About the exhibition
Paper Works at the Royal West of England Academy is a survey exhibition featuring some of the finest contemporary art created on and with paper in recent years.
With 170 artists showcased, the exhibition offers a vibrant overview of contemporary practice. Whilst the majority of the works are by South West based artists, the selection is diverse, presenting pieces from a broad spectrum of makers.
I’m thrilled to have been included. My Sennen / EPC / chine collé photopolymer etching, originally created for my Experimental Print Club, was displayed in a fantastic spot in the main gallery. If you’d like to learn more about the edition you can find further details and images online here >
After several inspiring and thought provoking visits to the exhibition, I’ve put together a snapshot of some of the works that stood out to me. These images are just a small selection and are not intended to be exhaustive; they are simply a few of the many pieces that captured my attention.
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Paper Works, RWA Biennial Open 2025
25 January to 27 April 2025
Royal West of England Academy, Queen's Road, Bristol BS8 1PX
https://www.rwa.org.uk/products/rwa-biennial-open-2025-paper-works
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The RWA Biennial Exhibition for 2025 celebrates paper in all its forms, as a surface for drawing, printmaking and collage, and as a material for constructing sculpture, installations and architectural models. Star of the show, it reveals itself in many different guises: manipulated, burnt, cast, folded, torn and walked on.
For many artists their response to paper borders on reverance and they are very particular about which ones they use for their work. It has its own language which tells you what the surface feels like to the touch, how textured it is - thin, thick, rough, smooth - and how it reacts to pastel, paint or printmaking inks.
'Paper Works' is a fascinating exploration of what paper is capable of, revealing both its strength and its deceptive fragility. Exquisite fine line drawings on costly cotton rag contrast with expressive vibrant works on packaging cardboard and paper animal feed sacks. Tiny intimate paintings provide a foil for powerful visceral charcoal drawings and suspended hangings seem impossibly delicate as they move in the air.
We are honoured to welcome Ian McKeever RA as our invited artist for this exhibition.
Congratulations to the artists whose work has been selected. Thank you to Elaine Cooper, a leading expert on handmade Japanese paper, who joined me on the selection panel together with Academicians: Ian Chamberlain, Toni Davey, Peter Ford, Juliette Losq and Hamish Young.
Join us on a voyage of discovery to see what paper is and how artists use it.
Fiona Robinson PRWA.
Works on show
Images clockwise from top left; img01 Exhibition poster; img02 Ian Chamberlain RWA on the back wall; img02 On the floor / TBC; img03 Gallery view; img04 Vera Boele-Keimer RWA; img05 Dallas Collins RWA / gallery view; img06 TBC; img07 Jemma Appleby RWA above Simon Hitchens RWA; img08 Gallery view; img09 Stephen Hoskins RWA; img10 Chuck Elliott / Sennen / dark pool; img11 Chuck Elliott / Sennen / dark pool; img12 Karl Singporewala RWA; img13 Dallas Collins RWA; img14 Stephen Hoskins RWA; img15 Martyn Grimmer; img16 Peggy Cozzi; img17 Fiona Robinson PRWA; img18 Peter Ford RWA; img19 Chuck Elliott / Sennen / dark pool; img20 Ian McKeever RA
Link to associated works
