I am very interested in materiality and process, enjoying the effects of change and error. A starting point for much of my work is drawing, marking lines and accumulations within specific spaces. Though some of my practice might seem to be an autonomous activity, in fact interaction and collaboration underlie much of it. The objects that I make or the photographs that document temporary and ephemeral work result from an interaction with people and places. I view collaboration to include the give and take required when working not just with individuals and groups but also with particular settings and landscapes.
I am very interested in materiality and process, enjoying the effects of change and error. A starting point for much of my work is drawing, marking lines and accumulations within specific spaces. Though some of my practice might seem to be an autonomous activity, in fact interaction and collaboration underlie much of it. The objects that I make or the photographs that document temporary and ephemeral work result from an interaction with people and places. I view collaboration to include the give and take required when working not just with individuals and groups but also with particular settings and landscapes.
Although in the past I have used a variety of materials, recently I have mainly concentrated on working with handmade paper, which I make myself. I enjoy using this material because it brings together surface and form. It is evocative, reminiscent of documentation and archives. Staining and tearing easily, it can be seen as the receptive surface for forensic investigation or a blank form to catch light or shadow.
My current preoccupation is with materiality and process in response to place. While craft processes are integral to the development of my work and inform the final outcome, the starting point of the work is often based on collections of dust and materials connected with specific locations.
Key words to describe my approach: Respond, trace, collect, accumulate, mark
I very much enjoy working with people and deliver workshops in a variety of settings from schools and galleries to museums and out in the landscape.
Current Projects and Exhibitions
Terrain as part of Surrey Unearthed, a programme of artworks, walk, talks and events in the Surrey Hills www.surreyunearthed.org
Upcoming Workshops
Third Thursday: Festive Paper Sculpture with Jane Ponsford at The Royal Society of Sculptors: Thursday 15 November 2018, 6.30 – 9pm. More info and Booking link
Experimental Papermaking at West Dean: 4 days Monday 21 – Friday 25 January 2019. More info and Booking link
Qualifications and training
1983 - BA (Hons) 1st Class, Fine Art , Kingston Polytechnic (now University), Kingston-upon-Thames
1995 - City & Guilds 730 part 1 Further & Adult Education Certificate
2006 - Community Arts Training, Surrey County Arts
Solo / Two Person Exhibitions
2008 - Books from the Landscape, Farnham Maltings, Farnham, Surrey
2008 - Translations, The Lightbox Gallery, Woking
2017 - Infinity, two person, Gemma Cossey & Jane Ponsford, curated by Jane Boyer,
Arthouse 1, London, www.arthouse1.co.uk
Selected Group Exhibitions
2018 - A Contour, A Curve - The Lie of the Land, Gallery 57, Arundel, Sussex
2018 - sfsa Drawing Open, no format Gallery, Depford, London
2017 - RED, with Platform Peer Group, Rottingdean, Brighton
2016 - Threads, Contemporary Textiles Open, Selected by Mchael Brennand-Wood and Polly Leonard, Salisbury Art Centre, Salisbury
2015 - 10 Days Winchester: Chalk, City Museum, Winchester
2015 - Select Showcase, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
2015 - Paper and Thread, Exhibition of Tutor's Work, West Dean, West Sussex
2014 - Selected at Newark Park, Stroud International Textiles, Gloucestershire
2013 - Share and Exchange, ZeitgeistArtProjects, London
2012 - Xmas BOGOF, WW Gallery, London
2011 - First Anniversary: Paper, Unit Twelve, Staffordshire
2009 - In To Land, Arlington Arts Centre, Newbury
2008 - Connection, BECA Gallery, New Orleans, USA
2008 - Paper Foundations, Alfred East Art Gallery, Kettering
2008 - Recycled by Design, Guildford House Gallery, Guildford
2007 - Delicate Situations, www.delicatesituations.blogspot.com, Web-based
2006 - GIFT, Museum MAN, Liverpool
2006 - Objects in Waiting, End Gallery, Sheffield
2006 - Paperworks: Paper Art in the 21st Century, Bury Art Gallery, Bury
2005 - The Discerning Eye, The Mall Galleries, London
2004 - Pulped, Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Honiton
