Exhibition of artists who push the boundaries

The exhibition celebrates artists -Hazel Clark, Gareth Griffiths, Stephen Heward and Chris Brook - who demonstrate a fresh approach to painting and sculpture, with a dynamic use of concepts, techniques and imagery.

Hazel Clark is a painter and sculptor who has exhibited for more than 20 years since graduating from Leeds University with a Fine Art Degree. Her work has been featured on TV and is in private collections in this country and in the USA. Her energetic and varied use of paint – which can be poured, worked with a knife, or brushed – is related aesthetically to the chosen subject. There is a subtle blend of the figurative and the abstract offering a sense of discovery and celebration.

From 2000 to 2002 she was a Britart featured artist and then went on to train as an art psychotherapist. Hazel has combined painting with her work as an art therapist with the NHS and more recently as a sculptor in stone. Her home and studio are in North Yorkshire.

Hazel said: "Much of my work has been influenced by Jung and his archetypal patterns of life, dipping into stored sensory material, going beyond the core of consciousness and creativity.”

Gareth Griffiths is a sculptor originally from, North Wales. Recently Gareth was elected as a member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors. He has exhibited across the country in galleries in Liverpool (Tate Gallery), Leeds, Cardiff, London, Europe and America.

Internationally Gareth has had work in exhibitions in Prague, and was also shortlisted for a public sculpture in Corino in Turin, Italy. His work can also be seen in private collections across Europe and America. Gareth's work is currently on permanent display at Michael O’hares Michelin stared restaurant “The Man Behind The Curtain” in Leeds.

Gareth’s work and practice are influenced by West coast American architecture called “Googie” The origin of Googie derives from a John Lautner designed coffee shop built in West Hollywood. This style of architecture was born after the Second World War and became more notable during the 50s and 60s. By using distinct styling that included flowing lines, odd abstract cut-outs, upswept roofs, boomerang shapes and with the use of new technologies architects were able to design buildings that looked more like works of art rather than simply functional buildings.

Stephen Heward's work is in private collections in UK and USA. Following a lifetime of the professional study of landscapes and skies as a landscape architect and flying instructor, painting is a relatively recent, liberating and expressive outlet which has become an evolving dialogue with the elements and celebrates the experience of landscape.

He said: “Each body of work is different - the response of a slightly different me. The texture and thickness of paint can vary from thin glazes to heavy impasto depending on mood and instinct. The changes are an important aspect of my practice, which needs constant challenges and re-evaluation of my methods and environment. There is spontaneity and fluidity. There is an economy, an impatience, a romanticism and a pragmatism. The work evokes a sense of place and a sense of space.”

Chris Brook is an Artist and Printmaker born in Yorkshire in 1960 but currently living in the Scottish Borders. Fusing both traditional and self-discovered painting and printmaking techniques, Chris has aimed to create pieces which possess a tangible and tactile quality. The subject is predominately landscape driven, influenced by the proximity of where land meets sea, and its recurring theme of containment.

Never intended as site specific, instead the paintings are reconstructed ideals, a collection of marks and shapes to suggest a narr

Kunsthuis Contemporary Art Gallery is at Dutch house, Mill Green Farm, Crayke. The exhibition runs from Friday, April 7 to Sunday, June 11, Wednesday – Sunday, 10am – 5pm.

For more information go to www.kunsthuisgallery.com