Posts tagged: University of Salford Art Collection

Balshaw is an artist and curator based at Islington Mill in Salford, and a co-director of artist-led organisation Short Supply. Their work was most recently exhibited at the John Moores Painting Prize 2023.

Painting in the expanded field, Balshaw’s work extends beyond the traditional bounds and restrictions of painting, exploring the painting as an ‘object rather than an image’. They consider the deconstruction and reconstruction of structures and surfaces, applying and manipulating thick brushes of brightly coloured paint on – and in between – layers of cardboard in abstract gestures.

Their work also considers the intertwined histories of gender and painting practice, where painting is ‘caught up in a push and pull between femininity and masculinity Identifying as non-binary, I find myself stuck in this whirlwind of tropes, questioning where a painter like me fits amongst the history of painting.’

Ali is based in Manchester. She has exhibited in the UK and has work in public and private collections. In 2018 she was artist-in-residence at The Whitworth Gallery, Manchester. She was also a founder and member of print collective Rhubarb & Custard. Print Unltd was presented by the University of Salford Art Collection in partnership with Salford Museum and Art Gallery, Salford Community Leisure, Hot Bed Press, and was funded by Arts Council England.

Ali’s My Tiles was originally commissioned for Print Unltd, an exhibition of four North West based artists making new work which aims to celebrate and challenge printmaking practices today. My Tiles is inspired by the tradition of Islamic geometric pattern-making, which uses tessellated shapes and repeated motifs to create often intricate designs. They may be used to consider topics of unity, infinity and connection.

Rather than using digital scanning or editing, Ali’s works are all carefully drawn by hand before being exposed directly on screens. The first image in the series consists of a simple diamond shape; and as the work progresses new patterns and colours are added to each print. As the edition number increases, further pattern and colour is added – creating an unusual method of editioning the work wherein higher edition numbers become more complex works. In total Ali created an edition of 50 prints with 6 sub-editions. The first and last in the series, on display here, were acquired into the Collection.

“Lubna was not only a scholar but was selected from an open submission to take part in Print UnLtd a major exhibition of 4 commissioned artists at Salford Museum & Art Gallery in 2018. Responding to the brief to challenge the preconceptions of printmaking Lubna went on to produce a large series of prints building from one colour and one pattern design to over 30 colours in an evolving series of prints.

Each print in the series was different and grew from the last print. The full set of large prints existed as a whole art piece and individually. The concept of value of prints based on amount of work put in incrementally increasing each print was also integral to the work with the first print in one colour priced at less than the next, each colour adding value to the print, building to the most expensive 30 colour last print. Seeing Lubna question the nature and understanding of printmaking in this was a real highlight and opened quite a few people’s eyes to challenging print and gallery constructs. Oh and they are beautiful prints too!”

~ Sean Rorke, Artistic Director at Hot Bed Press

Aird is a photographer and art director based in Manchester, working across fine art, photography, and commercial and editorial work. Her work has been featured by the United Nations, Redeye: The Photography Network, and Lomography. She recently published two zines: Only Fans and Lost and Styled. This work also featured at the University of Salford Art Collection booth at The Manchester Contemporary 2023.

Entropy, 2021
Photographic Print
Katie Aird (2021/22)

Aird utilises 35mm photography and experimental techniques to explore cycles of life, death, and infinite energy. Her work is inspired by the concept of ‘entropy’ from thermodynamics – which concerns energy, order and disorder – and how it relates to human psychology. Original images of flowers – which symbolise the cycles of nature and regeneration that are part of everyday life – are distorted through a process of ‘scanography’ – using a flatbed scanner as a camera to manipulate light and form in unexpected ways.

Adekola was born in 1983. He is a Nigerian artist currently living in Manchester. His work is informed by post-colonial narratives, through painting, installation, and drawing, he uses elements of contemporary and historical material to explore themes of migration, globalisation, identity politics, equality, diversity, and inclusivity. He has exhibited work internationally including in London and Nigeria.

“It was a real joy to spend time with Suraj during his time on the Scholars programme. Perhaps more importantly it was great to see his work and thinking develop. His recent series of works The Treasure (2024) made with Adire (tie-dye) fabric, spray paints, and oil sticks on canvas retain the attitude of the first works that I saw by him but they also display an evolving sense of confidence in the way he is working with his mix mediums. I look forward to seeing him continue to be as ambitious with his work in the future, as I’m sure he will be.“

~Matthew Pendergast, Curator at Castlefield Gallery

We Should All Be Blacks 6, 2022
Mixed Media
Suraj Adekola (2022/23)

This work is part of a series titled We Should All Be Blacks, which Adekola began during his 2022 MA studies. The artist uses the traditional ‘Adire’ fabric as the foundation of the work – a popular indigenous tie-dyed fabric made in his hometown of Egbaland, Abeokuta (the ‘capital of Adire-making’ in Nigeria). The artist deconstructs, fragments, weaves and stitches the material together, creating vibrant forms and patterns inspired by Cubism. On the surface he uses spray paint, oil stick, and bleach to draw figurative and abstract motifs. This stitching together of fragmented forms and varied mediums symbolises a deep-seated desire for belonging and inclusion, ‘mirroring the Black experience – a tapestry woven from diverse threads’. The work and material are imbued with personal narrative, memories, cultural references, and celebrates art as a way to share Black histories.

