594 Kings Road, London. SW6 2DX Tel: +44 (0) 020 7731 8222 Email: enquiries@thompsonscontemporary.co.uk

15 New Cavendish Street, London. W1G 9UB Tel: +44 (0)20 7935 3595 Email: enquiries@thompsonsgallery.co.uk

175 High Street, Aldeburgh, Suffolk. IP15 5AN Tel: +44 (0)1728 453 743 Email: john@thompsonsgallery.co.uk

www.thompsonscontemporary.co.uk

Louis LapriseAvec un peu de Jaune

Mixed media 36 x 48 inches(front cover)

contemp.jan14-Jacket.v2.qxd:Layout 1 2/1/14 14:49 Page 2

594 King’s Road London SW6 2DX

0207 731 8222enquiries@thompsonscontemporary.co.uk

www.thompsonscontemporary.co.uk

Monday to Friday: 10am-6pm

Saturday: 10.30am-4.30pm

31st January – 23rd February 2014

Please join us for the Private View, Thursday 30th January 2014, 6 - 8.30pm

Please RSVP to enqui r ies@thompsonscontemporary.co.uk

P lease v i s i t our webs i te to v iew the ent i re exhib i t ion

Al l pa int ings are for sa le on rece ipt of th is cata logue

www.thompsonscontemporary.co.uk

JANUARY EXHIBITION

Thompson's Contemporary's isproud to announce our JanuaryExhibition 2014. We will beshowcasing the most exciting workfrom a range of emerging andestablished contemporary artiststhat we have had the pleasure ofmeeting over the last year.

The show will include some familiarnames to Thompson's Galleriessuch as Paul Wright, Carl Melegariand Jo Taylor.

The show will also feature some of the most talked about names in Contemporary art including; Ben Lowe, whose work was recentlyrecommended by The Independent,and Chris Stevens, winner of the BPPortrait award and award winner inlast month's Saatchi exhibition'Painted Faces'.

CAROL PEACE

Reading Figure Ed. 3 of 25 Bronze Resin 16 x 4 x 9 inches (above right)

Conversation Ed. 7 of 25 Bronze Resin on wood base 8 x 6 x 4 inches (right)

Carol Peace studied sculpture at Winchester Schoolof Art and drawing at The Prince’s Drawing School.She has obtained numerous commissions bothpublic and private, as well as exhibiting in London,Athens, Zurich, France, Spain and Holland. Thesegalleries include Beaux Arts, Gallery 27, AppleEurope HQ and the Northcote Gallery to name afew. In 2007 she co-founded the Bristol DrawingSchool and is currently the artistic director there.She is a sculptor who could not work withoutdrawing. The process of drawing, that intuitiveresponse, is what she aims for in her work. Whilesome of the sculptures are layered with meaning, adirect and honest response is often present. Shesculpts in clay, which like charcoal is quick to makemarks with, once finished it is cast into resin orbronze when those fluid marks of the making arethen fixed.

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For Queen & Country Oil on canvas 20 x 22 inches

Chris Stevens studied Fine Art at University of Readingand currently lectures in the same subject. Theunderlying idea of society’s stereotyping and itsbigotry is a constant theme in Stevens’s work, withother social issues that affect him making theirappearances along the way. Some of his work tacklesthe subject of war – evolving from the artists’ studiesof Wilfred Owen’s poetry and contemporary war artistssuch as Steve McQueen.

Stevens is currently curating and appearing in a show ‘AHarsh Reality, Modern & Contemporary BritishPainting’, at the Sainsbury Centre, Norwich showing hisown work alongside that of Francis Bacon, DavidHockney, Richard Hamilton, Lucien Freud, WalterSickert, LS Lowry, George Shaw and Jock McFadyan.

CHRIS STEVENS

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Cattle at Hedge Oil on canvas 36 x 42 inches

James Fullarton is a Scottish neo-colourist painter whostudied at the Glasgow School of Art under Donaldson,Goudie and Shanks. Today, Fullarton is regarded as oneof Scotland's leading contemporary painters,uncompromising in his standard of practice. Vibrantcolour, bold compositions and expressive handling ofthick impasto paint are typical features of this prolificartist. Working directly from the subject matter,Fullarton draws inspiration from the ever-changinglight and its effects on everyday objects, allowing himto develop his ideas quickly on canvas.

