Walking the Stone, a solo exhibition of work by renowned abstract artist Mark Surridge at Tremenheere Gallery at Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens Cornwall in collaboration with Coates and Scarry opens in August.  

Walking the Stone references and takes its inspiration from ancient sites in Cornwall, either in the form of megalithic structures or solitary monolithic stones positioned in the Cornish landscape. Throughout his career Surridge has explored the mystery of these landscapes, with recent work culminating in this lyrical exploration of Cornwall’s’ legendary sites.

Surridge’s signature abstract approach finds a new layer of lyricism and depth with this new body of work, drawing on both his extensive back catalogue of abstract work and a newer levity with colour. The finished paintings are a distillation of his experience, searching for aspects of emptiness, calm and simplicity, hovering somewhere between abstraction and figuration. Walking these ancient locations, Surridge uses GPS to map his whereabouts, and imagines the shapes his walks might create from start to finish, combining the modern technology with ancient monuments, purist abstraction with mystical landscape. The ancient sites visible in the works are overlaid with urban gestural elements or lines that appear almost as graffiti mark making on the painterly surface.

Surridge is based in Cornwall where he lives in a converted Chapel in Crelly and works in Helston where he has a studio at the renowned Cornubian Arts & Science Trust (CAST).

Tom Heale of Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens says: “Mark was one of the very first artists to take part in Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens’ artist residency programme in 2015. Since then we have continued to follow Mark’s career and we have come full circle to have his solo exhibition at Tremenheere Gallery. We are thrilled to showcase this wonderful, poignant and relevant body of work as part our summer programme.”

Mark Surridge was born in 1963 and grew up in London. He has taught in various institutions nationally and has held teaching posts at Falmouth University from 1997 to 2017.  The painting Storm Glow was shown in the Tate St. Ives exhibition 'Art Now Cornwall' in 2007, confirming his artistic reputation. Landscape and the elemental forces of nature have been major inspirations in his work, resulting in ambitious large scale paintings, construction paintings, sculpture, installation and print making. In 2018 he was selected for The Waiheke Art Residency in New Zealand where he spent three months making work which featured in a solo exhibition at The Waiheke Community Art Gallery.  

The artist’s work across his career has been described by Susan Daniel-McElroy, former Director, Tate, St.Ives:

"Surridge revels in the tone, texture and improvisational malleability of paint and carborundum, searching for the principles of emptiness, calm, simplicity and chance in order to establish an inner tension in his compositions."

www.marksurridge.co.uk

Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, Gulval, Penzance, Cornwall TR20 8YL Opening Times: Gardens: Daily, 10.30am – _5.30pm Gallery: Tuesday - Sun, 11am – _4.30pm Contact: 01736 448089 or hello@tremenheere.co.uk

www.tremenheere.co.uk    @Tremenheere   @tremenheeresculpturegardens

About Coates and Scarry

Coates & Scarry exhibit a diverse programme of solo and thematic group exhibitions by emerging and mid-career artists exploring political, psychoanalytical and various provocative contemporary concepts. Using a collaborative model the gallery work with artists, institutions and other organisations to promote artists’ careers by increasing awareness of their practice internationally. Coates & Scarry exhibit in Europe, the United States and Hong Kong. They have also worked in association with charitable organisations including the Los Angeles Silverlake Conservatory for Music raising funds to engage young people in visual and performing arts as well as the Terrence Higgins Trust.

About Tremenheere

Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens’ dramatic landscape, combined with large-scale exotic, sub-tropical planting, provides the backdrop to contemplative and inspiring art by internationally renowned artists. A major attraction near Penzance in West Cornwall, Tremenheere can be found in a beautiful sheltered valley, overlooking St Michael’s Mount, with woods and a stream, interwoven with an evolving programme of contemporary artwork. The creations of artists such as James Turrell, David Nash, Richard Long, Tim Shaw and Peter Randall-Page interact with the setting to create site-specific permanent work, which harmonises with the landscape. 

The recently opened Tremenheere Gallery is an important addition to the arts and gallery scene in Penzance and Cornwall generally, with an evolving programme of curated shows from local, national and international artists. With two exhibition spaces, across two floors, the beautiful oak framed building is one of the largest purpose-built galleries in Cornwall. Since opening in January 2017, it has hosted solo exhibitions of work by artists including Gillian Ayres, Rose Hilton, Stephen Chambers, Jeremy Le Grice, Romi Behrens and Jessica Cooper.