Friday 27th September 2024
6 – 8 pm 
esea contemporary 
Free to attend | Booking recommended

Our partners at esea contemporary are holding an exhibition preview for Steph Huang’s There is nothing old under the sun, featuring a new co-commission with the University of Salford Art Collection.

In this new exhibition, Huang continues her investigation into mass production and commerce, the transcultural and historical dimensions of the food industry, and the implications of such markets on our natural environment. Using a variety of manual techniques, Huang transforms everyday spaces and objects, resulting in minimalist sculptures and poetically charged installations of quiet resonance.

The exhibition is generously supported by MTSA and Arts Council England. Exhibition catalogue supported by the Henry Moore Foundation. Co-commission supported by the University of Salford Art Collection.

Friday 20th September 2024
7-10pm
Salford Museum & Art Gallery

The Hybrid Futures exhibition closes on the 22nd September 2024, marking the end of the three year project. To celebrate we’ve teamed up with Fat Out Fest 2024 on a new artist residency.

Fat Out have been producing shows in Salford and Manchester since 2008, and Fat Out Fest 2024 will open with a special, brand new music commission in response to our Hybrid Futures exhibition.

Hypersea will explore fluidity, interconnectivity and notions of collectively as inspired by Shezad Dawood’s artwork Leviathan: From the Forest to the Sea. Set in the context of our Hybrid Futures exhibition space, this performance will debut on the night after being developed during a week-long Samarbeta Residency, in collaboration with London-based blenders of experimental sound, art and tech, IKLECTIK.

In Partnership with Samarbeta, University of Salford Art Collection, and IKLECTIK

In-conversation event
Friday 14th September 2024
2 – 3:30 pm
Castlefield Gallery
Ticketed event | limited free tickets available

An in-conversation event between both writers, and artists Jeffrey Knopf and Theo Simpson will be deep diving into the current exhibition on the 14th September, 2-3:30pm at Castlefield Gallery.

Clare O’Dowd (Research Curator at the Henry Moore Institute) and Duncan Woolridge (Writer and Curator, and Reader in Photography at SODA, MMU) have produced texts in response to both Jeffrey Knopf and Theo Simpson’s works; commissioned by the University of Salford Art Collection and Castlefield Gallery for the 40 Years of the Future: Where Should We Be Now? exhibition.

Read them below:

Jeffrey Knopf, The Closest I Got to Freud’s Desk, 2024 – Essay by Clare O’Dowd

Theo Simpson – Essay by Duncan Woolridge

2024 marks the 10th year of the Graduate Scholarship Programme. To coincide with this we’re having various celebrator events in different locations – up and coming is our newest exhibition CATALYST – Celebrating 10 years of the Graduate Scholarship Programme.

This new exhibition in the New Adelphi Exhibition Gallery will feature a variety of artists that have been a part of the programme – there has been over 50 of them in the past decade!

To find out more about the programme, our celebratory events, and CATALYST – head over to our Celebration page; link below!

July 2024

Each year, a number of bespoke scholarships are awarded to graduating students from the University of Salford School of Arts, Media, and Creative Technology, through a scheme led by The University of Salford Art Collection in partnership with Castlefield Gallery. This year we are delighted to welcome fine art products company Wallace Seymour as a partner in the scheme, supporting a new Painting Scholarship.

Aiming to support graduates to begin their careers in the art sector, each 12-month award includes a tailored package of support which can include: studio space, mentoring, coaching, research trips, and a bursary for materials, equipment or research travel.

For the 2024 cohort we are pleased to announce Grecia Balassone, India Buxton, Iqra Saied, Jess Robinson and Robin Standring. Find out more about each artist below.

“The Scheme has supported over 50 artists across 10 years, and it has been a joy to see each artists’ practice and career develop over time. The standard of applications was as high as ever this year and is always a difficult choice. However we are delighted to welcome Grecia, India, Iqra, Jess and Robin this year and look forward to supporting them. We are also particularly grateful for Wallace Seymour for sponsoring the scheme this year, and taking part in the selection process” – Assistant Curator, Stephanie Fletcher

Grecia Balassone
Grecia is from the BA (Hons) Fine Art degree, and will be recieving a studio placement at Paradise Works.

“I am a multidisciplinary artist, experimenting with a range of ways to tell the stories surrounding a subject. Due to my lived experiences of immigration, neurodivergence, and developmental trauma, my work explores themes of identity, nostalgia, community and belonging.
My research approach is immersive. I like to understand the themes I work with from first-hand experience, or the closest to that I am possibly able to get. I find people to be a great source of information, and with stories worth telling. I am also interested in preservation (of history, memories, media, processes), which leads me to create my own archives.”

