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Helen Baines

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Helen Baines – Mossy
£275.00
Helen Baines – On Soft Foot
£475.00
Helen Baines – Amongst Yews
£475.00

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smallworksartgallery

Artist-led Curation & Workshops
London

We have some great news. Our founder Monica Perez

We have some great news. Our founder Monica Perez Vega is having a solo exhibition which is opening next week.

FLUX is described as the action or process of flowing out. It also refers to continuous change. The title speaks to the movement of water across paper as well as to the ever-shifting nature of all things.

This exhibition emerged out of Monica Perez Vega’s exploration into a more sustainable practice. With Arts Council funding, Monica visited trees of significance across the UK, not only as inspiration for her work but to also collect foraged material to create her own natural inks and pigments. This was done in an effort to challenge environmental issues in contemporary art, as well as to physically incorporate the landscape into the works themselves; embracing the alchemy and impermanence of natural media.

Monica’s work is rooted in nature, exploring themes of uncertainty and adaptation. Born in California, her
memories of home are shaped by a shifting landscape, and experiences of continually starting over have led to a practice which investigates cycles of change. Release is integral to Monica’s process, mirroring nature’s own rhythms of growth and dissolution. She is interested in the tension between renewal and collapse, navigating disruption as a method and metaphor. Flux is a reflection of this and of nature’s transience; it is both an acceptance of impermanence and a search for hope amid uncertainty.
Show runs until 28 April. Please contact gallery for opening hours. Monica has an MFA in painting from the Slade School of Art and a BFA from the California College of the Arts. She completed the Turps Correspondence Course 21-22 and received a DYCP grant for her project,
‘greening my practice’ in 2023. She recently exhibited in the Exeter Contemporary 2024. She is currently working
on a commission for the NCCU Re-design with @cuhartsnhs at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.
🌿
Monica Perez Vega, The Willows, 2020, acrylic, spray paint and oil on canvas, 30x40cm

New work available in our store (link in bio)

Monica’s portrait by @tegenkimbley

#artexhibition #artcuration #contemporaryart #painting #londonartevents

We are very excited to have new, fantastic work by $We are very excited to have new, fantastic work by Hannah Rollings in our store. Follow the link in our bio to view all of them. “My practice focuses on picturing landscapes to imbue and reconsider our connection with nature. Reflecting and considering where I, as an artist, position myself and further notions of the figure in the landscape to address and reconsider broader issues within a changing world that would benefit from a rewilding to reverse some negative impacts. This latest series of works on paper with Small Works looks to reframe a personal archive relating to my grandmother’s family history as a tea planter in Sri Lanka. By framing painting as a form of participation, I attempt to be involved in the historical narrative rather than spectating or recording it. This series has seen me explore, through large-scale works on canvas and exhibited as part of a group show at the James Hockey Gallery, Farnham, the struggles this land has had to bear. The richness of the natural landscape is etched away by the figures presented and the Camellia Sinensis monoculture plantation. Complexities within these relationships are drawn upon to unpack and reexamine these black-and-white photographs and tender relationships for a hopeful future.” In 2014, Hannah embarked on a practice-led AHRC-funded PhD through Kingston University and the London Doctoral Design Centre, looking at picturing trees where her love of nature and the pull of the outdoors gained further importance in her practice—working collaboratively with the Forestry Commission and school children developing site-specific interactive work that sought to encourage a reconnection with nature. Shaping and developing an expanded artistic practice previously fractured and stifled by publishing and commercial avenues into an immersive on-site practice. Continues in comments ⬇️$

Beautiful (and aptly titled) new work by Helen Bai

WINTER MAKERS MARKET today at @photobookcafe Come

WINTER MAKERS MARKET today at @photobookcafe Come and have a look!

Sunday
15th December
10:00-18:00
The day will see Mulled Wine,
Grateful Pies
and Special Toasties.
Evening Music 18:00 -
late to be announced.
No RSVP is required all are welcome.

4 Leonard Circus Shoreditch, London,
United Kingdom EC2A 4DQ

Instagram post 18076325020528109

Instagram post 18076325020528109

Lovely new work available on website. Min Angel,

Lovely new work available on website.

