Green and Stone Works on Paper 2024 Winners

 

St Cuthberts Mill are thrilled to be associated with Green & Stone’s recent Works on Paper Exhibition. To celebrate all things paper, St Cuthberts Mill sponsored this extraordinary exhibition.

The exhibition features 144 works of art from 127 emerging artists from around the world and runs from 15 January until 8 February 2024 at the Green & Stone Gallery, 251-253 Fulham Road, London, SW3 6HY.

The private view was an electric event, with the gallery packed with people enjoying the art adorning the walls.  Alan Walker, chairman of St Cuthberts Mill, personally met and handed six well-deserving winners their prizes with Hester Baldwin from Green & Stone.

Best in Show: Sophie Coe, with Mountain Waking

Highly Commended: Lindy Norton, with The Crossing

Young Artist: Amy Austin, with The Visitor

Original Print: Yin Wang, with The Company

Water Based Medium: Elena Stogneva, with The British Museum

Dry Based Medium: Curtis Holder, with Hirsute III

Alan Walker (Chairman of St Cuthberts Mill), Sophie Coe (Winner),
Hester Baldwin (MD of Green and Stone)

We caught up with each prize winner, for more insight into their winning composition and their work.

BEST IN SHOW

'Mountain Waking' by Sophie Coe

The winning image is very powerful, can you tell more about the inspiration behind this and your series of mountain images?

“I’ve always loved mountains, whether walking or skiing through them, to me mountains feed the soul. I spent 15 days walking in the Himalayas, up to the base of Everest, back through the Gokyo Valley with its string of turquoise lakes and glaciers. The beauty and the enormity of it all gave me the energy to keep going. I climbed Kinabalu and Kilimanjaro, where you start in tropical rainforests and walk through the temperate zones up to snow and ice. 

Sophie Coe

I ski whenever I get the chance, less than I want to! In lockdown I started drawing and painting mountains, having decided If I couldn’t get to the places I wanted to visit I needed to bring them to me. The studio was full of mountains and seascapes and that’s where my head was too. The small pieces felt like postcards home from imagined adventures, the bigger pieces allowed me to feel present in the landscape. ‘Mountain dreaming’ is loosely based on the Alps, it’s imaginary too though. All the man-made elements are omitted - the chair lifts, and the pylons. But I included ski tracks which allows the viewer to be more able to imagine themselves in the landscape. The clouds give a dream-like quality to it.” 

www.sophiecoe.com
www.instagram.com/sophiecoeartist/

HIGHLY COMMENDED

'The Crossing' by Lindy Norton

The print has a sense of unease as the man is on the crossing, is this an intentional part of the composition?

“The unease you suggest in this print is intentional. I like my images to have a narrative, often unsaid and not entirely obvious. I hoped to get some sort of tension in this image, one man turning to look at the other who is engrossed in his phone. It could merely be one moment between two strangers or maybe friends…one is clearly pre-occupied!” - Lindy Norton.

www.lindynortonillustration.com

www.instagram.com/lindy.norton/ 

YOUNG ARTIST

'The Visitor' by Amy Austin

Can you tell us a little more about the intriguing narrative behind The Visitor?

Amy Austin

“I like that the narrative behind this piece is ambiguous. Which person in the work is ‘the visitor’ My gut tends to see the girl on the right being the visitor, as if she has accidentally found herself in this alternate space where another, unknown being, resides. Does this being know she is there looking in on their world? How has she got there? These are questions I don’t have answers to, or at least the answers may change depending on the day.

What I think this work communicates though, is the sense of stepping in on something otherworldly, something that is at odds with your entire worldview. I see it as a moment of distinct change, there was before this moment and there will be after this moment, but ultimately things are now different for both of the beings in this work. Lastly, the bird swooping down brings a glimpse of a world the viewer understands, and helps add a recognisable element to the work which otherwise is completely imagined.”

www.amyaustinart.com/

www.instagram.com/amyaustin_art/

ORIGINAL PRINT

'The Company' by Yin Wang

Yin Wang

"This work is a reflection of my inner world, which has remained largely concealed during my years away from my family and motherland. The subject depicted in the picture was inspired by a small wax maquette that I created to capture the ephemeral movement of a life model. This particular movement resonated with me due to its sense of loneliness and vulnerability. The shadow-like companions in the picture were inspired by Li Po’s poem 'Drinking Alone With the Moon' from the Tang Dynasty.

In the poem, Li relieves his loneliness by drinking with the moon and his own shadow, creating a trio. In my picture, however, the shadows remain more ambiguous, mysterious, and metaphorical, also forming a trio. These two companions are open to interpretation and may represent something different for each viewer. While the overall tone of the piece may seem depressing, it actually centres around 'the company'—whatever form it may take." - Yin Wang.

www.yinwangart.com

www.instagram.com/yin.wang.art/

WATER BASED MEDIUM

'The British Museum' by Elena Stogneva

Elena Stogneva

“The British Museum is one of my favourite places in London with the space of the Great Court feeling airy and light. In my painting, I portrayed the visitors’ figures casting dynamic reflections on the polished floor, and added the bright spots in mainly monochromatic space.” 

www.objectsaround.me
www.instagram.com/lena_stogneva/

DRY BASED MEDIUM 

'HIRSUTE III' by Curtis Holder

Alan Walker, Curtis Holder, Hester Baldwin

"I prefer to start every drawing with a conversation while I’m sketching the subject. It’s an opportunity to glimpse into their mind and make a personal connection. My goal is always to translate their emotions and the mood of our encounter onto paper, along with my own feelings and observations. I need to understand them a little, even if it’s fleeting."

www.curtisholder.co.uk
www.instagram.com/curtisartist

Our thanks to the team at Green & Stone for putting on an excellent exhibition, with special mention to Venetia Higgins, Mary Petherick, and Hester Baldwin.

For more information on the exhibition, including the catalogue: www.thegalleryatgreenandstone.com/winter-exhibition-2024
www.instagram.com/thegalleryatgreenandstone/ 

To view the prize-giving ceremony click here.  

Over the next few months, we will be catching up with the prize winners, to hear more about their work. Look out for the first article featuring Elena Stogneva, winner of the best Water Based Medium category in February.