GroundWork Gallery, 17 Purfleet, Kings Lynn, Norfolk
www.groundworkgallery.com

GroundWork Gallery
​GroundWork is an established contemporary art gallery in King's Lynn in West Norfolk dedicated to art and the environment. Curator and writer Veronica Sekules was Head of Education and Research at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts for 18 years and has a wealth of contacts and experience as well as a deep knowledge of running a contemporary gallery.

Veronica has a whole career behind her which charts a passion for environmental issues and sees addressing climate change as our biggest challenge. She is at the centre of a network of artists, historians, environmentalists, geologists, writers, birders, academics and more. The exhibitions she creates have a deep-seated issue to investigate and communicate and so as well as the visual impact of an exhibition in a gallery, she convenes workshops and seminars to accompany each show, interspersed with residencies for artists to enable them to make work.

Central to the cultural life of King's Lynn and West Norfolk, Veronica and her team of artists and volunteers reach out

Discover here how artists are seeking new approaches. Join with us to share innovative ideas towards our goal of environmental sustainability.
​Come and see the current exhibition: FieldWork involving 6 stunning artists thinking about nature and urban contexts. Open as usual 11-4 Wednesdays-Saturdays

Review: Fragile Nature : Marion de Mello Catlin
The newest GroundWork exhibition for 2019 is Fragile Nature featuring four artists: Paca Sanchez, Elspeth Owen, Lotte Scott and Emma Howell - see below for more about the artists. Meanwhile, my impressions of the work on a short visit yesterday (18 June). I was immediately captivated by the delicate ceramics made by Elspeth Owen, of which there any many small pieces in this exhibition - egg-like, bowl-like, card-like with delicate decorations, messages, meanings, beautifully displayed on smooth surfaces. These impressed me the most. Owen is clearly a prolific worker with a lot to say. On closer inspection, the wall pieces by Paca Sanchez were also quite gripping the more I looked into their deep frames - quite graphic in their layout but very textured and delicate - fragile of course, the theme of the exhibition.

I was less drawn towards the work of Lotte Scott and Emma Howell and probably need to make another visit as there was a lot to take in and in retrospect, I feel that I didn't give them enough attention as Elspeth's work was dominant for me so I will be going back. I also didn't really give enough attention to the beautiful collection of artists books from Coracle which are arranged on a new display stand on the ground floor. As with all GroundWork exhibitions this one is free so I can go back any time. Which I will do as the overall atmosphere of this exhibition is charming, relaxed and cool, a feeling that pervades the whole building.

In the centre of the town opposite the Custom House, and near the river Ouse, the building stands out against the backdrop of the heritage townscape of King's Lynn although it has its own heritage as a former joiner's workshop which was converted in 2015 by Hudson Architects.

Now a well-designed gallery with a permanent , there is a cycle of three exhibitions a year with the gallery closed over the worst of the winter. As well as the temporary exhibitions, there are displays of art jewellery, postcards and books which are for sale.

For the full programme details please check websites: www.groundworkgallery.com
[email protected]
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​Congratulations to GroundWork!