1999 - Paper, Ikon touring exhibition, Birmingham
1998 - Field, exhibition touring to Scunthorpe Museum and Worcester City Museum & Art Gallery, Pitshanger Gallery, Ealing, London
1997 - Field, Chapman Gallery, Salford University, Salford
1996 - New Paper, Ruskin Gallery, Sheffield
1995 - Boxing Clever, Chertsey Museum, Chertsey
1995 - In + Out of Paper, Alternative Arts, London
1994 - Old Object / New Subject, Bonnington Gallery, Nottingham
1994 - Paperworks, Towner Gallery, Eastbourne
1994 - Recent work, Space Frame, Gillingham, Kent
1993 - Truth, Dare, Promise, Prizewinner Gillingham Open, Gillingham
1984 - New Contemporaries, ICA, London
1983 - Stowells Trophy Exhibition, Royal Academy, London
Selecting / Curating
2013 - Mr Sherriff's Artists, for R C Sherriff Trust, Robert Phillips Gallery, Walton on Thames, Surrey
2009 - MAstar Selector for Axisweb
2008 - 2011 Artist Residency project, St George's Arts, Surrey
1995 - In + Out of Paper, Group Exhibition, Alternative Arts, London
Intervention
2008 - Storytrees: Contemporary Art in the Surrey Landscape, The Lightbox Gallery, Woking
Selected Workshops and Teaching
2016 - Art in Action with West Dean, Waterperry, Oxfordshire
2015 - Creative Papermaking with Colour and Thread, Short Course, West Dean, Sussex
2014 - Papermaking Workshop, SIT select 2014, Painswick, Gloucestershire
2012 - People, Places and Papermaking, The Heart of Teesdale Landscape Partnership, Barnard Castle
2010 - Papermaking workshop and demonstration, Renaissance Late, The British Museum, London
2010 - Practical papermaking, The British Museum, London
2009 - Making Paper with Jane Ponsford, Guildford House Gallery, Guildford
2009 - Papermaking, Epsom Salts , Bourne Hall, Surrey
2008 - Family Workshop: Papermaking, The Lightbox Gallery, Woking, Surrey
2008 - Pulp Fiction: Papermaking, Guildford House Gallery, Guildford
2008 - Papermaking, Riverhouse Barn, Walton, Surrey
2008 - Progressive Paper, Farnham Maltings, Farnham
2008 - Assisted Alinah Azadeh, Crafting Space at Origin, Somerset House
2007 - Papermaking workshops with schools, Hurst Park Primary, St Albans, Cardinal Newman School and Esher Church School, Surrey
2007 - Assisted with workshops, The Making, West Dean, Sussex
2007 - Craft taster day at Teddington School for year 10 pupils from local schools
2006 - INSET at Teddington School, Teddington Middlesex, Papermaking
1994 - Life-story Boxes, Access for Women into Art, Gillingham Adult Education, Gillingham, Kent
Residencies
2011 - Track Changes, Figure Ground, LV21, a decommissioned Lightship on the Kent Coast 2010 - Residency and environmental art project, ACS International School, Cobham
2008 - Ten week residency, The Lightbox Gallery, Woking, Surrey
2007 - Papertrails, 12 Month artist residency, St George's Church, Esher, Surrey
Projects and Commissions
2014 - Thread, collaborative project with SHARE collective based at Fabrica, Brighton
2012 - Home Ground, short environmental papermaking project, Elmbridge, Surrey
2010 - Trace, environmental art and paper-making project, ACS International School, Cobham, Surrey
2008 - Storytrees: Contemporary Art in the Surrey Landscape, The Lightbox Gallery, Woking
2008 - Recycled by Design: Translations, The Lightbox Gallery, Woking, Surrey
2007 - Papertrails: art in the landscape, the woods and commons of Elmbridge, Surrey
1999 - A series of wall-pieces for Eversheds Ltd, Birmingham
1997 Colour Field, The Chapman Gallery, Salford University
Competitions, prizes and awards
2012 - Capital Grant, The R. C. Sherriff Trust, Elmbridge
2009 - Shortlisted for ARC Craft Award, Aspex Gallery, Portsmouth
2007 - Grants for the Arts, Arts Council England, South East
1993 - Prizewinner, Truth Dare Promise, Gillingham Open, Gillingham
1982 - Travelling Scholarship, Stanley Picker, Florence
Publications and Interviews
2014 - Thread, a publication from a collaborative project with SHARE collective based at Fabrica, Brighton
2012 - BBC Surrey, interviewed by Emily Jeffery
2011 - Track Changes, an artists book with Figure Ground
2010 - Artists' Books, Nature and the Landscape, Sarah Bodman for the Deverodde Book Arts Festival and Exhibition
2008 - The Art of Blogging, a-n collections, Jane Watt
2007 - a-n Magazine, 'Artists' projects in progress': Jane Ponsford, Papertrails residency
1999 - Paper: An Inspirational Portfolio, Gabrielle Falkiner, Watson-Guptill ISBN10:0823003043
1994 - Vogue Magazine
Other
2007/8/9 - The Big Draw, St George's Church, Esher, Surrey