The Open West 2015

Ian Rayer-Smith, Limb, mixed media on board, 30 x 30cm

We are delighted that six of our members have been selected for The Open West 2015. We've asked them all to say a few words about being selected


 Artists on Axisweb selected for The Open West 2015:

Gillian Widden, Deborah Westmancoat, Ian Rayer-Smith, Trevor Kiernander, Steph Goodger and Ben Jack Nash

  • Gillian Widden

    Gillian Widden, Crataegus,

    Crataegus,

    About the artwork

    The work Crataegus, is a circle of hawthorn berries, collected over three consecutive autumns, and surrounded by charred hazel sticks. The collection and accumulation of material over a long period of time has become a recurring theme in my work. The foraging process is itself, very repetitive, and I find that through this repetitive, mediative practice, one can lose all sense of time. This work reflects my preoccupation with time and the fragility and preciousness of life.


    What does it mean to you to be selected for The Open West 2015?

    Initially there was disappointment, and then surprise, as it wasn't until two days after selection, that I found the all important email in my junk folder!

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  • Trevor Kiernander

    Trevor Kiernander, 5, 2014

    5, 2014

    About the artwork

    The painting I am exhibiting in The Open West is titled '5', and was part of the body of work I debuted in Montreal, in the exhibition 'Uncommon Ground' at Galerie Art Mur. As a painter I explore figure/ground relationships in the representation of architectural motifs, and examine, assemble, and deconstruct pictorial space.  I reference images and places, and attempt to create a unique spacial environment in painting. The painting '5' began with the establishment of a series of shapes to develop the two-dimensional composition of the canvas, and then using images of buildings, I further developed the formal and abstract elements of the piece to create visual tension, and a sense of realistic, dynamic spacial energy.

    What does it mean to you to be selected for The Open West 2015?

    As with any large competition, especially those open to international submissions, when you are selected it feels pretty good!  I have known about the Open West for some time, so having been selected for the 2015 showcase is great.  I am colleagues with some of the artists selected, and am familiar with many of the others' work, so it is good to know I am in good company.  I am hoping that my inclusion in The Open West 2015 will lead to more opportunities!

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  • Steph Goodger

    Steph Goodger, Les Non-Réclamés (The Unclaimed) Diptych, 2015

    Les Non-Réclamés (The Unclaimed) Diptych, 2015

    About the artwork

    A coffin is a very rudimentary structure for housing a person and the last space we occupy. It is this space which I found intriguing in photographs of the dead Communards, whilst researching the Paris Commune of 1871. These became the subject of the painting Les Non-Réclamés (Diptych). History and in particular the Nineteenth Century, provides incredibly rich images and narratives for paintings I find. 

    What does it mean to you to be selected for The Open West 2015?

    I was slightly shocked to be selected as I was not at all sure how this painting would be received.  I have been absorbed for so long in the subject (The Paris Commune of 1871), for over a year, that I did have faith in it and in the painting. But it's easy as well to feel a bit unhinged after months of studying photographs of battle dead, the Communards lined up in their coffins like unseeing sentries.  So it is deeply satisfying after all that, to have the work appreciated by The Open West selectors and to have it hung in such a great venue.

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About The Open West 2015

The Open West is an annual open submission exhibition inviting work from national and international artists practising contemporary and conceptual art. Work submitted includes painting, installation, film and sound, textile, photography, ceramics, drawing, print, performance and sculpture.

The Open West 2015 offers opportunities for artists to participate in an education programme and artist talks

The 2015 panel were The Open West curators Lyn Cluer Coleman and Sarah Goodwin, with artists Neville Gabie and Alastair Gordon

44 artists have been selected for the exhibition at The Wilson, Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum 16 May to 28 JuneThe Curators' Award and the University of Gloucestershire Award will be presented on the night of the private view.

Find out more at theopenwest.org.uk >