The Fitzrovia Gallery is proud to present Intention and Flux, a group exhibition in collaboration with artist and curator Bettina John. On display are works in various media by four London-based contemporary artists, Bettina John, Alison Gibbons Watt, Ricca Kawai Kalderon and Amy Bridges.

Intention and Flux explores the relationship between control and chance, and how these condition our lives today. The selected works express in their lines and forms the course of life, defined by unceasing exchanges of controlled actions and external influences. Lines, whether drawn in ink, gouache or thread, are the dominant force in these works. A conscious impetus, each line acts as point of departure for a sequence of erratic events, taking shape on the blank support. Lines cut short prompt imagination and the artists invite their viewers to draw on personal memories and expectations in reading their images.  

As the initiator of the project, Bettina John selected works by three fellow artists to be exhibited alongside her own series Dream Houses. Comprised of seven drawings in watercolour on paper depicting fragmented urban landscapes, Dream Houses developed as a reaction to the situation in London and other major cities today, where the idea of a home is but a fragmented fantasy. A former citizen of Berlin, New York and Rio de Janeiro, Bettina treats her drawings as platforms for endless variations of visions of what ‘a home’ can be. She depicts her urban landscapes in the surrealist form she knows them from personal experience, abstracted and incomplete, illustrative of how limited we are in conducting our lives.

Alison Gibbons-Watt’s ink drawings were selected for their organic forms. Their free flowing nature and multiple layers speak of the tapestry of our lives. Chance meetings where lines overlap connecting to a sense of order and then unravelling once more. The smoke inspired drawings are contrasted and anchored by a set of geometric prints in deep bright hues. The prints describe a journey of motion where free flowing elements are contained by grid structures. The prints follow the journey of a cloud, which is captured in thought.

Also Ricca Kawai Kalderon works with ink and has over two decades experience of exploring the medium. Influenced by Abstract Expressionism, she is not afraid of incorporating elements of chance in the creative process. Unlike pen or pencil, ink in its most liquid form does not allow for the artist’s control once the initial mark has been made. As seen in Line Ink Paintings, its performance on the paper is unique each time. The lines in Line Ink Paintings are born from a momentum. A momentum, nonetheless, resting on plentiful experience and carried out with uttermost care. Art Historian Martin Kemp has commented on one of the artist’s previous series: “The works are beautiful with their mix of artistic control and spontaneous self-organisation.

On display are two works from Ricca’s Resin Coated Painting-series. The artist explores spatial painting possibilities of ink painting by adding depth through the controlled application of layers of resin.

Amy Bridges’ two imposing paintings, ‘I Like It Because It’s Pretty 1’ and ‘I Like It Because It’s Pretty 2’, exemplify the structures found within organic systems such as nature. Nature, according to the artist, is where we find order and the definition for beauty. Curious to challenge the viewer to question their perception of beauty through her art, Amy imitates patterns inspired by nature. The dichotomy between control – as exercised by the artist – and instinctive perception is the real subject matter of these works.  Twisting the blank canvas with her hands, she develops a pattern of creases, or lines, which determines how she applies the colour. While these actions are carried out with care and rest on experience, the resultant creases and new shapes are beyond Amy’s full control. These emerge without the artist’s predetermining and, as components of nature, are one of its kind.

With general and sales enquiries please contact

betten.john@gmail.com for Bettina John

riccakalderon@gmail.com for Ricca Kawai Kalderon 

amycharlotteemail@gmail.com for Amy Bridges

alison@alisonwatt.co.uk for Alison Gibbons-Watt

Fitzrovia Gallery 15th March – 2nd April

Opening reception 17th March 2016 from 6.30pm

Tuesday – Friday 12pm-6pm
Saturday 11am – 5pm