Pulp Works

Working as a Woman Artist

| Irma Irsara

Reflections on Working as a Woman Artist:
talk and visuals by Irma Irsara

DATE AND TIME: Thursday March 8 – 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
LOCATION: Resource For London, 356 Holloway Road, London N7 6PA (map below)
BOOK TICKETS (free):
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/reflections-on-working-as-a-woman-artist-talk-and-visuals-by-irma-irsara-tickets-43618971518?

DESCRIPTION
Italian artist Irma Irsara has chosen International Women’s Day to talk about her experiences as a woman artist during a career that spans over 30 years. The event is being held in conjunction with her current exhibition at Resource for London: ‘Zero Celsius – Digital Prints’.

Irma will share her thoughts on growing up in a male dominated environment, the impact of gender politics on her time at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Urbino, and the current position of women artists in the art establishment.

She will reflect on her experiences, both positive and negative, with galleries, collectors, art consultants and art fairs, as well as exploring the idea of going the solo route versus connecting with peers through collectives. She will explore how the urgency of wanting to create art conflicted with the practical side of the business. She also had to re-think her practice after the birth of her children and considers the effect of motherhood on both the content of her art and her working practices.

Irma Irsara grew up on the foothills of Monte Croce in the Italian Dolomites and her work is heavily influenced by the natural environment. She has a special interest in ecology, conservation and climate change. As well as her artistic training at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Urbino in Italy, she studied Country Care and Conservation at Capel Manor Horticultural College in Enfield. Her practice encompasses a broad range of media and techniques, with ‘pulp work’ representing a large part of her recent output. She has lived and worked in London for many years and exhibits both in the UK and abroad.

Resource for London is where the voluntary sector comes to work, meet and exhibit. Owned by Trust for London and managed by the Ethical Property Company, all proceeds stay within the voluntary sector and are used to support groups tackling inequality in London while the Centre is managed to high environmental standards.

Drawing a Line Under Torture

| Irma Irsara

Drawing a Line Under Torture, Freedom from Torture‘s biennial charity art auction takes place 8 November 2017 – 12 November 2017 at Bargehouse, Oxo Tower Wharf, South Bank, London

To bid on the work below and many other pieces, please follow the link:
http://ow.ly/6pCf30g8Ona

All works will continue to be on display until the close of the public exhibition and will be available for collection from Tuesday 14 November 2017

Freedom from Torture is a UK-based human rights organisation, and one of the largest torture rehabilitation centres in the world; it is the only specialist national charity working to ensure the rehabilitation and protection of torture survivors seeking refuge in the UK. Since it’s establishment in 1985, more than 57,000 survivors of torture have been referred to us.

Fonte (Fount)
Cotton fibre pulps, direct dyes
52cm x 47cm
2017
Guide Price: £760
Framed

Irma Irsara’s work is heavily influenced by the natural environment in which she grew up – the foothills of Monte Croce in the Italian Dolomites. She has a special interest in ecology, conservation and climate change. ‘Fonte’ reflects an early childhood moment in a place revisited but now changed due to the effects of stream erosion. The title refers not only to rising water through cracks in the bedrock but also the idea of innocent thought set against the backdrop of succeeding stages of life.

Irsara’s practice encompasses a broad range of media and techniques with the ‘pulp work’ representing a large part of her recent output. The wet-on-wet process involves building up strata of dyed pulp which can be further modified through embedding, sculpting, ripping, embossing etc. She exhibits both in the UK and abroad.

Artists Drawing A Line Under Torture

| Irma Irsara

Watermark 4 - 31 x 56 cm 2013
This year, Freedom from Torture is marking its 30th anniversary. Since 1985, it has been the only human rights charity dedicated to the treatment and rehabilitation of torture survivors seeking protection in the UK.

This is the ninth Freedom from Torture art auction, which is held biennially. It is the largest single fundraising event for the charity and the last event in 2013 raised more than £100,000.

