Mirrors Fog Over When I Breathe: Group Show

CLOSE proudly presents Mirrors Fog Over when I Breathe, an exhibition featuring
new works by Helen Barff, Katherine Perrins and Denise Webber. This show marks
the first in a series of curated exhibitions in Bristol by CLOSE Gallery.

The exhibition brings together works that evoke a humanness and notions of what it is to be
alive and physically present and in the moment. The title is taken from a poem by the American
poet Leslie Harrison.

Helen Barff is a multidisciplinary artist who uses tactile processes to produce work that has a
sense of life lived. She uses memory derived from interactions with people or histories to gather a story, which she then interprets in drawing, casting in plaster or concrete, with a process which loads, in this case, garments, which are disproportionate to their physical weight. The mass of her sculptures bare the remnants of life, simultaneously containing a lament for the past within their surfaces. Since graduating from Goldsmiths College in 1999, she has exhibited widely in the UK and internationally, including group exhibitions at the Foundling Museum, The Jerwood Drawing Prize and White Cube. Helen is represented by Close Ltd.

Katherine Perrins is a painter exploring the arena of subtle roles within the female realm. She often works from the inside out, using interiors as a metaphor for silence and a captured moment of intimacy. Taking inspiration from the quotidian, such as the moment when the light hits a familiar, everyday scene within the home, a half-drunk glass of water or a child’s discarded toy, creating for her an almost sacred moment in time. These images are then meticulously rendered in paint, seeking to honour and share them. Produced in series, her still life paintings record the passing of time and an accumulation of memories. Katherine is represented by Close Ltd and her work has been exhibited in Somerset, Cornwall, London and France, and has been reviewed in The Telegraph and The Times.

Denise Webber's upbringing in Cyprus and first-hand experiences of the war whilst growing up were formative influences which persist in the background and continue to subtly shape her work. Her photographs of women crossing the threshold of a Taoist temple are an evocation of a journey filled with boundaries, both visible and invisible, real and imagined, which the women delightfully transcend. Hers is a world of bodies searching for a comfortable place to be. Denise’s work has been exhibited internationally and shown at Tate Modern, Moderna Museet Stockholm and the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art in Melbourne. It is represented in the Arts Council Collection and in the Tate Archive.

The works in Mirrors Fog Over When I Breathe share a sense of intimacy, offering viewers an opportunity to reflect on the intersections of time, habit and memory.

We would be delighted if you could join us for the Private View on the evening of Friday 7th June 6-8pm for drinks and some live music from Bristol based musician Woody Taylor.

Notes to Editors
CLOSE Ltd develop visual art projects and represent a dedicated line-up of artists.. They give a wide and supportive platform with projects to enrich both the artists’ and audiences’ lives. A leading rural venue for the Visual Arts, CLOSE Ltd is also an agency that creates outstanding aerial international shows. Running a unique, sustainable model responding and adapting to the climate crisis, the gallery team consider the environment as well as inclusivity of all communities in every aspect of their activities.