Min Angel, Between-whiles #4, 2024, Mixed media on gesso board, 30.5x25.4cm

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Min Angel’s multidisciplinary practice is concerned with touch and a love of materials. Carlo Levi’s titular phrase ’The future has an ancient heart’ is an important lodestar for her as she works across figuration and abstraction. Through ambiguous relationships between form and no form she considers the warp and weft of life, questioning where one thing stops and another begins and the nature of exchange between material objects and the physical, visual encounter. Her practice is informed by the experiential, by intuition and imagination and her study of the ancient arts of Zen mediation and Qigong.

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Min Angel lives and works in London. Her work has been shown nationally and internationally in Cyprus, Greece, Netherlands, Russia, Mexico and Romania. She regularly shows in London. Recent highlights include Exeter Contemporary Open, September 2024 and Jacksons Painting Prize, June 2023. In 2018 she was the recipient of the KPP Prize for Forms Assembled int he Light. In 2021 she co-founded the artists platform BLINK to help build a generous artist community and avoid the expensive open submissions system by getting work out of the studio into exhibition spaces. BLINK curates shows twice a year. Angel holds a BA (Hons) in Art History, University College London (First Class), BA (Hons) Painting, Camberwell College of Arts (First Class), MFA Fine Art, Slade School of Fine Art. From 2018-2021 she studied with Turps Painting School. Her work is held in private collections and public institutions.
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#contemporaryart #contemporarypainting #artcollector #affordableart #smallworks #artonwalls #supportartists

Are you on the hunt for thoughtful gifts? We are h

Are you on the hunt for thoughtful gifts? We are here for you - the art of giving is what we do very well at Small Works. We have a beautiful selection of artwork available in our store. Why not support living artists?
Have a browse on our website (link in bio) Message us if you have any questions or need advice.
Featured artists:

MIN ANGEL
MARTIN CLARKSON
JUSTINE FORMENTELLI
LEE JOHNSON
HELEN BAINES
HANNAH ROLLINGS
SARAH TEW
FIONA CHAMBERS
REBECCA BYRNE
SYLWIA NARBUTT
UZMA SULTAN
MONICA PEREZ VEGA

#giftideas #collectart #artofgifting #livingartists #artgifts #collectingart #thoughtfulgifts

Ever wake up trying to immerse yourself back into

SOLD. Hannah Rollings, Valentine, oil and acrylic

We are very happy to share with you a beautiful ne

We are very happy to share with you a beautiful new series of paintings by Lee Johnson available in our store now.

“Since my father’s dementia diagnosis, I have been caring for him in Suffolk, taking long walks in ‘Constable Country’ (as Constable said: “all those things that lie on the banks of the Stour, they made me a painter”) to take a break from the pain of the situation. This has led to a prolonged period of painting trees in a number of ways - not for their individual form as such, but more as a symbol - how they are representative of not only landscape but also resilience and connectivity. Indeed, recent research shows that trees communicate through their complex root systems, so they are not simply isolated entities but belong to a wider family or community, protecting and nurturing their young, and growing stronger together with - and because of - each other. This is a good analogy for my paintings, which are also not isolated entities, but are connected to each other - motifs, colours, fluidity of line, memories are all elements that link seemingly different paintings together.”

Johnson was selected for the prestigious John Moores Painting Prize at Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, in 2010, and the Contemporary British Painting Prize in 2025, and was the winner of the inaugural Lido Stores Open, Margate in 2021. He has exhibited widely, most notably in public institutions including Hastings Contemporary; Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge; Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool Huddersfield Art Gallery; and Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, Sunderland, Ar Tower Agora, Athens; Gozo Contemporary, Malta.

1.Lee Johnson
Moon Through the Trees, 2023-24
oil, oil pastel on canvas
41 x 31 cm

2.Lee Johnson
Tree in Suffolk II, 2024
oil on wood
46 x 46 cm

3.Lee Johnson
Tree in Suffolk III (misty day), 2024
oil on canvas
41 x 31 cm

We’re loving this moody autumnal landscape by Ma

We have very exciting update for you in our shop.

