Here are the latest emerging artists to join this summer. We’re so excited at the diverse range of talent that continues to be evident at the degree shows this year; here is a brief introduction to the newest additions curated by the gallery.
Kaiya Khatri is a graduate of Loughborough University. Flowers are her subject, following the Puja (‘the flower act’ in Sanskrit) prayers in Hinduism. Instead of seeking to reproduce nature, the aim is to merge with it in reverence. Kaiya incorporates organic materials such as salt, coffee and wine into making the prints.They evoke the preservation that goes into the flower entity – which is never truly singular, as distinctive as it may be. Rather, it’s the amalgamation of an ecosystem: a flower is the consummation of its context.
Scarlett Budden is a graduate of Newcastle University. Painting from sculptures she has made herself, Scarlett Budden plies figures into being through viscous, elegant oil pigments. The focus on the body is archaeological rather than autobiographical. The artist describes: “Each painting discovers a human-like fossil, as if it has been excavated from muddy soil.” The quality of these paintings is of receding poise: materials gestating through the ages.
Angelika Biller, Chichester University graduate shows the spectrum of opacity: the paint takes on the effect of being lit from within; colour appears to be the source of light. The hues are intense: they constitute a real poetry of pigmentation. The painter has managed to erase her presence to a skillful degree, as if these watercolours are coming into existence through an inexplicable logic of their own.
And introducing Beth Simcock, who graduated last year from the Ruskin School of Art, Oxford University. In carnival fluorescence, through a combination of acrylic and spray paint, Beth presents contemporary mythologies. “Fragments translated from ancient frescoes are painted over with beer cans and sweet wrappers, and decorated with glittery stickers to create colourful and brightly layered tapestries of parable and memory.” Beth’s debut solo show, The Zodiac, opened last year at Modern Art Oxford.
Browse new work by all 2022 graduates here
All work available to buy with an interest free Art loan. Select OwnArt at the payment page.
Words by Maggie