles 'say it all', except that you have to see the pieces to feel the combined effect of her formal economy and whimsy.

Artist's Statement:
My work examines the complex relationship that exists between painting and sculpture, playing with both the illusionist qualities of painting and the inextricably physical and therefore 'real' qualities of sculpture. Both 'Whale' and 'Triangle' evoke a mood of understated theatricality, functioning as miniature props within a stage.

Whale, Oil and emulsion paint on wood, 311 x 92 x 162cm, 2006

Previous artist in 2007

Luke Jackson

Next artist in 2007

Heike Kabisch