Corporate Art Award Winners

From September the gallery will be displaying new works by Danni Bradford, James Portsmouth, Michael Speller, Jeremy Houghton, Andy Baerselman and Michael Turner.

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The High Performance Art Gallery is very pleased to introduce new artist James Portsmouth.

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James is an award-winning steel artist who graduated from Herefordshire & Ludlow college of arts in 2013. He creates contemporary steel artworks and architectural ironwork using traditional blacksmithing techniques alongside modern technique.

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James works with galleries, architects, interior designers, finishers and many other industries to create unique and innovative steel artworks which have been sold to collectors internationally.

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James creates dynamic works that form an intricate balance between the subject and the negative space, informing how the viewer perceives and responds to the work.

Both sculptures on show are made entirely from hundreds of small punched steel disks, and in the case of the Marlin, over 30 meters of steel ribbons.

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Summer Exhibition 2018

From June the High Performance Art Gallery will be displaying new works by Danni Bradford, William Rochfort, Michael Speller, Richard Thornton and Jill Berelowitz.

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Richard Thornton will be displaying large scale organic steel sculptures in both the Gallery and the BA First Wing Check-In.

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Below Richard speaks about his practice and 'No.206 Ascent':

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"As a sculptor my work comes from an observation of the simplicity and elegance of the natural world.

In making, I explore the confluence of engineering and sculptural form.

Ascent, embodies the physical act of ‘ascending’ but also reflects the fundamental grace and flow of the concept of flight."

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With over 25 years’ experience as a professional sculptor/site specific artist, Richard Thornton has completed more than 45 public art commissions for a variety of private, local authority and individual clients, including the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, University of Bradford, Bio City in Nottingham and Midlands Air Ambulance.

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Spring Exhibition 2018

From March the gallery will be displaying new works by William Rochfort, Jo Vane, Michael Turner, Nikki Taylor, Zil Hoque and Jeremy Houghton.

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William Rochfort's latest large scale painting pays homage to the Apollo 11 launch:

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"With all my paintings I try to avoid the obvious and it was no different with this piece. I have a great interest in the space race and in what an incredible achievement it was to put a man on the moon, especially at that time in history. So I knew I wanted to do a painting of it but I had no interest in painting the rocket itself.

After a few different attempts I settled on this version that focuses on the people watching the launch. I’ve painted a number of group scenes but I loved this one for it’s mix of men, women and children, and for the 1969 colours.

There are subtle hints throughout the picture that tell the story but it was mostly important to me that it puts you right in there with the crowd bearing witness this historic event."

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Winter Exhibition 2017/2018

From December the gallery will be displaying new works by Danni Bradford, Will Rochfort, Ellie Miller, Jo Vane, Huw Williams and Michael Turner.

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Danni Bradford takes an innovative and modern approach to the classical art of Verre Eglomise-the gilding of glass using multiple layering of precious metals and pigments. Her 'Hunting Tiger' is a dynamic and graphic depiction of the Bengal Tiger, the most numerous of all tiger subspecies and found primarily in India. The use of 24 karat gold is subtle, working to highlight the gloss of the tiger's coat and adding a distinct layer of depth to the work.

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