The Kowalsky Gallery



	First Thursday Mash Up hosted by Piers Secunda & Nathan James Thursday 7 August 2008. Open 6 - 9pm Piers Secunda and Nathan James will host the First Thursday 'Mash Up', providing an evening's viewing of the current exhibition Mash Ups with drinks from 6.00pm and an opportunity to discuss the work with the artists first hand. 7.00 pm Piers Secunda artist talk, followed by Q&A Piers Secunda's work has developed out of a desire to remove paint from its traditional support, in his words, to "as far as possible to separate the material from the restraints of the applied 2D surface". Because this angle is under explored, this work has a look entirely of its own. It carries suggestions of assemblage, and can occasionally evoke the patina of empty billboards, their accumulations of torn posters. The paint Secunda uses is poured out to form sheets and blocks or cast in moulds, often producing industrial fixtures made of paint which have their own structural integrity. 8.00pm Meet Nathan James Nathan James presents a day-glow matrix that is the antithesis to the modern world envisioned in 1956 by Richard Hamilton, with his principal Pop work "Just What Is It That Makes Today's Homes So Different, So Appealing?" With these paintings James is inferring that mass media materialism can indeed fulfill some of their promises of leisure and enjoyment, but at the cost of forfeiting some of the subjects' humanity. James uses a combination of techniques, including traditional painting, silkscreen printing, and stenciling to achieve his distinctive works. His inspiration comes from trash TV, graphic design, vintage photography, popular magazines and his own passion for youth culture. This event is free but places are limited. Please book in advance to avoid disappointment - contact us. Visit www.firstthursdays.co.uk for more info. Get in the mood for love with DACS and the Writers' Guild On Thursday 15th May the Kowalsky Gallery was very pleased to host a special evening of readings and performance inspired by Romance. Six new writers, selected by the Writers' Guild, each chose a specific work from the exhibition to write about. Pamela Anderson and Paul Robeson Unification Cake by Magnus Irvin Inner Room with Tapping Hand by Shani Rhys James Interior Eight by Catherine Barnes My Ex-Boyfriends Girlfriends by Jo Broughton Cupid by Sonja Benskin Mersher Skye by Rob Bibby Further info: The Writers' Guild of Great Britain is the trade union representing writers in TV, radio, theatre, books, poetry, film and video games. www.writersguild.org.uk