Please Do Not Bend

Welcome

2007-06-15T14:51:00.001Z

Welcome to Please Do Not Bend

2007-03-12T09:26:00.000Z

Please Do Not Bend it proud to announce a Drawing Exhibition by three of its current artists:

Nathan Chenery
Kruse
Catherine Scriven

At The Artspace, York.

14th May – 9th June 2007.
Admission is free.

See upcoming events for more details.

PLEASE DO NOT BEND

Please Do Not Bend organises a range of art events aimed at getting artists & art enthusiasts together.
The first event took place on March 8th, 2007 & was a great night. (see past events) Tickets were available for £10 and for this everyone got a piece of artwork sealed in an A5 'please do not bend' envelope. Each ticket was numbered, the number corresponding with one of the sealed envelopes, so no-one knew which artist's work they would be getting until the middle of the evening when the envelopes were given out and opened. A great buzz was generated once people started opening their envelopes and revealing the work. York Art & Framing sponsored the event with free wine, and everyone had a chance to compare their pieces, chat to the artists and other collectors and generally have a nice relaxed night with art enthusiasts.
Information on the artists, and some images of their work, can be looked up if you just follow the site map. If you would like to commission work from our artists please contact them directly.

A bright day dawns...

2007-03-08T15:28:00.000Z

Well, tonight is the night. We sold more than our target of 25 tickets, the sun is shining, the work is ready, the venue has changed (we got double booked) and is now in the City Screen bar,(which is much more fun). Below is our manifesto:

In recent years, inflamed by uninformed and sensational media coverage, contemporary art has often been viewed by the public with a mixture of bafflement and scorn. Working on the premise that society needs art and art needs society, Please Do Not Bend attempts to build bridges between artist and audience by curating initiatives that rely wholly on trust between those factions.

Art is presented to the audience concealed, wrapped in brown paper or placed inside manila envelopes. The audience is then invited to become owner, by buying a piece of work unseen. This radical initiative succeeds only if there is an understanding of trust on both sides, with the artists involved undertaking to offering honest, committed work, and the buyers trusting that commitment.
The exchange does not go beyond that; where the work stands in the wider political, artistic or intellectual field is not the issue.

The women and men who have bought tickets and supported this event tonight, have through this action, affirmed that there is an inherent trust there, a desire to be surprised, pleasured, challenged and excited by contemporary art. Because of the reassurance of trust from the buyer, the artist is then free to offer up work that is an honest expression of her/his practice, and which, despite the exchange of cash for goods, is always a gift, a communication of human to human.

For those of you who did'nt make it to this event...WE WILL BE BACK

One week left

2007-03-02T08:38:00.000Z

This time next week anyone who holds a ticket to the Please Do Not Bend event will be reflecting on the night and enjoying their new piece of art. This could still be you.

There are a very limited number of tickets left; we are down to the last few. The art works are in the envelopes and at the ready and the excitement is building.

So get that ten pounds out, support emerging artists and own some original art.

I would just like to thank York Art & Framing for their sponsorship which is helping to get more money to the artists, hopefully allowing them to make more art.

Disclaimer

2007-02-16T23:52:00.000Z

The previous rant does not necessarily reflect the beliefs and opinions of the management.
Thank you.

get your dosh out!

2007-02-16T23:41:00.000Z

Whilst standing in a gathering of the movers and shakers of this antique city, listening to someone plead for the retention of its graduates who flock from its college and universities like brilliant birds and flap away to pastures more welcoming; I feel a burgeoning excitement. These people around me want us to stay. They want this gotham city to crowd round its newly minted educated folk and clasp them to its bosom. "The youth, these golden graduates can save this horny relic of a city! They can bring in life, and fun, and investment! Their great big brains will heave with new and innovative ideas," they cry, "and we will support them in their noble endeavors!"
Oh yeah? Well get your hands in your pockets, bring out a nice crisp tenner and SUPPORT THIS EVENT!
Money - Mouth - Where is.
Cheers

What it's all about

2007-02-06T16:40:00.000Z

Please do not Bend supports emerging artists by offering an opportunity to get their work into collector's hands and some money in theirs.

It is simple, through this blog or at an event you can pay £ 10 and for this you get an A5 sized Please Do Not Bend envelope with an art work in it. If you can make it along to an event you get a glass of wine and you can chat with the artists and fellow collectors.

However places are limited, the first event is March 8th at City Screen, York. If you want to be in, book your ticket now.

E-mail – pleasedonotbend@gmail.com

So, whether you are an avid collector, looking to start, or just looking to support a few artists, this is an ideal place.

William Bradley

2005-01-01T00:07:00.000Z

“The act of painting is just as important as the painting itself, as the process becomes a journey. The interaction between painter and canvas becomes a record or map of that journey. This journey of self discovery is a theme that recurs within my work, combined with a strong aesthetic and compositional attention”.