We have very exciting update for you in our shop. A beautiful series of ceramic wall-mounted work by Justine Formentelli are now available through our website. Link in bio for more details. DM any inquiries. 🪸

Through undulating forms and organic shapes I interrogate the frontiers of the self, grounded in a body and existing in the surrounding world. I use elements of landscape as symbols of the vastness that surrounds us. Although figures are absent, the work is very much about how the external world permeates us at a deep level and how we are all connected by this existential flow traversing us. Attempting to map out the interaction of the internal and the external, I am trying to convey this slow movement of living, breathing, becoming and changing that animates all living beings.

Two of these pieces were parts of an installation including paintings exhibited last June. Each medium has its own language and has the potential to emphasise an aspect in
particular and I wanted to see what the glossy sleekness of ceramics would bring to the conversation. They almost appear slightly wet, as if they have just emerged from the sea.

The way the pieces are shown together, It looks like the glazed shapes escaped or slipped away from the paintings and are wondering off in a new space. It turns out that I have always liked working with shapes with uneven, organic contours. I used to paint on hand sculpted panels but then felt constrained and went back to more standard shapes. And now it seems that the ceramics are a way to get back into more flexible contours.

Justine Formentelli spent her childhood living in the Caribbeans, the island of Reunion and Morocco. After 11 years in the United States, where she studied Illustration and worked as a production designer at Harper’s Bazaar, she traveled around the world for a year before settling back in Europe. She is now based in London with her husband and two sons. She recently graduated from City and Guilds of London Art School with an MA. She has participated in numerous exhibitions in the United States and Europe.

#giftideas #contemporaryart #artcollector #ceramicrelief #ceramicreliefsculpture

A few highlights from our visit to Frieze this yea

A few highlights from our visit to Frieze this year. Lots of great work but also feels too much like IKEA. Art supermarket… Did you like it?

We are delighted to revisit this lovely work by @u

We are delighted to revisit this lovely work by @uzma.sultan which is available on our website, link in bio.

This work was part of the ‘England is a Forest’ project at Sluice [Vernacular] 2024 at The Minories in Colchester 14-16 June, 2024.
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Uzma Sultan, Cherry blossom, oil pastel and oil on canvas, 20x15cm
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Uzma participated in the Hamburg Affordable Art Market over the past weekend and has exhibited internationally in solo and group shows.
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“During the covid lockdowns, I became very interested in nature and drawing plein air- a very good excuse to be outdoors. That took me drawing, in local gardens and green areas.

For this project, I chose the cheal’s weeping cherry tree, on my recent visit to the Kew gardens. Also known as kiku shidare zakura and has pink pom-pom like flowers.

Just delightful!”
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@sluice__ @theminories @smallworksartgallery #englandisaforest #sluicevernacular2024 #treedrawing #landscapepainting @uzma.sultan

We have this lovely piece by Helen Baines availabl

We have this lovely piece by Helen Baines available in our store. Like all Helen’s work it’s beautifully painted. Small but mighty. Link to the store is in our bio.

Helen Baines
Time-Keeper,
oil on hardback book cover
12x19cm
2024

“The Pedunculate Oak (Quercus Robur) is one of many ancient trees on the Albury Estate in Surrey. William Cobbett, the popular 18th century journalist and author of ‘Rural Rides’, was always delighted when he found himself in what he called “the narrow and exquisitely beautiful vale of Chilworth”, the deep, wooded valley in which Albury lies. The planting of oaks on this land is attributed to the reign of King John, and this venerable oak with a girth of close to 9 meters is one of the oldest in Surrey, standing with a stately gravitas near an avenue of Spanish Chestnuts in Shere Park (part of Albury Park). Having walked and cycled past this tree many times, I never fail to stop and wonder at its great age and size, to imagine the sureness of effort required to establish its root system deep underground over hundreds of years, unhurriedly pushing its branches skywards whilst the great events of history have played out. The oak continues to grow and adapt as trees are wont to do, providing shelter for birds and wildlife and a fertile environment for mosses, lichens and fungi - its resilience a metaphor for hope in an increasingly uncertain world.”

Helen Baines is currently enrolled on a third year of the Turps Correspondence Course. She graduated from Epsom School of Art with a BA (Hons) in Graphic Design and later went on to study printmaking at The Art Academy London. Recent selected exhibitions include the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition and the ING Discerning Eye at the Mall Galleries. Her work has been acquired by Art Acumen for Freshfields’ Annual Exhibition of works on paper, and is held in private and public collections including the V&A Print Archive and the Scarborough Gallery and Museums Trust.

