My most recent work – my next step – explores the deep shadows of land and the brilliance of skies at the closing and opening of the days. I look to paint between these, seeking the expanse of height created between the two as I explore the beauty and peace of fleeting spaces.
Studies in Geology and reading on natural history subjects have impacted my perception of the natural landscape, of time and of our small place within both of these, resulting in the preoccupations which inform my recent paintings. The palette from a lifetime spent living in and touching base with the industrial northwest of England seeps into the rural landscapes of my work. Where I was informs where I am, still.
I am originally from Manchester and have lived and worked in Newport in South Wales, in London and since 2001 in the north-east of Scotland. I have recently refreshed and invigorated my painting practise over a two year period through my involvement with the fellow artists and practitioners from across the UK met at the Newlyn School of Art in Cornwall during an intense professional mentoring course. Recent and planned upcoming exhibitions have reflected this in the new collaborations made with artists I met during that time.
Interview with Kate Reeve-Edwards 2023:
Briony Jenkins’ work is an expression of space. Based in the north-east of Scotland, she internalises the large atmosphere and dramatic skies. This constant looking informs her work and she strives to capture what she experiences. This beauty isn’t simple; it is big, wide and deep, an expression of wonder and the beyond. She is communicating a resonance. Concretely, the sky is our touch point with astrophysics. It is a layer of space and air suggesting the universe which lies above it. Poetically, Jenkins sees looking upwards as a searching for light, implying a transcendent yearning.
Kate Reeve-Edwards
Picture by Steve Tanner http://www.stevetanner.co.uk
FILM: IN CONVERSATION WITH DANNY THORPE, ROGUE ARTISTS’ STUDIOS: ‘THE PATHS WE CROSS’, MANCHESTER 2024.
This ‘back to roots’ collaboration with two other artists, Stephen Milner and Mike Thorpe, is the first of a series rooted in our experiences of the North West of England.
Film: In conversation with Jesse Leroy Smith at Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, Cornwall, ‘Pulse’ exhibition, 2023.
Exhibitions:
- 2024 Meffan Winter Show (upcoming)
- 2024: Aberdeen Art Fair
- 2024: Residency: ‘The Three of Us’ at the Mura Ma Gallery, Marple, Cheshire with Mike Thorpe and Stephen Milner.
- 2024: ‘Lines of Connection’ with the Far Flung Collective, (Briony Jenkins, Mary Scott and Bev Campbell) The Crypt Gallery, St. Ives, Cornwall
- 2024: ‘Drawn to Landscape,’ The Sanctuary Gallery, Newnham, Gloucestershire.
- 2024: The Paths We Cross, Rogue Artists’ Studios, Manchester, (three artists).
- 2023: ‘Earthen’ with the Far Flung Collective, (four artists), The Bristol Guild of Applied Art, Bristol.
- 2023: NEOS (North East Open Studios), Aberdeen.
- 2023. RSA 197th Annual Exhibition, Edinburgh. Online presentation of work.
- 2023. ‘Pulse: Artists Unearthed,’ Group show. Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, Gulval, Penzance.
- 2023. Jupiter Gallery, Group show. Penzance, Cornwall
- 2022: Angus Alive Meffan Winter Show: Forfar, Angus
- 2022: Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens Gallery, Penzance, Cornwall
- 2021: NEOS (North East Open Studios), Aberdeen
- 2010: Touched by Scotland Gallery, Oyne, Aberdeenshire
- 2008: SEE SALT and SOUND Exhibition, Aberdeen
- 2006: ‘Art in the Garden’ (Sculpture collaboration, 2 artists) Hillier Gardens, Hampshire
- 2006: ‘Take a Seat Exhibition’: (2 artists) Museum of Garden History London
Art background:
- 2021 – 2023: Newlyn School of Art, Cornwall, Professional Mentoring courses.
- 2009 – 2013: Founder of Pigeon Mosaics
- 1999 – 2011: Founder of Pigeon Art Workshops
- Early art career: Freelance Book Cover Artist. Published by: The Women’s Press; Pandora Press; Jonathan Cape; Hamish Hamilton; Harper Collins, (Cascades, Paladin), The Women’s Environmental Network, The Bodley Head.
- Newport College of Art, South Wales: BA (Hons) Graphic Design
- Manchester Polytechnic: Foundation Course in Art and Design