Arts Derbyshire

17.06.2021

Ordinary People, an exhibition of wood engravings and artist’s books by Rob Chapman

Ordinary People, an exhibition of wood engravings and artist’s books by Rob Chapman

You’re invited to Rob Chapman’s latest exhibition ‘Ordinary People’ in the Studio Gallery at The Smallprint Co. which opens on Saturday 26 June at 12pm, running until 31 July. Free tickets are available for both Meet the Artist days as places are limited and details are below.

‘Ordinary People’ by Rob Chapman represents the fate of ordinary people at the hands of those whose desire for power is greater than their compassion for, or even their consideration of those people. With a time frame of less than one hundred years it nevertheless can be seen to represent the actions of the powerful on their subject populations throughout history.

It is simply wrong that one person’s ambition can be sufficient excuse for the suffering and death of the people they have governance over or have imposed their will upon. Furthermore, the oppression of those with differing religious, racial, political, sexual, origins or beliefs has happened in the past, is happening now and appears set to continue into the future.

The work consists of wood engravings which are made in looser and in some ways, with more experimental approaches that I have been working towards recently. Whilst much of the work conforms to the usual editioned, wall hung approach I have found that the production of multiple prints enables me to explore different ways of presenting the image. The combination or separation of images causes them to be viewed in a variety of ways – as individuals, as groups united in suffering, of masses of movement, for example, and the presentation of work outside the frame enables a greater intimacy with the viewer; in other words, I can play around with images in different formats to find out what they say to me, as well as the observer. Thus, the subject can be seen and read in varying versions according to how the same images are presented.

The exhibition runs between 26 June – 31 July 2021. The gallery is open Monday – Friday, 10am-4pm and 11am-3pm on Saturdays (12-4pm for Meet the Artist events).

 

Meet the Artist

Join us for ‘Meet the Artist’ with Rob Chapman who will be on hand for 2 afternoons to chat about his work and processes. The gallery is operating under current covid-19 guidelines and timeslots will need to be booked in advance for these events. There is a maximum of 6 people allowed at any one time.

 

The Smallprint Co.

Hannah and Chris have brought their passion for print to the high street with their boutique studio close to the centre of Derby and its famous Cathedral Quarter. The team prints letterpress commissions for private clients and small businesses, facilitates workshops both on and off site, and produces a range of popular greetings cards and stationery for retail. A gallery is situated to the front of the studio which showcases work by both printmakers and their workshop attendees. They welcome volunteers to the studio to help with cataloguing their expanding collection of type too, so get in touch if you fancy getting your hands inky!

 

Find Us

2-3 Friary Street, Derby, DE1 1JF.
We are close to the city centre, on a cul-de-sac, and next door to Annie’s Burger Shack. There are several car parks within a short distance of the gallery.

 

Book your free ticket here
https://robchapmanartistprintmaker.com

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