We are sending our congratulations and warm wishes

We are sending our congratulations and warm wishes to @anya.kashina as she embarks on her MFA at @cityandguilds . May it be a joyous and fruitful journey. 🥂🎨
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Anya Kashina, Silk Flowers, 2023, monotype collage pasted on primed wood panel in artist frame, 21x16x3.5cm

This work is available for purchase. Link in bio.
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Anya Kashina is a Russian-born, British artist who lives and works in London. She makes paintings and works on paper that are rooted in abstraction. Through the use of mark, colour and scale she creates invented spaces and visually articulates the feelings associated with looking at them. She holds a BA from the University of Leeds and a training qualification from the Moscow State Academic Art Institute named after VI Surikov. She has shown in numerous group shows in London including at the Saatchi Gallery in 2018 and her work is held in private collections in the UK, USA, Russia and France.
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#flowers #abstract #smallworks #anyakashina #floral #pastel #contemporaryart #artcollector

One of our favourites in the shop. The energy of t

One of our favourites in the shop. The energy of this painting carries the character of the magical atmosphere of Sherwood Forest. Check out website for more details for all the works available at the moment.

Martin Clarkson,
Ancient Oaks of Sherwood: No. 48,
oil on panel,
30x20x3cm
2022

When in the forest, I often begin with a scouting mission. Foraging for ideas, I take note of the tree’s architecture; how its weight sits, where its form flows and jilts in direction, its textures of bark, from smooth, silver growth to broken shards splitting and crumpling like strata. I look for burrs, epicormic shoots, brown rot, corpse-like coatings of lichens, moist mosses and fruiting fungi. On location I use paint in a sculptural and immediate way, responding to the moment and trying to capture the essence of the experience.

Through all the subjects that inspire me, there is a resonance of deep time rooted within them. Natural worlds that annihilate the human instant, give way to the sense that we are a very small part of a much older world. Just like the stratification of rock, or the blue memory of a glacier, a tree too wears the passage of time. Etched into their surface is a diary of existence, simultaneously living and dead, a tree’s form flows through growth and decay.

Trees are the longest-living examples of a complex natural world. From the symbiotic mutualism trees share with fungi to providing habitats for many specialist fauna to thrive, a tree is a living landscape in its own right. Surely, in this decisive decade, we are facing, planting more native trees, future-proofing habitats through westernisation and managing land with regenerative and sustainable practices in mind, which can only be beneficial for every living thing on earth.
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I chose this tree as it is a remarkable example of resilience. Holding on for dear life, it was the presence of a fire that wouldn’t spread through the forest back in the 70s. It continues life with its heartwood completely hollowed into charcoal and from this angle, it appears to defy gravity.”

Beautiful work by Sarah Tew available in shop. Lin

Yes, we have this beauty available in our store. D

Yes, we have this beauty available in our store. Don’t miss it. Created by our founder, incredible 🥁@monicaperezvega

Monica’s work explores ideas of uncertainty and adaptation and her imagined landscapes sit between nostalgia and unease. Originally from California, she has lived in Montreal, Amsterdam, London and Birmingham, UK. Her memories of home are warped by a changing landscape, and experiences of continually starting over have led to a practice which investigates cycles of change. Her interest in skies is about both transience and presence, as well as a wider concern for the environment. Trees, on the other hand, are anthropomorphic figures which tell a story of steady resilience.
Monica paints in a range of media and her sculptures are assembled from found, gifted and reclaimed material, including former paintings. There is an act of letting go within her practice as she embraces endings as beginnings. Interested in the potential between renewal or collapse, she relies on disruption as a search for hope amid precarity.

Monica Perez Vega,
QEI Oak,
oil pastel on paper,
24x32cm,
2024

“According to the Woodland Trust, the tree is the third largest sessile oak tree on record in the UK. While she was magnificent, I was also quite taken by her ladies-in-waiting. Several ancient oaks, chestnuts, and lime trees spotted the rolling green landscape of the Cowdrey estate in Midhurst.”

Monica has two exhibitions opening this week: Exeter Contemporary Open and Blink, Room Share 6 ‘Somewhere Between Heaven And Earth’ - both very exciting and in great company.

Precious new work from Fiona Chambers is available

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