Hello, I’m Evelyn Cromwell and I’m an artist living in the North-East of England where I have a studio in The Newbridge Project. After completing a degree in Glass and Ceramics in 2017, I now enjoy making functional sculpture and experimenting with various materials, with a particular focus on wood and plastic.
Most of my inspiration comes from everyday objects and things that might be seen as mundane and just a part of life. I like to choose an object and use it as a lens to see the world through. Looking at things that are ubiquitous and questioning how they became that way. Along the way, that might mean drawing lines between things that at first might not seem linked. I'm interested in how society shapes, is shaped by, and reflected in specific objects, and I seek to answer questions like: What is this thing? Why is it like that? What would change if it were to change? To create my work, I embrace the constraints that design offers. For example, A chair has to be sat on. I start with the piece’s function and my chosen subject as the constraints, and play with the material and context to add layers of meaning to it. Material and texture are my big loves, so I also see my studio as a lab where I can expand on my material knowledge and experiment. I OFTEN THINK ABOUT HOW INFRASTRUCTURE WILL (OR WONT) CHANGE TO ACCOMMODATE THESE THINGS THAT ACCUMULATE OR EVOLVE. YOU CAN CREATE INFINITE DESIGNS FOR THE INFINITE THINGS THAT WOULD CHANGE IN INFINITE FUTURES. I express my ideas through the creation of “props” or part of a wider set design for an imagined world. In my most recent solo show “Flat Packed Lunch” I created a series of functional sculptures that would act as furniture in a world where clock time didn’t exist, instead we measured the passing of time through slices of bread and fillings. I LIKE TO THINK ABOUT THESE STORIES BECOMING REALITY, BECAUSE I SEE THEM AS THE POINTS WHERE OUR SURROUNDINGS AND INFRASTRUCTURE INTERCEPT and change OUR HUMAN LIVES. I LIKE DEDICATING TIME TOWARDS OBJECTS, SO I ALSO THINK ABOUT THE FACT THAT I’VE MADE THINGS THAT JUST HANG AROUND AND TAKE UP SPACE. I hope my work will allow viewers to reflect on the significance of the mundane, acknowledging that the things we use, throw away and create will one day become artefacts of our culture. I contemplate the archaeology of the future, the labour and effort that goes into creating objects that will be studied and interpreted by future generations. In this way, everyday objects become a window into our collective past and present. I'm ALSO ONE HALF OF THE SPAGHETTI FACTORY ALONG WITH JENNY MC NAMARA - A CURATORIAL PROJECT THAT STARTED AS ONE NIGHT EXHIBITIONS IN our HOUSE, BUT HAS NOW EXPANDED AND BECOME SATELLITE WITH PROJECTS INVOLVING GUEST CURATION, PASTA MAKING WORKSHOPS AND COLLABORATIONS WITH GALLERIES. [email protected] |
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EDUCATION
DEGREE: GLASS AND CERAMICS BA
UNIVERSITY OF SUNDERLAND (GRADUATED 2017 WITH 1:1)
SEMESTER AT SOUTHWESTERN LIBERAL ARTIS COLLEGE (2016)
