<p dir="ltr">Alison Mackenzie from the Brownston Gallery, who presented the certificate this year said: “Chris Stone’s work is so interesting, full of nostalgia and emotion. Although there are no people in his compositions, you can feel their presence in the man made structures he paints. Recent depictions of old buildings and places direct you to a forgotten era but show the reality of the present day with great skill and affection. We are delighted to award Chris our Arts University Plymouth Fresh Award 2024, and look forward to seeing how his work develops.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Chris said: “The Brownston Gallery has such a good reputation, so this award feels like a huge honour. I still can't believe I am the recipient. The competition was huge. Our degree course has produced such fabulous artists this year. As one of the older students on our course, it feels like an even bigger win somehow. Picking up this accolade hasn't really sunk in yet but I am looking forward to producing more work for the show. I will give it my absolute best!”</p>

<p dir="ltr">Professor Stephen Felmingham, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic) at Arts University Plymouth, said: "The Brownston Gallery has a long and valued relationship with Arts University Plymouth and has supported our graduating students with the Fresh Talent Award for many years. Representatives of Brownston Gallery have a great track record for identifying promising local artists, and were an early supporter of BA (Hons) Painting, Drawing &amp; Printmaking graduate Julie Ellis, whose career since has gone from strength to strength. Congratulations to Chris Stone for winning this year's award. I can't wait to see what he does next."</p> <p dir="ltr">The Brownston Gallery has a long history of supporting students, staff members and alumni of Arts University Plymouth, recently hosting exhibitions of work by BA (Hons) Painting, Drawing &amp; Printmaking Course Leader <a href="https://www.brownstonart.com/exhibitions/55-paint-richard-kenton-webb-and-friends/overview/">Richard Webb</a>, and graduates <a href="https://www.brownstonart.com/exhibitions/54-julie-ellis-at-home/overview/">Julie Ellis</a> and <a href="https://www.brownstonart.com/exhibitions/45-arctic-impressions-jo-haskins/overview/">Jo Haskins</a>.</p>

<p dir="ltr">Speaking of his creative practice and what motivates him creatively, Chris said: “My commitment to the local area is a constituent of my personal practice and my involvement with community-based art projects. I recognise the importance of enabling others through the arts and how this can bolster my individual endeavours. I believe artists don’t exist in isolation.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“I have become drawn to places that are away from the established tourist trail, such as industrial sites, defence establishments, urban parks and townscapes. The covert underbelly, rather than the overt glossy coat.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“As well as more traditional landscapes, my recent work has celebrated these more mundane places through the well used device of the picture postcard: a souvenir that captures a memory or a feeling, a slightly over-egged version of reality, an aide-memoire, encapsulated in an inexpensive, almost throwaway item, the historical equivalent of an instagram post. My work casts a murky graininess on its subject that emulates the fleeting nature of a memory; an approximation of reality that can’t be quite pinned down.”<br /></p>

<p dir="ltr">“My smaller paintings on photographic and Yupo paper reflect the character of a faded, nostalgic postcard, championing atmosphere over detail and fakery over reality, generated via memory, en plein air sketching and my own photographs taken at the location. These influences work into the paintings, produced in a variety of media, including acrylic, gouache, watercolour and ink. I try to be as concerned about what is left out as is left in, crafting a dissolution of the landscape.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“I believe that Plymouth and Cornwall’s ‘forgotten corner’ deserves to be honoured through handcrafted, artistic souvenirs that recognise the importance of the familiar places that we encounter every day.”<br /></p>

<p dir="ltr">The Brownston Gallery will showcase a selection of Chris’ paintings at their annual South West Academy Spring Exhibition in March next year.</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/ba-hons-painting-drawing-printmaking">BA (Hons) Painting, Drawing &amp; Printmaking</a> at Arts University Plymouth is a course designed to immerse students in a wide range of traditional and contemporary techniques, enabling students to develop a distinct creative voice as a contemporary professional artist.</p> <p dir="ltr">If you haven’t yet applied to study at Arts University Plymouth in September 2024, <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/clearing">Clearing</a> is now open. Get in touch to discuss your options.<br /></p>