He is a regular exhibitor with the Royal GlasgowInstitute of Fine Arts and has exhibited with the RoyalScottish Academy and lectured for the Scottish ArtsCouncil. He has also won several prizes throughout hiscareer including the David Cargill Award and the BritoilAward. His work is sold in a number of galleries acrossScotland and England and has been acquired for manypublic, corporate and private collections worldwide.

JAMES FULLARTON

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Flight So Fancy Oil on canvas 59 x 59 inches

Ben Lowe is a contemporary painter currently livingand working in the heart of the Gloucestershirecountryside. Lowe’s artwork explores the depth ofhuman emotion and experiences through painting.Using a combination of the figurative and abstract,Lowe creates a world that is more experiential thanactual. At their most reduced, his works convey sharedexperiences without any literal expression of suchcontent.

Lowe is perhaps most recently known for his Candlesfor Sandy series, based on the artist’s time living inNew York City during Hurricane Sandy. Through thedarkness and melee that followed, Lowe paintedabstractions of the eerie figures that skulked in theshadows throughout New York’s suburbs. Consequently,Lowe sees the places he creates as being at oncemythical and real - almost abstract, they remainfamiliar.

BEN LOWE

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Midnight Mass Acrylic 48 x 72 inches

Peter Vaillant is a British Abstract painter, with adramatic vision for use of colour within his abstractpaintings and has been recognised by the BBC andCitroen. Experimenting with alternate painting surfacesVaillant decided to paint a car that would be stylish,appealing to the eye and be totally individualistic. InMay 2013 a Citroen DS3 became a 'Peter Vaillant'moving piece of art. Citroen UK were overwhelmed atits striking transformation and invited Peter and theaffectionately titled 'DSart3' to exhibit at Citroenevents.

This September Vaillant exhibited a painting alongsideDavid Hockney at the Pump House Gallery London.Vaillant accepted an invitation from the BBC toofficially record the Queens Diamond Jubilee Pageantin his unique abstract style. He exhibits internationally.

PETER VAILLANT

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Alabaster Shell on Stone I 20 x 15 x 10 inches (above and right)

Anne Civardi was born and educated in Africa, but hasspent the majority of her life in London. She studied artin both Colorado, USA, and London, where she receiveda sculpture diploma at Heatherley’s School of Fine Art.

Civardi works mainly in alabaster as its translucencegives the sculptures depth and unforeseen variations incolour. Once polished, light floods through the finelycarved areas of her sculptures highlighting new, subtle,qualities. Her inspiration comes from the endless hoursshe spent collecting and searching for shells on thebeaches of Kenya during her childhood. “I choose ashell, or fragment of a shell as my starting point –often just a few centimetres in size. Then I pick out onwhichever part captures my imagination most, eitherfor its fragility, its hollows, curves, contours, points orspirals. From here I select a piece of alabaster tocompliment the shape and size of my final piece.”

ANNE CIVARDI

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Le Bleu avec Le Brun Mixed media 48 x 48 inches (right)

Avec un peu de Jaune Mixed media 36 x 48 inches (front cover)

Thompson’s Contemporary met Louis Laprise at ArtToronto 2012 and have since enjoyed a burgeoningworking relationship. Both contemporary and decidedlyornamental, Louis Laprise's art demonstrates a masteryof the other-worldly. An amazing colourist, his universeconsists of organic forms whose lively gesturesoriginate in the grain of the wood. It is through thiskind of abstraction that his brand of figurative illusionarises, allowing the viewer to channel his ownimagination and to see himself reflected in the highlypolished, mirror-like surface of the work.

The recurrence of the wood motif in the differentcompositions accentuates the multiple references tonature and the living, all-the-while emphasizing theuncertainty and infinite malleability of the Real. In thiscase the medium is both the subject and the signifier.Accidents and imperfections on the surface intrigue us,imitating nature and, in turn, mimicking its origins.From this surface emerge motifs and textures from anunlikely mix of techniques that arrive from multipledisciplines.

LOUIS LAPRISE

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The Italian Job Oil on canvas 10 x 10 inches

Neon Lights, Piccadilly Circus Oil on canvas 24 x 24 inches (right)

Michael John Ashcroft was born in 1969 in the smallpicturesque town of Croston in the heart of Lancashire.Ashcroft first gained artistic recognition at theInternational Artist exhibition where his entry was a topten finalist by a handful of galleries who wanted to sellhis work. Further successful exhibitions have followedincluding many awards including winner of the famousHarris Open Exhibition and his first solo exhibition in2009. In 2011 he was elected as a member of theManchester Academy of Fine Arts following in thefootsteps of L.S Lowry who was also a member of thisprestigious group of artists.

