Scratching the surface – Breaking through by Corinna Button

‘Scratching the Surface – Breaking Through’ exhibition by Corinna Button

Opening evening: Friday 4th October – 7:30-9:30pm – All welcome.

Venue: Cupola Gallery, 178-178a Middlewood Road, Sheffield S6 1TD

Exhibition dates: 5 October – 16 November

Opening Times: Monday – Saturday 10-6pm

www.cupolagallery.com

email: info@cupolagallery.com

Faces & figures meld and swirl in multi layered, mixed media, collage rich, paint rich surfaces from

popular artist Corinna Button as she is welcomed back to her home city, Sheffield, for her solo show ‘Scratching the surface  – Breaking through’ at Cupola Gallery.

The phrase, ‘to scratch the surface’ means to only understand something superficially.  Breaking through implies on the way to achieving your goals or dreams. Both could be descriptors of the reductive techniques found in Corinna Button’s work. This dual meaning of the physicality of Corinna’s work and the desire for a deeper meaning is the driving force behind her new exhibition.

“People are the subjects of my work and I am intrigued by moments that, despite initially appearing quite commonplace, are (for me) charged with great significance and meaning. My inspiration is drawn from experiences or predicaments I encounter in daily life, such as social gatherings, images from social media and words from a song or a poem. All these generate ideas for themes that I can build upon, “dress-up” and weave into my work. I compose figures either in groupings or as a single figure or just a face. My aim is not to create exact likenesses, but rather to create prototypical or archetypal figures whose personality or identity is both partly exposed and partly hidden beneath the surface. Everything about the way I work (both technique and subject) is motivated by the desire to reveal or “bring something to light.” Thus my process involves layering then scraping back, building then excavating; otherwise, peeling back layers to “carve out” and reveal something hidden beneath the surface.

It is through these painted, sculpted or printed figures that I wish to project recognisable aspects of human experience. I want to compel and to draw the viewer in for a closer look at and beyond the surface.” Corinna Button

“Corinna Button has worked with Cupola Gallery for many years and we have enjoyed seeing her work develop and change although her focus on the figure, primarily the female form, and personal experiences have remained a constant theme. This most recent body of work concentrates on her painting although printmaking is still a core part of her artistic practice. The method of layering, scraping back and revealing so intrinsic in printmaking is mirrored in her painting methods. Indeed, Corinna often uses some of her printmaking tools, including the indispensable printmaking roller, to make her paintings. Surface marks and textures feature predominantly, clearly reflecting the physicality of the method of production, imbuing each image with an energy and ‘gutsy’ quality. Each image is ‘hard won’. The title of the solo show refers to both to the thematic nature of this exhibition and her way of working. In life it is often difficult to do much more than scratch the surface of an issue or problem without hard work and attention.  In art, the public tends only to have access to the final product, without knowing the background and history of the journey to the finished work. Corinna hopes that whilst customers enjoy the images and surfaces of her paintings and prints, the ideas and themes might also ‘break through’.

Karen Sherwood, Director and curator.

Corinna Button started out in Sheffield, studied BA (Hons) Fine Art at Leeds and then Post Graduate Advanced Printmaking at Croydon School of Art. She has exhibited in both solo and mixed shows across Europe; Hungary, Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Korea, Taiwan and the USA. She exhibits and sells her work regularly in galleries throughout the UK. Corinna Button has work in public and private collections internationally.