Susan Laughton
- Website ,
- 'X' (Twitter) ,
- Instagram ,
- Blog
Susan Laughton worked in architecture for twelve years before returning to education to study art graduating with a BA Hons in 2002. Her work is exhibited regularly in the UK and is held in private collections in the UK, Europe, the US and Australia. It has been selected for the Royal West of England Academy Drawn exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy Annual exhibition and Fully Awake 5:6 at the Freelands Foundation, London. She has been a professional artist since 2006 and currently works from Vale Artists Studios in Cheshire.
My paintings and drawings evolve from half-remembered glimpses seen from the corner of my eye, fleeting juxtapositions elusive to photography, the dislocated reverie of long car journeys, or from more studied compositions. They are created from many visual sources that are filtered through sketchbook work and altered intuitively as the painting progresses.
The landscape is my starting point, not as a picturesque or static view, but as a space travelled through and experienced often on the edges of the urban and rural. It is a source of man made and natural structures, surfaces nd colour from which my reductive personal responses develop. I am inspired by distant horizons, the silhouettes of trees and rooftops contrasting expanses of sky interrupted by power lines, and by the architectural forms of vernacular buildings.
My long standing interest in landscape and architecture has always inspired my drawing and painting. Vernacular buildings, both rural and urban, domestic and functional, have found a place in my paintings for some time, no doubt also informed by time as an architectural technician. I am particular drawn to the triangular form of the gable ends of buildings, whether they be simple sheds, northern terraces, suburban 1960’s bungalows, barns or industrial warehouses. The move from painting to 3D forms was aninstinctive urge, a desire for a more physical, tactile exploration.
That exploration encompasses both the formal aspects of architectural, geometric shapes and what they mean in the sense of home, shelter, work and human endeavour and it’s impact on our external and internal landscapes. I think there is also an element of play involved in creating imaginary worlds, remembering the painted wood toy building blocks of childhood.
qualifications
2002 BA (Hons) Visual Art and Design (First) Bolton Institute.
1987 HND Building Technology, Bolton Institute.
shortlisted
2016 Lichfield Art Prize: Finalist
2012 John Moores Painting Prize, Walker Gallery, Liverpool (first round)
galleries
&Gallery, Edinburgh
Gallery57, Arundel, West Sussex
The Stratford Gallery, Broadway, Worcs.
Highgate Contemporary Art, London (online)
solo exhibitions
2019 Balancing Act &Gallery, Edinburgh
2019 Safekeeping Staithes Studios Gallery, North Yorkshire
2018 Conscious Perception The Stratford Gallery
2016 Cold Pess gallery, Holt, Norfolk
2015 Travelling Light, Quercus Gallry, Bath
2011 Still Here at greenroom, Manchester curated by Blank Media collective.
2010 Measured Space at Duckett and Jeffreys Gallery, Malton. North Yorks.
2009 Sightlines at Salford Museum & Art Gallery including curation of works from Salford’s permanent collection.
commissions
2024 Ten Lighthouse series paintings, Apollo Global Management, New York
2023/24 Twelve Lighthouse series paintings, FINRA, Washington DC
2023 Three round paintings, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida
2023 One round paintings, Bessemer Trust, San Diego
2023 Two round paintings for Apollo Global Management, London
2023 One round painting for Apollo Global Management, Singapore
2019 Three large round paintings for a private client, Elicyon Interior Design.
2019 Two large paintings, The Madison Club, California
2019 Large painting for a house in Bath, UK.
collections
Various private collections in Europe, Australia, USA, Singapore and the UK including the RIBA House of the Year Scotland.
group exhibitions
2020 The Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition
2020 Wood: growth patterns Gallery 57, Arundel
2020 Journey into Landscape Bircham Gallery, Holt, Norfolk
2019 Fully Awake: The Freelands Foundation, London
2019 Small Works group exhibition, The Stratford Gallery
2019 Constructs of Colour The Old Lock Up Gallery, Derbyshire
2019 Fresh: Contemporary Art Fair, Cheltenham Racecourse
2018/19 Organic Form Gallery 57, Arundel
2018/19 Winter exhibition The Stratford Gallery
2018 Initial Sighting &Gallery, Edinburgh
2018 A contour, a curve - the lie of the land Gallery 57, Arundel
2018 JOURNEY The Stratford Gallery, Stratford upon Avon
2018 Fresh: Contemporary Art Fair, Cheltenham Racecourse
2018 The Affordable Art Fair, Battersea represented by The Art Agency
2018 Winter The Stratford Gallery
2017 Mixing Signals Kobi & Teal, Frome, Somerset
2017 Gaze, Glimpse: Looking at landscape Gallery 57, Arundel
2017 Ikigai: A reason for living The Old Lock Up Gallery, Derbyshire
2017 A Time for Reflection The Stratford Gallery, Stratford upon Avon
2016
Opening Exhibition The Stratford Gallery, Stratford-upon-Avon
Buy Art Fair, Manchester, represented by Staithes Studios
Open Exhibition, The Old Station Gallery, Rowsley, Derbyshire
Responses in Colour Artwave West, Morecombelake, Dorset
Lichfield Art Prize: Finalist, Emporium Gallery, Staffordshire
A Certain Language Staithes Studios gallery, North Yorkshire
2015
Drawn 2015 The Royal West of England Academy, Bristol
The Still Point Quercus Gallery, Bath
2014
Bristol Affordable Art Fair represented by Columbia Road Gallery
Quercus Gallery Summer Show
Hampstead Affordable Art Fair
2013
neo:artprize, neo:artists, Bolton
Battersea Affordable Art Fair
New York City Affordable Art Fair
2012
Artlink Stockport Art Galley, Cheshire
2011
Artificial Light Cupola Gallery, Sheffield
A Different View, The Barefoot Gallery, Boston Spa, Yorkshire
No.1: Paint BLANKSPACE Gallery, Manchester
Wirksworth Festival Art Trails
Barnaby Festival, Macclesfield
Stockport Contemporary Open, Stockport Art Gallery, Cheshire
2010
Palace Art Fair, Fulham, London
2009
Buy Art Fair, Urbis, Manchester: represented by Arts&Business
Art of Ideas II: Arts & Business/Arts Council exhibition selected by Stephen Snoddy, Director of Walsall Gallery
Findings: Valley Artists Towneley Museum & Gallery, Burnley
Survey gallerytop, Rowsley, Derbyshire
2008
Brighton Art Fair
Haworth Museum & Gallery, Accrington (solo)
Cupola Gallery, Sheffield.
2007
Figura Gallery, Windsor.
Tony Scrivener & Susan Laughton Firbob & Peacock Contemporary Art, Knutsford, Cheshire.
Brighton Art Fair
Open Exhibition, Grosvenor Museum, Chester.
2006
Troubadour Gallery, Chorlton, Manchester
Calder Gallery, Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire.
Haworth Open, Haworth Gallery, Accrington, Lancashire.
Prelude Art Fair, Spitalfields, London
Landmarks III Lowood Gallery, Armathwaite, Cumbria
2005 Sculptural Possibilities Cupola Gallery, Sheffield.
awards:
2006 Arts Council Grant.
commissions
2008 Valley of Stone: art commission and community workshop with five Valley Artists for Groundwork Pennine Lancashire with Heritage Lottery funding to raise awareness of the quarrying heritage of Rossendale.
studio:
Electric Picture House Artists Co-operative, Congleton, Cheshire 2011 -
www.electricpicturehouse.com
Victoria Mill Arts Centre, Congleton, Cheshire 2010 - 2011
Valley Artists, Rossendale, Lancashire 2004 - 2010