MICHAEL JOHN ASHCROFT

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Blood Horse Mixed media 31 x 29 inches

Jo Taylor lives in Lancashire and studied at LeedsMetropolitan University from 1989-1991. Taylor worksin ink, watercolour, acrylic, wax and oil, which shefrequently mixes to create rich, luscious, often texturaland collaged surfaces. Sculptors, such as Rodin andMarini have been great inspirations to the artist - allher works being drawn from life and much time spentwatching and drawing the horse at rest and in action.Taylor's work has the sense of immediacy andphysicality that comes from a deep understanding ofher subject. Her residency at Liverpool veterinary clinicgave her, literally, knowledge of the animal inside andout.

Taylor’s work is shown in exhibitions includingChristies, and RA Summer Exhibition, as well as havingher work in private collections including the Duke ofWindsor and the Marquis and Marchioness of Tavistock.Taylor has recently been awarded the covetedacceptance to the Jockey Club – the first woman artistto do so.

JO TAYLOR

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Drip Series - Slip Sliding Away with Yellow Drip 47.5 x 20 inches (left)

Shades of London Mixed Media Boxed Sculpture 22 x 47 x 4 inches (above)

Lesley Taylor is an artist living in West Sussex. Her workis a combination of sculpture and painting which canput a smile on anyone’s face. Taylor starts by sketchingher ideas on long pieces of brown wrapping paper,layering these to simulate what the 3-D piece will looklike, then sculpting the figures using Chavant clay. Thefigures are then cast in resin and the final piece ispainted. All of Taylor’s work contains a striking splashof colour against the brilliant white background. Eachpiece tells a story but the artist only starts this story,leaving the viewer to complete the narrative in theirown way.

LESLEY TAYLOR

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Boy Soldier Panel Union Jack Fibreglass 55 x 28 x 5 inches (far left)

Boy Soldier Panel Stars and Stripes Fibreglass 55 x 28 x 5 inches (left)

Boy Soldier Union Jack Fibreglass 48 x 24 x 21 inches (right)

Schoony is a contemporary sculptor with a backgroundin film prosthetics and special effects, with a careerspanning over twenty years. His extensive knowledgeof casting and moulding has seen his work has featuredin movies including Rambo, Troy, Harry Potter, SavingPrivate Ryan & Gladiator - the perfect springboard tolaunch a career as a fine artist.

Schoony attracted national press in March 2011 whenhe unveiled 'Boy Soldier' on the Peace Plinth outsidethe Houses of Parliament. Made from a cast of hisnephew, it was a statement on the UK's involvement inthe war in Afghanistan. Schoony's fibreglass statueshave gone from strength to strength, being shownalongside contemporary artists such as Banksy, DamienHirst, Marc Quinn and Mat Collishaw.

SCHOONY

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Carla Oil on canvas 8 x 6 inches

Amaranta Oil on canvas 36 x 36 inches

Carl Melegari is British artist with Italian heritage, livingand working in Wales. Melegari primarily focuses on thesemi-abstraction within the figure and has becomeincreasingly fascinated by the versatility of oil paint.

Often working from life, Melegari explores how thephysicality of the paint combined with the density ofpigment can give a sense of life radiating from thecanvas: as if to evoke the vitality of the human form,focusing just as much on the medium of paint, and howit reacts with the surface, as they do on the subject ofthe painting. Through the veils of layers, achieved bycontinuously accumulating and scraping back the paint,a figure emerges as if to suggest how the sitter itselfhas become enveloped and partly obscured by theenergy of the paint.

CARL MELEGARI

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October Mist (Isle of Skye) Oil on Linen 48 x 72 inches

Oona Campbell was born in Nottingham andgraduated in 1989 from Brighton College of Art &Design with a degree in Visual and PerformingArts. She became a full-time painter in 2000 aftertwo exhibitions at the V&A.

Campbell’s majestic paintings are of atmosphericlandscapes where sky, land and rivers combine in acelebration of seasonal colours. In her work,Campbell confidently tips horizon lines and playswith the elements of earth, water and air, creatingcanvasses that are both arresting and sublime.

OONA CAMPBELL

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Richard Chapman is a sculptor from Norfolk whospecialises in using wood as his primary medium. Hismany private commissions include a rose bowlpresented to the Queen Mother on her hundredthbirthday by the staff of the Sandringham Estate andmore recently a piece given as a prize at theSandringham Flower Show.

