ARTIST INFORMATION

Margaret Atkinson

ARTIST STATEMENT

I started doing 'arty' things as a child in Manchester. I would stick paper flowers on my parents wine glasses and draw faces in my school books. Unfortunately, life led me in directions other than subsequent art education. However, while living in America, I began quilting and rug-making. Upon returning to London I became involved in theatre, opera groups, choirs and took part in performances in and around London. I also continued to participate and take short courses in the arts, crafts, fashion design and photography which led to my graduation within the Fine Art world in 2002.

ARTS AND CRAFTS EDUCATION 1967 - 2006

Rug making and Quilting (with some teaching) - America USA - 2 year course
Voice development, Choir & Opera singing - London UK 4 years
Fashion and Interior design, City and Guilds - London UK 1 year
Foundation Access to Art (The Strand Lambeth) - London UK 1 year
Printmaking. London Print-works - London UK 3 months
Art and Design Foundation. Kensington & Design - London UK 1 year
Chelsea College of Art & Design BA HON - London UK 5 years
University of Cyprus (painting) - Cyprus 1 month 2004
Now a member of the londonbiennale group
Printmaking and etching Morley College - London 6 months 2006

DESCRIPTION OF WORK SUBMITTED 1996- 2007

'Tulips from Amsterdam' which is now a sequence of over one hundred paintings whose inception lay in a two and half day trip there. My previous work was abstract painting and printing, using images of elephants and old lace as my source material. Thus I became enchanted when I encountered what was to become known as 'the elephant bar' in Amsterdam. Murals of two elephants adorned the wall of this bar and a Turkish lantern gave a beautiful lace pattern across the whole of this area. This experience haunted me when I got back to London and started me on a journey which I still find fascinating. From the canals of Amsterdam to the Ottoman Empire and of course Turkey where the Tulip is the national flower.

The 'Tulip series' is embracing the design aspect of my quilting days. I have also developed a fascination for the design of tiles. The early Netherlands,Turkish and of course our own William Morris. The whole body of work is about gender, identity, fragility and the gender divide. I am concerned to develop the works even more within these series of individual works that visit the sites of the history of my own imagination and experience, and those of a collective, social and political history. Although a lot of the work in the Bar series is painting on canvas I am forever wanting to take the work further and create new challenges. Using the medium of drawing and etching have taken me forward to re-create another layer of work. I admire many artist but Otto Dix, Groz, Picaso and Ernst Kirchner come to the foreground for this work. I admire the American artist George Condo's drawings and Mick Rooney's recent paintings. 'L on Earth' Their work like mine, attempts to look at the underbelly of society, getting to grips with reality of the fragile human psyche. And last but not least, I love and identify with the work of Louise Bourgeois - As her work, like mine, is based on emotions, memories and feelings she has paved the way for my work to exist in the Fine Art World.

EXHIBITIONS

CLIMATE OF CHANGE, 235 Union Street SE1, Group show 2007

THE FOUNDRY - DRAW 2, Group show 2007

ASC OPEN STUDIOS, Studio opening 2007

THE STABLES GALLERY, Twickenham, Group show 2006

BIG DRAW - THE FOUNDRY, Group show 2006

OPEN HOUSE/STUDIO, Brixton, Group show 2006

ARTS CO-OPERATIVE, South London, Group show 2005 

UPSTAIRS GALLERY, The Green, London, Group show 2005 

Bogota Columbia (S.-America) biennial, Group show 2005

BETTIE MORTON GALLERY, Group show 2005

HYPE GALLERY, Brick Lane, Group show 2004 

ARNDEAN GALLERY, Cork Street, Group show 2004 

ASC STUDIOS STUDIO OPENING, Brixton, 2004

RED GATE GALLERY, Solo show 2003

CHELSEA COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN, Group show 2002

CANDID GALLERY, Group show 2001

MAFUGI GALLERY, Group show 2000

CANDID GALLERY, Group show 2000

BRIXTON GALLERY, Group show 1998

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA, Group show 1998

BRIXTON GALLERY, Group show 1998

CANDID GALLERY, Group show 1998

CHELSEA COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN, Solo show, 1998

BRIXTON GALLERY, Group show 1997

WAR MUSEUM, London, Group show 1997

LONDON PRINT WORKS, Group show 1996/7
in conjunction with the Hayward Gallery and on tour both in England and America. Working along side American artist Glenn Lygon and British artist Yinka Shornibare.

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