Newbury art collective takes on Basingstoke

Exhibition a culmination of three month project to 'paint the town'

Artikinesis is a group of five artists from the Newbury area. They formed their collective in August and set themselves a challenge to produce from scratch, within three months, a complete exhibition on a theme that has rarely - possibly never - enjoyed such intensive artistic attention... The Basingstoke Project. They set to work, discovering, drawing and painting the town, endeavouring to show it in a new light that would intrigue, inspire, surprise and inform even lifelong residents of Basingstoke. And that is just what this exhibition has been doing. The exhibition is running at the Proteus Creation Space, Basingstoke until Thursday evening.

Adeliza Mole is an artist with a highly distinctive style that merits close attention. Her series of oil portraits of people from the Popley area and landscapes of Eastrop Park are in a unique style that is ornate, painstakingly deliberate and chaotic all at once.

Amanda Bates has a keen eye for an architectural gem, whether it’s the Victorian waterworks at West Ham and elaborate chimney of Lutyens’ former offices or the shining steel flue of the Thermofisher Scientific.

Elinor Cooper, a young art graduate, has produced some of the most striking images of modern urban surroundings. Hard lines and curves are shown on large collectable posters and gleaming prints on aluminium.

Rosemary Lawrey has scoured Basingstoke, abstracting the bold shapes and brilliant colours that typify her work. A controversial pollarded tree in Cliddesden Road becomes a dark dryad on her canvas. Vibrant apples in a community orchard are set against the sharp lines of modern architecture.

Brian Marchant’s fine pen and ink drawings and paintings demonstrate depth, wit and enormous variety. He has pushed his illustrative style into new realms for this exhibition.

Further information, including directions, can be found at www.artikinesis.org.uk