PREVIOUS: ART AND DESIGN EXTENDED DIPLOMA
HARROGATE COLLEGE (2012)
EXHIBITIONS :
2023 NORTH-EAST OPEN CALL, MIDDLESBROUGH ART WEEK, MIDDLESBROUGH
POLKO (SET DESIGN), SUMMERHALL, EDINBURGH FRINGE
BRONZERS, SLUGTOWN, NEWCASTLE
NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL ART 2, NEWCASTLE CONTEMPORARY ART
2022(SOLO) Flat Packed Lunch, The Newbridge Project, Newcastle, UK
2021 Now That's What I Call Art, Newcastle contemporary art, Newcastle, Uk
BALTIC OPEN, BALTIC CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, GATESHEAD, UK
2020 SCRAMBLE, PINEAPPLE BLACK, MIDDLESBROUGH, UK
THE SPAGHETTI FACTORY PRESENTS… US!, 36 LIME STREET, NEWCASTLE, UK
[INSERT EXHIBITION TEXT HERE] SYSTEM, XL GALLERY, NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY, UK
2019 MANNER OF FLYING, SYSTEM GALLERY, NEWCASTLE, UK
AUTONOMY, MIDDLESBROUGH ART WEEKENDER, MIDDLESBROUGH, UK
2018 WHERE ARE YOU IN THESE INTERESTING TIMES ? AIR GALLERY, MANCHESTER, UK
(CURATED BY SCAFFOLD GALLERY)
MIDDLESBROUGH ART WEEKENDER, MIDDLESBROUGH, UK
2017 YOUNG GLASS, NATIONAL GLASS CENTRE, SUNDERLAND, UK
(PREVIOUSLY IN GLASMUSEET EBELTOFT, DENMARK AND GLASS FACTORY, SWEDEN)
KLEPTOMANIA, CHALMERS BEQUEST GALLERY, STOKE NEWINGTON, UK
CRAFTED WITH INTENT, SYSTEM GALLERY, NEWCASTLE, UK
GLASS AND CERAMICS DEGREE SHOW, NATIONAL GLASS CENTRE, SUNDERLAND, UK
2016 ANNUAL ART EXHIBITION, SAROFIM GALLERY, GEORGETOWN TX
2015 CLANDESTINE COLLECTIVE, SOLO ARTS, SUNDERLAND, UK
PUBLICATIONS
CREATIVES IN CONVERSATION PODCAST, ROBERTO PICCIAU, EPISODE 5, MAY 2021
YOUNG ARTISTS IN CONVERSATION "THE SPAGHETTI FACTORY", MARCH 2020
HEY ART WHAT’S GOOD PODCAST, EPISODE 69 - HAVING A CHAT WITH SPAGHETTI FACTORY, FEBRUARY 2020
SHY BAIRNS, “THE ONLY PIZZA SHOP IN MY TOWN BURNT DOWN” 2016
CURATION
THE SPAGHETTI FACTORY PRESENTS...
HARRY PICKUP (APRIL 2018)
REBECCA EELBECK (JUNE 2018)
DANIEL DALE (AUGUST 2018)
ED LAWRENSON (OCTOBER 2018)
MEGHAN DARBY (NOVEMBER 2018)
LILY SENNER (FEBRUARY 2019)
MAG JITTAKSA (MARCH 2019)
JACK CONNOR KEMP (JUNE 2019)
2019 FOUR PACK, SYSTEM GALLERY, NEWCASTLE, JULY
MANNER OF FLYING, SYSTEM GALLERY, NEWCASTLE, SEPTEMBER
HOT NEW IT 1 & 2, SUNDERLAND MUSEUM AND WINTER GARDENS, OCTOBER-JUNE 2019/2020
2020 Hot new it 3, Billboard in Sunderland City Centre
2021 STAKING CLAIMS ON THE DISTANCE, ONLINE EXHIBITION AND LIVE COMMISSION FOR THE NEWBRIDGE PROJECT
Now that's what I call Art, Newcastle Contemporary Art, Newcastle, December
WORKSHOPS
PASTA MAKING WORKSHOPS...
WAYS OF SEEING, BALTIC39, NEWCASTLE, APRIL 2019
THE LATE SHOWS, GOLDTAPPED, NEWCASTLE, MAY 2019
THE NEWBRIDGE COLLECTIVE STUDIO, ZOOM, SEPTEMBER 2020
INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE
PROGRAMME COMITTEE THE NEWBRIDGE PROJECT, NEWCASTLE
ARTIST ASSISTANT current: ANTONY GORMLEY, HEXHAM STUDIOS
PATRICIA MATO MORA, FUNDACIO PILAR I JOAN MIRO, MALLORCA
ART HANDLER SAROFIM GALLERY, FOUR MONTH PLACEMENT, GEORGETOWN TX
Baltic, gateshead, uk
ART TECHNICIAN ST CUTHBERTS HIGH SCHOOL, NEWCASTLE
GALLERY ASSISTANT BALTIC, GATESHEAD
NATIONAL GLASS CENTRE, SUNDERLAND
BEDE’S WORLD, JARROW