Benjamin Clubbs Coldron

I am interested in the moment of transformation where a drawing or a painting or a sculpture becomes more than the sum of it's parts. When an artwork transcends its physical constituents (a log, or paint on a panel or pastel on paper) and the viewer can suddenly see things through it. This is a form of magic where the multiple meanings of a piece begin to ping off one another and resonate with a strange music.

In my sculptural works the meanings develop slowly and gradually. The three totems began as an abstract set of figures and as i worked on them they came to represent myself and two friends who recently passed away. This is a meaning that was not attributed but that grew from them. In my paintings the narratives and characters are perhaps more planned and intentional but through fighting with the characters and developing the right atmosphere new stories inevitably are made and they often take on a life of their own. Through the pastel work I walk and listen to music and put a lot of physical force into the process of mark making and rubbing and merging the pigments which quickly can transform into a landscape where light is subtle and unpredictable.

I have also engaged in an ongoing series of 'land art' sculptures usin...

PhD - Mental health law, policy and practice [Submission pending] – University of Nottingham (2019)
MSc - Research Methods [as part of +4 Mental health and wellbeing PhD] – University of Nottingham (2016)
LLB – Law [2:1] – University of Nottingham (2014)
A-level Art [A*], Psychology [A], English Literature [A] Biology [A*] – Tapton 6th Form, Sheffield

2017 - solo exhibition, Focus Gallery, Nottingham
2018 - solo exhibition, Yellow Arches, Sheffield
2018 - Nottingham Art Fair
2023 - Communicate, Conceive, Connect - Concurrent exhibition at Anatomy Rooms (Arkade Gallery) and RGU Sir Ian Wood Building, Aberdeen