Emma Souter Tutor Biography
Artist
Biography (Sept 2018)
Oxfordshire
based Contemporary
British Artist Emma Souter is best known for her large-scale charcoal and oil action
paintings. Expressing notions of lost control or great flux they are by
contrast all processes of looking to be still or to distil. Through technical
and traditional representationalism and painterly expressionism, classical
battles of balance and an awareness of counter intuitive actions sit. Chaos and
order, activity and stillness, noise and quiet, rationalism and emotive
response; hold tension and release. The lasting impression of growing up on the Isle of Wight in a rural
environment, surrounded by land and sea, remain evident through the sense of traveling
outwards and open space in her works.
She is less well known for her writing, recordings,
illustrations, installations and assemblages, which form an integral part of
her creative process and demonstrate the significance of tactile and
multi-sensory experience, prioritising sound and touch. Studio practice is
frequently spent drawing, field recording, reflecting on freewriting, illustrating
objects, staring into space or outdoors. Energetic paintings, appearing quick,
are slow to produce, some laying dormant for years between busts of activity.
Whichever media is used her works are all positions; revealing,
realising and understanding actions and attachments. She keeps hold of many of
her works for years before sharing them with others or letting them go, instead
choosing to live with them a while. Emma advocates people creating works of
their own.
Alongside her studio practice Emma
is currently a sessional Art and Design Tutor for The British School of Upholstered Furniture and is an Education
coordinator and Arts Practitioner for Adumbration
Arts. Emma continues her studies as an independent researcher, establishing
a programme evidencing the potential cognitive health benefits of artistic
enquiry, and is currently working towards a diploma in counselling.
Processes
Reflecting on her work as an artist
and tutor Emma states that having a solid foundation in both classical and
modern drawing practice is essential.
“Being able to draw well gives a fundamental strength and
creative freedom to an artist, no matter what the medium, subject matter or
discipline. Sketching is an instant response and retains a freshness that an
overthought or reworked piece lacks. Whether it is a sketch of something in
front of me, a memory, a book I have read, a newspaper headline or a piece of
music, it is the initial reaction that is the most honest, even if it is not
the most accurate.
I believe
there are essentially 3 different types of drawing, although on reflection I
may decide that there are more. There is drawing as a means of representation,
drawing as a means of expression and drawing as a means of understanding. And
in the creation of some of my works I have used all three and learnt a great
deal about myself.”
Previous education and employment
Emma studied Foundation Art &
Design at Central Saint Martins and gained a degree in Fine Art at Buckinghamshire
Chilterns University College, graduating in 2001. Following graduation, Emma continued
study to obtain her teaching qualification, and has taught part time alongside
her studio practice, since 2006. As a part of her teaching within adult
education and family learning, Emma has worked for Buckinghamshire Adult
learning, MIND, artsmart and Daler Rowney. Emmas was Resident
artist and International export artist for Daler Rowney from 2009 to
2011 and went on to become an Offender Learning Art Tutor for The Manchester
College and Milton Keynes College, education providers for Her
Majesty’s Prisons. In late 2013 Emma stopped work to focus on her family and in
2017 graduated from Oxford Brookes
University with distinction for an MA in Interdisciplinary Contemporary
Art.
Exhibitions
Sept’17
Adumbrations. Oxford Brookes University. Oxford.
May'13 Oxfordshire Art Weeks. St Mary's Church, Chalgrove,Oxon.
April'13
One Day at the Cornerstone. Cornerstone Art Centre, Didcot, Oxon.
Feb'13
Audiograft. Sonic Exhibitions. Art Research Unit. Oxford
Brookes University. Oxford
May'13
Oxfordshire Art Weeks. St Mary's Church, Chalgrove,Oxon.
April'13
One Day at the Cornerstone. Cornerstone Art Centre, Didcot, Oxon.
Feb'13
Audiograft. Sonic Art Research Unit. Oxford Brookes University. Oxford.
June'12
'Little Summer Benefits' CULTIVATE,Vyner Street, London. E2 9HE.
May'12
Designer Maker Collective. C2 Gallery, Stoke Hammond, Bucks.
May’11
A stitch in Twine. Wargrave, Berkshire.
Dec’10 Modern British. Askew Art, Duke St, Henley on
Thames, Oxon.
Nov’10.
Autumn / Winter Exhibition. Adwell Arts, Adwell Estate, Adwell, Thame, Oxon.
March’10.
Adwell Arts Fair. Adwell Estate, Adwell, Thame, Oxon.
August’06.
Woodland Trust. Art in Penn wood, Amersham, Bucks.
June’06.
Commercial square open studios. High Wycombe, Bucks.
Sept’04.
The Islington Contemporary Art & Design Fair. The Candid Arts Trust, London.
Sept’04.
Fest. The Candid Arts Trust, London
Aug’04.
Blue and yellow don’t make green. The Candid Arts Trust, London.
June’04.
Commercial square open studios. High Wycombe, Bucks.
Nov’03.
Five counties competition. Obsidian gallery, Stoke Mandeville, Bucks.
April’02.
The International salon. Lisbon, Portugal.
March’02.
So low. Artist in isolation. The warehouse. Newport, Isle of Wight.
July’01.
Fresh art. Business and design centre, Islington, London.
June’01.
Soup. High Wycombe, Bucks.
Aug’00.
Life laundry. Outdoor instillation. Drawings and washing line. High Wycombe,
Bucks.
July’97.
Good foundations. The gallery, Alan Baxter & associates. Farringdon,
London.
June’97.
Paint. Central saint martins. Farringdon, London.
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