In keeping with his art, Chapman is also passionateabout the correct management of trees and forests andsupports organisations such as the Royal ForestrySociety and Woodland Heritage. For his work hespecialises in using salvaged wood that is destined tobe burnt. Trees, like all living things he believes have afinite existence but, through his creative process,Chapman saves age old wood for eternity. In his oldfarm-smithy workshop in the depths of rural Norfolk heis busy turning nature into art.

RICHARD CHAPMAN

Coved Ash Vessel with Walnut Lid Wood 14 x 9 x 9 inches (left)

Wet Turned Apple Burr Bowl Wood 8 x 8 x 8 inches (right)

Yew Wassail Bowl Wood 6 x 5 x 5 inches (centre)

Lone Figure Oil on canvas 40 x 30 inches

Ed Haslam is a young contemporary painter whostudied Art History at the University of Manchesterwhere he developed a clinical sense of painting thehuman subject. In June 2013, Haslam took part in athree man show at Thompson's Marylebone. Theresounding response was both encouraging anddeservedly well praised. He is one of the most exitingyoung talents we have seen in a long time!

Haslam’s work is dominated by depictions of the malefigure. Drawn to the concepts of phenomenology,Haslam uses the subject of the nude as a platform withwhich to explore the relationship between therepresented image and what the human eye actuallyperceives. Not content to simply portray the visible, hiswork attempts to extend beyond what the eye sees toreflect something more experiential.

ED HASLAM

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Turks Oil on canvas 30 x 27 inches

The Magicians Oil on canvas 36 x 48 inches

Michael Adamson is a Canadian artist and Toronto-borngraduate of the Emily Carr University of Art andDesign, Vancouver, who also trained at RyersonUniversity and the esteemed Gesamkunst Hochschulein Germany. His work sits between conceptualism andexpressionism leaving it pleasantly challenging tocategorise.

Adamson’s vibrant and tactile works are littered withart historical references combined with the artist’shumour making every viewing of his work a differentexperience. He is internationally recognised andexhibits around the world, having successful shows inLondon, Tokyo New York and Canada. Adamson’s workhas been acquired for many public and corporatecollections including, Royal Bank of Canada, TorontoMetro Convention Centre and the Art Gallery of NovaScotia. Thompson’s Galleries met Michael Adamson inCanada at the Toronto Art Fair and have had ablossoming partnership ever since.

MICHAEL ADAMSON

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Michael Adamson Island School Oil on canvas 54 x 74 inches

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Butley Creek (February Raw Umber) Oil on board 23 x 25 inches

Kate Giles is a contemporary Impressionist artist whosework is rooted in classical English and Dutch landscapepainting. Her work is fuelled by an emotional andvisceral response to the natural world and the qualityof light. She sketches out her work plein-air, painting itback in the studio. Through her work she aims to evokea sense of the particular spirit of place. Whilst stillretaining the distinctive palettes of artists such asConstable and Goya, the artist renders the Englishlandscape with a fresh light and eye. Canvasses arebuilt up in layers of translucent colour and brush marksare unashamedly left exposed to the naked eye. Theoverall effect gives the viewer a unique tensionbetween colour and form.

Giles received a BA Hons Fine Art at Falmouth Schoolon Art and Design. She exhibits across the country andat many international art fairs. Two of her works wereaccepted to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 2011.

KATE GILES

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Hepburn Window Handfinished print 35 x 26 inches

Chinwaggin’ Samurai Ball Point Pen and Mixed Media 40 x 40 inches (right)

James Mylne is a contemporary British artistknown for his drawings in ballpoint pen. attendedthe Camberwell College of Art, where he receivedhis BA in drawing in 2005 and his MA in 2006. Histechnical abilities with this unorthodox artmedium have earned Mylne recognition in Europeand the UK, where he's considered among theleaders of the genre.

Mylne creates mixed-media works adding spraypaint and magic markers to his ballpoint originals,sometimes masking off the silhouette of a figurehe'll be drawing, and apply a flat field ofbackground colour using spray paint.

Facial details, hair and skin tones are achieved bycontrolled spacing of parallel ballpoint lines -mixing media, using paint pens to fill large areasof black such as dresses or even more intricatedetails such as sunglasses. His astonishing worksare at once arresting and thought-provoking.

