Above: ‘Fruit Dish and Brushes’ detail. Mick Hutchings

Georges Braques and Pablo Picasso, were the pioneers of using papier collé or decoupage, and collage. Their avant-garde works of 1912, Fruit Dish, and Glass (Braques) and Still Life with Chair Caning (Picasso) reflected the move away from classicism towards modernism just before World War I. Kurt Schwitters extended the use of other materials including painting and drawing, and three-dimensional elements.
In the following decades the technique of collage has been used across several genres from Surrealism to Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art, by artists such as Man Ray, Henri Matisse, Richard Hamilton and Peter Blake.
For the artists in this exhibition collage is central to their practice. Mick Hutchings enjoys the richness and simplicity of collage, Rosa Roberts loves the textures as a base for painting, Pete Monaghan incorporates paper and card as part structure and part social comment, and Nicky Knowles has extended her collage paintings into assemblages and sculpture.

Caerhys I – Pete Monaghan – Acrylic and collage on board.

Pete Monaghan completed a BA and MA at Aberystwyth University. He exhibits regularly in Wales, England and Germany.

Nicky Knowles studied fine art at UWE Bristol. She is a Royal West of England Academician and a member of the Bath Artists Society.

A Traveller and Her Horse – Nicky Knowles – Collage on board.

Plant Forms and Brushes  – Mick Hutchings – Acrylic and collage.

Mick Hutchings studied fine art at Goldsmiths, lectured at Maidstone College of Art and now concentrates on his studio practice full time. He has work in private collections worldwide.

Yvette Glaze began her career as a scenic artist in theatre. She has worked with people with mental health problems and physical disabilities, teaching art and ceramics.

Shadow play series 4 – Yvette Glaze – Hand built ceramic.

Portrait of Ade  – Rosa Roberts – Collage and mixed media on linen.

Rosa Roberts studied fine art at UWE Bristol. She is a Royal West of England Academician and a member of the Bath Artists Society.

Dennis Farrell studied at Wolverhampton Polytechnic. He lectured at Wolverhampton University before working full time as a ceramic artist. His work is exhibited throughout the UK.

Yew Hedge VI – Dennis Farrell – Hand built ceramic.