Exhibition
"The Architecture of Pleasure" - Blackpool and The Fylde College
PAINTINGS, DRAWINGS, PHOTOGRAPHY
BY HELENA BEN-ZENOU
Badept artist in residence 2008-2010
30 SEP – 27 OCT
PRIVATE VIEW
WED 29th Sep 6 PM - 8 PM
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
WEEKDAYS EXCEPT BANK HOLYDAYS
9.00 am to 8.00 pm Monday - Thursday
9.00 am to 4.30 pm Fridays
Helena Ben-Zenou is an artist who is well known for investigating industrial and urban spaces. Working across painting, photography, installation, video and curation, her works and projects explore the transitory and contradictory nature of cities and address their physicality and social history.
Helena’s work reflects the boldness and strength of historic industrial buildings and structures. She uses the power of perspective and layered forms to create an illusory quality in the painting, to affect the experience of the viewer and to generate a wider symbolism. The strong compositions are often stripped down to bare essentials, siting the work somewhere between abstraction and representation. The use and application of industrial materials such as marble dust, slate powder, graphite, cement and various industrial paints, enable Helena to take the subject matter direct to the canvas.
Helena was awarded a bursary of £4000 as part of the BADept programme, generously funded by Blackpool Council, Arts Council England and the National Lottery. It is the largest Award for a residency in the North West and as part of the programme Helena has conducted lectures and tutorials at Blackpool and The Fylde College, workshops with St Mary’s Catholic College, alongside the BADept open workshops designed for all ages and backgrounds.
BADept (Blackpool Arts Department) is an artist-lead initiative promoting the arts in Blackpool and making links throughout the UK via exhibitions, workshops and a residency programme. One of the key aims is to build relationships and links with artists and students in the Blackpool area. It also aims to provide role models and mentors, as well as generating interest and discourse around contemporary art.
BADept is very pleased to present this exhibition in the major new gallery space at the Blackpool and The Fylde College University Centre
