In this newest body of work Susan Kinley is bringing two strands of her practice, glass, and enamelling on copper together. As a recent development, she is combining fired transparent and opaque metal elements together, balancing composition, surface marks, colour and textures. Susan says:
“Glass firing is slow, whilst enamelling is a faster process with many firings, and so careful planning and responding to change and surprises all come in to play. Using hand cut stencils and layering with glass and enamel powders allows me to control shapes, whilst ‘stoning’ back through fired surfaces reveals elusive marks and colours. In these compositions I balance lines and rectangles with translucent and organic surfaces. Technically, I am enjoying the challenge that combining these materials brings, pushing my work in a new direction.”
It is important to Susan to balance concept and techniques. Each piece is individual, evolving from drawings and her response to aerial landscape photography of ancient archaeological sites across the UK, many of which she has visited. Susan loves walking, and the physicality of connecting to a particular place. She’s fascinated by marks, patterns and traces that are often only visible from above as shadows, lines and circles, changing with the seasons and light levels. Susan observes how barrows, henges, field patterns and stones all leave their patterns, marks and traces across the landscape.
Equally, Susan is drawn to close up surface details. As she works, overview and detail come together as macro and micro combine, as a piece takes on a momentum of its own through the making process. Her processes are like an archaeological cycle of layering, hiding and revealing. The pieces she is showing at Collect change when lit and viewed from different angles.
“I have worked with a range of materials in the past, including silk and Japanese papers. I have also made large scale commissions for interiors and the public realm. My new series brings solid elements of enamel on copper together with the transparency of fired Bullseye glass and glass enamel powders. I often use stencils to delineate shapes with glass powders, fired in many layers. I start with drawings and plans to work out composition and structure, and then experiment with combinations of layered transparent colours. When enamelling, changes always occur, requiring an intuitive response.”
This is the third time Susan has exhibited at Collect, in three different venues – the V&A, Saatchi Gallery and Somerset House. In 2019 she showed a large scale glass wall installation in the Collect Open.
Pieces for Sale:
Henge, 2023, W 32cm x H 32cm, Glass, enamels, copper
£2,200
Barrows [Amber & Faience], 2023, W 32cm x H 32cm, Glass, enamels, copper
£2,200
Cairns, 2023, W 32cm x H 32cm, Glass, enamels, copper
£2,200
Rings, 2023, W 32cm x H 32cm, Glass, enamels, copper
£2,200
Long Barrow 1, 2023, W 23cm x H 30cm, Glass, enamels, copper
£1,750
Long Barrow 2, 2023, W 23cm x H 30cm, Glass, enamels, copper
£1,750
Email Susan: [email protected]