Renowned artist Bob Barron exhibits slate and card collages at Bath School of Art and Design Artists Info Artist Bob Barron has been based in his native North East for the majority of his life, but has recently relocated to the South. Bob works primarily with mixed media and materials that have been discarded as waste and can be recycled and turned into art.
Bob Barron’s latest collection, Works on card and slate, is coming to Bath for the first time and will be on display at the Sion Hill Gallery at the Bath School of Art and Design from 8th to 27 March. This work makes extraordinary use of old, worn roof slates and throwaway packaging card, which he transforms into collages which are elegant and alluring.
Bob explains: “I like the idea of working with slate because of the age and nature of the material. Slate is of sedimentary origin, formed from the deposits of minerals collected on the beds of ancient seas millions of years ago. Movement of the Earth's crust, retreating seas and glaciation meant these ancient sea beds emerged to the Earth’s surface where they were eventually quarried by man to provide shelter from the winds and the rain.
The slate I use has served this purpose and is eroded and marked by exposure to the elements as well as by man-made pollutants in the atmosphere. I am interested in the journey from the seabed to the quarry, from the quarry to the rooftop, and from the rooftop to the artwork.”
Bob uses a muted palette and similar motifs recur throughout the work: astronomical references, handprints, footprints, simple domestic objects, circles, squares – a small lexicon but all that’s needed to present us with a coherent artistic vision.
He adds: “My work is essentially about communicating a certain aesthetic. I am interested in the life of the mind and of feeling, but, nevertheless, people confronting the work will make of it what they will.”
Works on card and slate will be on display at Bath School of Art and Design, Sion Hill, Lansdown, Bath, BA1 5SF from 8th to 27th March. Monday to Friday 10am to 7pm. Saturdays 10am to 5pm. Sundays 1pm to 5pm.