The free public exhibition of the works will be open daily from 18 – 22 November 2015. Hosted in the atmospheric rooms of the Bargehouse on London’s South Bank, this will be a rare opportunity to see such a large and diverse group of artists exhibiting alongside each other.
http://www.lineundertorture.com/lite-ui/#lots?category=All%20Lots

PULPS – Lauderdale House

| N4 Sketch Pad

Esperienze di colore 110 x 89cm 2009
Esperienze di colore (2009) paper pulp, pigment dyes 110 x 89cm

Lauderdale House (Ground Floor Gallery)
Waterlow Park, Highgate Hill, N6 5HG London, United Kingdom

Exhibition runs from:
Wednesday 27 May – Sunday 21 June 2015
(not Sunday 7 June)

Opening hours:
Wed to Fri: 11am to 4pm Sun: 10am to 5pm

Irma Irsara’s gift for emotional expression through her artworks has long been reflected in all her artistic creations whether they be pulp paper artworks, artist books, print, video or installations.
The work on show represents a selection of paper pulp works from the last 15 years, as well as a small preview of her new series of photographic prints taken during the 2013 experimental ice and light installation in the ice wells of the London Canal Museum.
The achival digital prints with their natural textures, strong electric colours, organic shapes and powerful imagery sit well beside her pulp paper artworks and display a continuity of Irma’s creative interests albeit in a different medium. The ability to work across mediums when producing artworks while retaining a strong, identifiable visual signature is a hallmark of Irma’s creative output.

– A Phelan

Event page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1607126136223597/

Lo Spacco 88 x 63 cm 2008Lontano Ricordo di un Immagine 75 x 59 cm 2006Il fiordaliso 110 x 84 cm 2014

Pictures left to right:
Lo Spacco (2008) paper pulp, pigment dyes, bark 88 x 63 cm
Il fiordaliso (2014) paper pulp, pigment dyes, organic material 110 x 84 cm
Lontano ricordo di un immagine (2006) paper pulp, pigment dyes 75 x 59 cm

 

 

Oxford International Art Fair

| Irma Irsara

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I’ll be taking part in the Oxford International Art Fair for the first time on 6th, 7th and 8th February. I’m looking forward to enjoying the magnificent late Victorian Oxford Town Hall where the fair takes place – you can find me at stand 105 in the main hall.

I’ll be showing some of my ‘Watermarks’ series of observational studies surrounding recent rising water levels in canals as result of changing climate. These works which are part of an ongoing project were first shown at the London Canal Museum in King’s Cross.

Major works have recently started to clear and repair some of London’s amazing Victorian canals (photos).

Watermark 7 - 31 x 54 cm 2013

Watermark 10 - 31 x 56 cm 2013Watermark 1 2013 31 cm x 56 cm 2013Scintilla di Luna 28 x 54 cm 2007L'Alba al Poeta 33 x 57 cm 2007Roncolano i Versi 31 x 50 cm 2007INVITATION_OXFORDARTFAIR

Watermarks

| Irma Irsara

watermark 06Rising water levels – evident even along the local London canals – is the theme of a series of paper pulp works, a selection of which I’m showing at the London Canal Museum. As well as signifying the water line, the title refers to the ‘watermark’ effect incorporated in each of the paper pulp works, achieved by varying the thickness of the fibre during the making process.

An installation of melting and dripping ice is also on show, where hanging paper becomes tinted through capillary action. The short video work, Sciogliere e ritrovare, can be seen on the ground floor.

I’ll be demonstrating techniques and running a paper-making workshop using edible plants on Sunday 28 July, 11:00 to 16:00 with the chance to make your own paper.

The exhibition continues until 31st July.

watermark 07

In queste due insallazioni  l’arte incontra la scienza.

Watermark 7 - 31 x 54 cm 2013watermark 05

I marchi d’acqua alta erano molto piu evidenti nel inverno 2012/2013 e camminando lungo il canale mi hanno portato a fare lavori su marchi nella carta che possono essere intesi in due modi – I marchi come luce e i marchi come livelli di misure nell’acqua. Presto la carta diventera privilegio.

Oltre sono esposti due altre opere, un’installazione, Acqua, colore e ghiaccio (azioni capillari) e un video installazione dove le  poesie di Frances Presley si intrecciano con il ghiaccio (climate change).

watermark 04