Jane Sunbeam is our new Artist in Residence!
3rd May 2018
We are thrilled that artist Jane Sunbeam will be our Artist in Residence from April – June, creating new work in response to the work of Suzanne Balkanyi (1922 – 2005).
LPW has been gifted over 150 of Balkanyi’s original copper plates, some of which will be on display during the exhibition, which will be available to Jane for study and research. Jane will be based at Leicester Print Workshop for 3 months from April – June making new work which will be exhibited in Print Room at LCB Depot from August – October, alongside an exhibition of Balkanyi’s work from the 1950s and 1960s from her time in Paris.
No One Will Know How Happy I’ve Been will be on show at Leicester Print Workshop from August to October. The exhibition will be the first posthumous show of Balkanyi’s etchings in the UK. As well as making work as an artist and illustrator, Balkanyi was a founder member of the Society of Engravers, Pointe et Burin in Paris.
Jane Sunbeam is an artist based in Leicester who has recently completed an MA in Children’s Illustration at Cambridge School of Art. Jane’s work for the residency will focus on observational work at Leicester’s historic Market, ‘from pavement to sky, and life in-between’.She says: ‘From the moment I saw Suzanne’s images in the callout, I fell in love with her work and knew I had to investigate her work further. I was immediately attracted to her prints, seeing my own work reflected in her tender and narrative scenes of daily life, filled with their sense of playfulness and strong sense of storytelling captured in beautifully designed images.’
Jane has already begun sketching at the market, focusing in on details such as the pigeons that hoover up the crumbs from the café to the ever-changing cast of characterful traders, shoppers and intrigued passers by who bring the market to life.
‘Leicester Print Workshop has been played a major part in my artistic career, from developing printmaking skills after my degree, to supporting me during my masters and exploring ways for make printmaking more accessible to me in their new building. It is a wonderfully inspiring and informative place to work, so it is a privilege to be able to make full use of the facilities at the workshop and able to give something back by sharing my skillset and knowledge.’
Leicester Print Workshop will programme a series of events around this exhibition, including a launch event, printmaking courses, and free half term printmaking activities for children.