Simon Hartles
b.1974, Manchester, UK, Lives and works in West Cornwall, UK.
Artists Statement:
Having originally trained to work with blown glass and ceramic processes, blurred recollections of the heat and flow of molten glass and the alchemy involved in ceramic firings hold an enduring influence upon my current practice. My work, a sustained exploration of environment and landscape, reflects my instinctive curiosity in method and materials, with colour, texture and surface treatments being critical aspects. Social, political and environmental legacies become referenced through the use of materials and implied analogy. These forms albeit abstracted through memory and process are recurrently apparent throughout my work.
I often source reclaimed timber to create the base panels and the works are composed using a wide range of media. From pigments and oxides, oils and emulsions to fire ash, embers, earth and clays, creating sculptural surfaces of structure and form. Each ‘painted’ layer develops the history of the surface. Materials accumulate and influence as they build towards a rich and engaging visual abstraction, a narrative account, a recollection of place, a reverberation of colour and form.
Biography:
Although Simons first forays into painting were for the most part figurative and heavily influenced by regular life drawing sessions, he quickly moved away from traditional representational imagery exploring expressive marks and textures within his work with colour soon becoming a key addition to his abstracted surfaces.
Many of his pieces have a sculptural quality to them and often combine elements of natural materials sourced directly from the landscape. Colour is an incredibly important aspect, which come from combinations of traditional raw pigments, oils, acrylics, spray paints, inks, varnishes and natural clays and oxides usually used for ceramic processes. The landscape and coastline have a clear influence upon much of his painting but also the particular raw materials are often suggestive of their own narrative pointing towards the history of the landscape within which he works.
The Anamnesis series is an ongoing body of mixed media work. The word itself can be used to imply the recollection or remembrance of the past. In Platonism, it refers to a recollection of the ideas that the soul had known in a previous existence. The Anamnesis Ocean and Earth works are a subtle nod towards humanities disregard for our all too often negative influence upon the environment and the legacy we are leaving for future generations.
Most recently he has been creating a collection entitled ‘Field of Vision’, a painting series that finds its inspiration in the mesmerising interludes of dawn and dusk in West Penwith. Within this body of work, Simon channels his immediate encounters with the sights and sounds that weave their magic during these captivating hours, allowing them to shape the expressive mark making and vivid palette of colours. These paintings act as a visual testament, akin to a cherished sketchbook, capturing and preserving the essence of a distinctive moment and location.
Simon trained as a teacher in 2003 and alongside his studio practice has been employed as a Fine Art lecturer in both London and Cornwall. He is a member of the Newlyn Society of Artists and was awarded the Refresh Art Award prize for Art Of Our Times in 2021.
Exhibitions:
2023 Group Exhibition, Showcase 2023, Newlyn Society of Artists autumn show, Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, Cornwall
2023 Group Exhibition, Engage, Newlyn Society of Artists spring show, Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, Cornwall
2022 Solo exhibition, Artist of the month, The Gurnards Head, Cornwall
2022 Group Exhibition, The map is not the territory, Newlyn Society of Artists autumn show, Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, Cornwall
2022 virtual group exhibition, Landscape, Tebbs Contemporary
2022 virtual art project exhibition, The Book Project, Tebbs Contemporary
2022 Group Exhibition, Memory, Newlyn Society of Artists spring show, Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, Cornwall
2021 Refresh Art Award shortlist exhibition, AMP Gallery, Peckham, London
2020 Solo exhibition - Elemental - Jupiter Gallery, Newlyn, Cornwall
2019 Refresh Art Award shortlist exhibition, 5th Base Gallery, Brick Lane, London
2019 'Theatre of Landscape' - Simon Hartles and Richard Lapworth, PZ Gallery, Penzance
2018 Group Exhibition, GalleryDu808, Bristol
2016 Group Exhibition, Caution Wet Paint, Lander Gallery, Truro
2015 Group Exhibition,The Frame Co, Penzance
2011 Group Exhibition, PZGallery, Penzance
2010 Live painting performance with Jazz Musicians Martin Bowie and John Thompson, PZ Gallery, Penzance
2004 & 2005 Brixton Urban Art Fair, London
2003 & 2004 Solo Exhibitions, The Gowlet Arms, East Dulwich
2001 Solo Exhibition, Thyme restaurant, Blackheath, London
Awards:
2021 Recipient of the Refresh Art Award prize for Art of our times
Publications:
Dec 2021 Refresh Art Award exhibition catalogue and directory, archived with the British Library
June 2019 Review of Refresh Art Award 2019 exhibition at 5th Base Gallery, London
https://theprickle.org/portfolio/refresh-art-award-london-5th-base-gallery/
May 2019 Interview with curator of Refresh Art Award 2019
December 2018 Murze Arts magazine, circular art section
MURZE MAGAZINE ISSUE THREE 2018 by EUNMI MIMI KIM - Issuu
Commissions:
2003 - 2019 Commissioned wall hangings, prints, paintings and ceramic sculptural works for London, Cardiff and Cornwall based architects and luxury property developers
1999 – ongoing - commissions for private clients, including painting, printmaking and ceramics.
Memberships:
Newlyn Society of Artists
Axisweb
Education:
2003/4 University of Greenwich – PGCE Post Compulsory Cert Ed (Art & Design)
1996/9 University of Central England, Birmingham Institute of Art & Design
BA (Hons) 3D Design (Ceramics & Glass)
1995/6 Mid Glamorgan Centre of Art & Design – Art and Design Foundation Diploma
Teaching:
2013 – ongoing - Program leader HND Fine Art / Contemporary Art Practice, Penzance School of Art (part of Truro & Penwith College) Cornwall, UK
2010 – ongoing - Course Leader UAL Extended Diploma Art and Design, Penwith College, Penzance (part of Truro & Penwith College) Cornwall, UK
2004 – 2010 Course leader and Fine Art Lecturer, John Ruskin College, London, UK
2001/2 Arts Development Youth Worker for Activate Plus LTD community arts group (London/Nationwide UK)
Residencies:
2001/2 Greenwich, South London, Local Education Authority, Voluntary Artist in Residence at various inner-city schools
2000 Carlton Television Junior Theatre Workshop – The Custard Factory Birmingham.
Set design and production for theatrical performances.
1997/99 Birmingham Local Education Authority, Voluntary Artist in Residence at various inner-city schools.