Grecia Balassone

India Buxton
India is also from BA (Hons) Fine Art, and has earned the Wallace Seymour Painting Scholarship.
“My practice is interested in exploring the representation and depiction of ancient folklore and mythology in the 21st century. My work draws upon the theories of ancient Greek Philosopher Plato and the ancient stories of their time. The figurative paintings reappropriate old stories into a new visual language that a modern audience can find their own narratives within. These paintings display my chosen stories, which are then modernised into personification of moral fables.“

India Buxton

Iqra Saied
Iqra is from BA (Hons) Photography and will be one of the first to be given a studio placement at Castlefield Gallery New Art Space in Warrington.

“Portrait photography is a powerful medium to explore ideas of culture, identity and engage in contemporary debates. ‘Unfamiliar’ starts from my own personal experience of dual heritage.
As a British Pakistani, I feel closer to my home in Manchester than I do to Pakistan and these feelings are often difficult to navigate. I have collaborated with Hafsah, Caitlin and Rohan who resonate with the project and understand the sense of guilt associated with not knowing enough about the other place. The photographs aim to communicate the difficulty in building a sense of belonging with a place you have no knowledge of. However, accepting who you are is the best journey of self-discovery. I hope people of dual heritage will find inspiration to embrace their identity and celebrate their heritage.”

Iqra Saied

Jess Robinson
Jess comes from the Visual Communication MA, and will be given a studio placement at Islington Mill.
“My current work now draws upon an interest in ancient eastern philosophy and spirituality that provides a refreshing contrast to modern, western values. Using predominantly black and white photography, I am producing imagery which attempts to visualise hidden moments of balance and moments of presence within the live music scene, against the chaos of movement and sound. These images sit alongside my own immersion and connection to natural spaces as an anti-dote to the chaos, finding a common ground and relationship between the two settings. My hope is that through practicing a mindful and connected approach to my creative process, I can step out of conditioned patterns and follow a more intuitive path.”

Jess Robinson

Robin Standring
Robin comes from BA (Hons) Fine Art and will be using the facilities at Hot Bed Press.

“My practice revolves around exploring my own identity, primarily the experiences and interactions I have as a transgender individual, focusing on the aspect of being ‘stealth’ within society today. Being ‘stealth’ in the terms of being transgender, is to live as the gender you identify with but not being openly out as trans, something many trans individuals do in order to avoid discrimination.
Through the use of an avatar affectionately named Baghead which I have created in my own self-image, I insert him in a variety of environments and scenarios, often mundane, in which almost everyone experiences, regardless of their race, gender or class; such as waiting for the bus, falling asleep on the train or even standing outside during a fire alarm.”

Robin Standring

To coincide with the celebration of Harold Riley’s life through the Every Line Is Me exhibition at Salford Museum and Gallery (April 2024 – April 2025) we have installed 4 works from the University of Salford Art Collection in The Old Fire Station Bakery this Summer.

Harold Riley work on display in The Old Fire Station.
Right to left: St Luke’s Church, Seedley (1975), charcoal and chalk. City Motorway (1977), pastel over lithography. Building by the Railway, Trafford Park (1976), chalk pastel. View of Manchester from Salford (1975), gouache and chalk.
Photographed by Sam Parker.

Artist Harold Riley was born in Salford in 1934. After studying at the Slade School of Art, London, and undertaking scholarships in Spain and Italy, he returned to Salford and lived and worked here until his passing in 2023. He dedicated much of his practice to documenting life in Salford and Greater Manchester – from both everyday urban streetscapes to portraits of local sporting stars – particularly at Manchester United FC. Further afield, he also achieved success with portraits of Nelson Mandela, John F Kennedy, and other important public figures.

The University of Salford Art Collection holds more than 100 paintings, drawings, and mixed media artworks by Riley, including local landscapes that capture the changing skylines of Salford and Manchester for over 60 years. Some places, views, and landmarks are still visible today; whilst others have been lost over time to new developments and regeneration.

Do you recognise the locations of City Motorway or View of Manchester from Salford? Get in touch with us by email or Instagram! Photograph it, tag us, let us know how these places have changed over the years.

The 4 works are on display at the Old Fire Station until the end of July 2024. We have also loaned a number of works to the display at Salford Museum & Art Gallery; please visit their website for opening times.

Haven’t visited the Old Fire Station Bakery yet? It’s the newest venue on campus, open to staff students and the public. The cafe, bar and bakery serves speciality coffee, homemade breads and bakes, and a delicious breakfast and lunch menu – including sustainable and locally-sourced options. From 4pm you can also enjoy craft beers, pop-up kitchen vendors, and a range of events from quizzes to live music. Visit the Bakery website for more info and full opening times!

Every Line is Me, Salford Museum & Art Gallery – opening night.
Photographed by Sam Parker.

“Bringing together all of Harold’s many disciplines and subject matter including painting, drawing, digital fusions, and photography. It tells the story of the man, showing works that portray places and people that were important to him. There are quotes from the artist that help illustrate the person Harold was, the legacy that he leaves behind, and the strong connection he had with the City of Salford.“

Every Line is Me at Salford Museum and Gallery celebrates Riley’s life and includes several loans from the University of Salford Art Collection (open 19^th April 2024 – 27^th April 2025; see Museum for full opening days and times).