JAMES MYLNE

We Brightly Shine, Artist Proof 1 Bronze on slate base 11 x 5 x 3 inches (left)

The Gate of Dreams II Bronze on slate base Ed. No. III/IX 15 x 13 x 4 inches

Chris Buck was born in 1956 and studied at Redruth School of Art. Sonof a toolmaker, he returned to his industrial roots and worked inseveral foundries, which provided an invaluable knowledge of castingtechniques and general metal and woodwork. Buck has foundinspiration from the St Ives abstract artists such as, Dame BarbaraHepworth and Dennis Mitchell. Chris Buck is a member of the PenwithSociety of Arts.

Since 1986 Chris Buck has lived in Twelveheads, Cornwall with hisfamily and works from his studio which is a converted byre. Producingsculpture in wood, stone and bronze, he personally finds greatestsatisfaction from working in bronze.

Chris Buck sculptures can be found in collections in the UK, Europe,Canada, Kuwait and USA.

AWARDS INCLUDE:Morris Singer Founders Prize, RWA Autumn Exhibition 2001

COMMISSIONS & CORPORATE CLIENTS INCLUDE:Unilever, 2001 & 2002Unilever IT Awards, 2002 & 2004TechMARK Mediscience Awards, 2002The Chartered Insurance Institute, 2003HSBC & Natwest Banks

CHRIS BUCK

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Condo Acrylic and household paint on MDF and pespex 20 x 20 inches

A Positive Thought Acrylic , enamel and cellulose paint on polycarbonate 23 x 31 inches (right)

Giles Delamare is a contemporaryAbstract artist, living and working inLondon. In his work he is primarilyconcerned with forming a romanticdiscourse between the post industrialmaterials of today and the rich history ofabstract painting – drawing uponallegorical references; highlightingseemingly every day plastic objects andcelebrating the design and detail ofmodern manufactured products. Thesepainterly constructs aim to replicate thememory and feelings of man-made items.

The physicality of the work is driven bythe gratuitous amount of paint applied.This is a deliberate up scaling of thesurface results in a more object-like ormass produced appearance. Much of hiswork has a deliberate reflective quality;this is in part due to the aesthetic makeupof the material used and the functionalability to physically reflect or capture theviewer’s image within the work.

GILES DELAMARE

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Claire Brewster is an artist from Lincolnshireand has been living and working in Londonfor over 20 years. Brewster uses old maps andatlases as fabric to create intricate, delicateand detailed paper-cut sculptures. Her workis about retrieving the discarded, celebratingthe unwanted and giving new life to thearchaic. The sculptures are either pinneddirectly onto the wall as a large scaleinstallation or captured in box frames.

Her work has been exhibited widely and canbe seen in public and private collections allover the world, including Australia and theUS, as well as being featured on the pages ofVogue and Marie-Claire magazines.

CLAIRE BREWSTER

This is Our Place Hand cut paper collage 12 x 16 inches

We are the Sun Birds Hand cut paper collage 24 x 28 inches

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Being immersed in this landscape ofmarshy saltings, its scents and sounds, themuddy estuaries and beaches of shell andshingle provide an endless source ofinspiration.

The work of artists who explore and pushthe possibilities of paint are a endlessinfluence, from Callum Innes' lushmonochrome works where turpentinedilutes whole panels of colour to leaveonly a whisper of it's original brilliance, tothe mesmerising texture of Joan Mitchell'sabstracts with their thick impasto surfaceand flicks and spatters of paint.

With landscape painters it's the artistswho really immersed themselves in theirsubject that she identifies with, amongthem Joan Eardley (her Catterlinepaintings), Peter Lanyon - the Cornishlandscape intersected and seen from allangles, even from the air, and Constable,his meticulous studies of the Suffolk sky.

Following Foundation Art & Design atIpswich Art School, Emma went on to aFine Art Degree in Hull. After graduatingin 2001, she returned to Suffolk where shenow lives by the river Deben and worksfrom a studio nearby.

EMMA GREEN

February Light: The Deben Oil on board 11 x 11 inches

Silver Tide: The Deben Oil on linen 32 x 38 inches

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Sara studied at Farnham School of Art 1963-66and then sculpture at The Slade School of Art 1966–1969 exhibiting with The Youngcontemporaries in 1968; won a scholarship tostudy sculpture in La Jolla San Diego 1969 buttravelled instead in the Middle East, Morocco,America and Canada for the next few yearsbefore settling down to marriage, two childrenand building a carpet repair business on theWelsh borders.

In the last few years Sara has been greatlyinfluenced by acrobats, after seeing The Cirquede Soliel and Olympic athletes, her aim is tocatch a moment of movement and balance.

SARA BAMFORD

Cherub Piper Welded Mild Steel and Mesh 48 x 24 inches

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