Jane Charlton

2005-01-01T00:06:00.001Z

“I have lectured in Fine Art in Higher Education at the Bath Academy of Art, De Montfort University, Monash University Australia, Westminster College, Oxford and York St John University.
My own studio practice has developed alongside pedagogical concerns. I am currently a member of a personal narratives research cluster. My work is concerned with the fragments of textiles/ clothing / and my own painted canvasses, which are imbued with personal memory and meaning. The works in PDNB are fragments of my paintings that have been sanded/eroded/distressed/weathered and generally evidence their own construction over many years.”

Nathan Chenery

2005-01-01T00:05:00.001Z

Nathan is currently completing an MA in Contemporary arts practice. His current practice is based around two series’ of work, 'Horizon' and 'Queer Purple,’ both of which look at mark making, composition and space. The works are mainly ink and pencil on high quality paper, the materials and over all finish are very important features in the work.
The small works submitted for PDNB are studies; which play an important part in narrowing down the process of ongoing artistic investigation.

Naomi Gale

2005-01-01T00:04:00.001Z

“These works are inspired by movement and energy, in response to the ever changing pace of the world we live in. Whether it is the interpretation of the human form and issues of self image…or exploring the subject of urbanity and following the journey of growth in our modern society, my work focuses on issues that affect us all”.

Kruse

2005-01-01T00:03:00.000Z

“While my work may manifest in a range of practises and media, at its core is a deep engagement with the world of matter. It aims to show that in the minutiae of the natural world, including the scars and wrinkles on our own bodies, may be found profound and sacred beauty.”

Catherine Scriven

2005-01-01T00:02:00.000Z

“Objects have a language of their own, we connect them with the activity they are used for. In these small works the focus is on shifting that connection, perceiving the objects in different ways… these drawings are like whispers, and they need to be approached quietly and with an open mind to be heard”

Nathan Walker

2005-01-01T00:01:00.000Z

“I am a homotextual artist creating performance and performing work. My live work is concerned with struggle and an exploration of queer space. Since graduating from York St John University in 2006, I have undertaken an intense period of making/writing new work for theatre spaces. Additionally, I have developed an interest in artists books and cartography which has resulted in an investigation into mapping language, the performing page and autobiography. The Polaroid/Text works for PDNB use gram(mar)s of language and coupled images to explore the autobiography of place and object.”

Contacts

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Please Do Not Bend is organised by Nathan Chenery & Kruse, to reach either please e-mail:

pleasedonotbend@gmail.com

Or you can contact an individual artist via the website links or e-mail addresses below:

William Bradley – william.bradley@yorksj.co.uk

Jane Charlton – j.Charlton@yorksj.ac.uk

Nathan Chenery – nathanchenery@gmail.com

Naomi Gale – naomi.gale@gmail.com

Kruse – susankruse@yahoo.com

Catherine Scriven – catherine.scriven@yorksj.ac.uk

Nathan Walker – nathan.ashley@gmail.com

Drawing Works, from 14th May 2007

2002-01-01T00:00:00.000Z

‘Drawing Works,’ at the Artspace gallery York, shows just how differently artists approach the practice of drawing, in an exciting new exhibition by Nathan Chenery, Kruse, and Catherine Scriven.

Belgian born artist Catherine Scriven makes exquisite drawings full of movement and delicate colour that give unexpected depth and meaning to such every-day objects as a pair of shoes, building each image with hundreds of subtle, coloured lines. Particularly unusual are the delicate and ethereal drawings she makes with coloured pencil onto tracing paper.

Nathan Chenery, short-listed for the Mercury Arts Prize in 2005, makes elegant, exacting drawings with ink on paper. His drawings are made up of hundreds of precisely executed marks that are a breathtaking example of painstaking hours of artistic labour and a master-class in the use of negative space.

Kruse, a challenging artist who is exhibiting at the (deviant) Arts Festival this summer, makes drawings that she says are a collaboration between herself and Nature. The drawings on display at Artspace were all made outside, often in storm force conditions, using the power of wind and rain to move ink on paper.

At:

The Artspace
8 Tower Street,
(opposite Clifford's Tower)
York,
YO1 9SA.
01904 671709

14th May – 9th June 2007.
Admission is free.

For more details please contact the PDNB team:

pleasedonotbend@gmail.com

March 8th event

2001-03-08T00:00:00.000Z

The first PLEASE DO NOT BEND event has been deemed a success; we hope that all had a great night and love their new piece of art. Below you can see some pictures of the night.

The event had people enjoying wine and each other's company. Whether people stayed for a hour or until they were asked to leave, there was a lovely atmosphere where people felt comfortable to talk to everyone else. This was perhaps one of the biggest successes of the night; we had art bringing people together, engaging them in conversation and they all got to brag about their new pieces.

We have had excellent feedback not only from the ticket holders, but also from the artists who enjoyed the night. People were very keen to speak to the artists who I am sure all felt proud to have someone happily enjoying new ownership of their work.

We hope to see all who were there at future events and look forward to meeting all who are still to join in supporting the event.

Images from the first Please Do Not Bend event on March 8th.

LINKS

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coming soon