Saturday 27th May – Saturday 15th July 2023

Bassetlaw Museum welcomes an eclectic exhibition by the ‘Bridgegate Artists’. These creators, including Alison Beevers, William Boulby, Andy Hill, Tracey Page, Bev Ramsbotham, Cath Ray and Bryn Walls all share space at Cath Ray Studios on Bridgegate in Retford. Their interests overlap from painting to printmaking, photography and textiles, as do their backgrounds that span ceramics, typography, horticulture and education. These influences all feed into the artists’ practice, resulting in a range of work that mixes the contemporary and the traditional providing something for all tastes.

ALISON BEEVERS – Alison makes exquisite collographic plates by hand using dried flowers and natural materials grown by Alison on her Retford allotment. Because of the nature of these handmade plates, only a limited number of prints can be taken from them and each print is slightly different.

WILLIAM BOULBY sees drawing as core to his artistic output. Observational work from life including figure, portrait and landscape feature. William has recently revived his mechanical drawing machines, that employ subtle mark making to create improvised abstract compositions.

ANDY HILL – Andy loves painting figures, buildings and landscapes, but most of all he enjoys pushing the boundaries of what he can do with paint and traditional oil techniques. “I have always been fascinated with the illusion of what a painting with colour, form and shape can bring to the eye. I like to fill in the gaps. The paint often makes the decision where to be placed and in what amount. It is fun to stand back and see the magic appear.”

TRACEY PAGE – Tracey loves the fine detail and pattern present in the natural world and her paintings, prints and drawings show animals, plants and marine life in all their glory. A trained ceramicist, Tracey now enjoys using many different materials to create her stunning pieces of art.

BEV RAMSBOTHAM – Slow stitching advocate, Bev has been producing tiny, densely worked embroideries for many years, but has recently found a love of painting too. Her studio walls are covered in framed work and lovely needle-felted 3D works on tiny shelves. Her collection of vintage threads and equipment is an artwork in itself.

CATH RAY is an artist who likes painting interesting architectural features and beautiful natural effects of light from early morning mists to evening skies. She tries to capture the sense of place and leave plenty of room for calm contemplation.

BRYN WALLS – Bryn’s work is a varied mix of photography, typography and stone-carving. After a rural childhood he spent 35 years in the creative industries (working in graphic design and book publishing), an environment where everything has to ‘look right’. This has resulted in a trained eye and the ability to produce images and artworks of powerful beauty, which connect nature, science & technology.