Gillian Bates

profile

Statement

To shop for my latest products please click Portfolio

 

I’m a little bit obsessed, it’s perfectly true -  I go funny around fabric.

 

In fact the only thing I enjoy more than adding to my ever-growing collection of vintage and reclaimed fabrics is rummaging through them all to find just the right piece to integrate into my latest textile art canvas.

 

My obsession for all things textiles led me to successfully gaining a BA(Hons) in Textile and Surface Design in 2007 . During my studies I was extremely pleased to be shortlisted for the RSA Fashion Interiors Bursary Award.

 

I am now very happy to be indulging my passion working as a full-time artist, creating contemporary textile art from my studio based in the elegant, seaside town of Eastbourne, East Sussex.

 

I believe that habit and habitat draw a veil over our eyes. We become so accustomed to the people and places we see everyday that eventually we fail to see them properly at all. My aim is to pull back the veil and in doing so reveal the extraordinary and beautiful wonder of everyday life. 

 

I hope to do this by exploring the notion that man and landscape are part of the same, essential fabric and as such are seemingly stitched together - inextricably inter-connected and inter-dependent. By recapturing and reconceptualising the seemingly humdrum moments of everyday life in this way I hope to rediscover in them some fresh and revealing connections.

 

Recently I have felt more and more compelled to explore and celebrate my local environment. The brilliantly idiosyncratic, seaside towns of Sussex, their wonderful residents and stunning architecture continue to be the single, greatest driving force behind my work and a constant source of enjoyment and inspiration.

 

Other important influences on my work are vintage film footage of seaside holidays, mid 20th century tourism advertising and my increasingly large collection of British, seaside postcards.

 

Exhibition History

Dec 2011Brighton Open Houses & Studios
Sep 2011Brighton Art Fair, Corn Exchange
Sep 2011Battle Art Fair, Powdermills Hotel
May 2011Brighton Open Houses & Studios
May 2011Art @ The Claremont
Mar 2011'Brush Tales' The Stables Theatre & Gallery, Hastings
Dec 2010'Christmas Show' The Edge Gallery, Lancaster UK
Dec 2010Eastbourne Christmas Open Studios & Houses
Nov 2010MADE10, Corn Exchange, Brighton
Sep 2010'Coast' Green Tree Gallery, Haywards Heath, UK
Aug 2010'Coast' Gallery Atelier, Devon UK
Jul 2010'Summer Exhibition' Henry Paddon Contemporary Art Gallery, Eastbourne UK
Jun 2010'Summer Exhibition' Da Vinci Hotel, Eastbourne UK
Apr 2010'5th Annual: East Sussex Contemporary Art Fair' Rye, UK
Apr 2010Eastbourne Festival: Open Studio. Guest artist at Cuckoo Cuckoo Open Studio
Dec 2009Eastbourne Christmas Open Houses & Studios
Dec 2009'Sewing Circle' Hello Bluebird, Pennsylvania USA
Nov 2009MADE09, Corn Exchange, Brighton UK
Nov 2009'Renegade Handmade Spotlight Showcase series 3: Cross stitch and Embroidery' Chicago USA
Sep 2009'Quilted Stories & Stitched Scenes' 360SEE Gallery, Chicago USA
Jun 2009'Summer Exhibition' Da Vinci Hotel, Eastbourne UK
Jul 2009'A Stroll along the Promenade' Coastal Creatives, Bournemouth UK
Mar 2009'Coast Cafe' @ Country Living Spring Fair, London UK
Jul 2007'New Designers' London UK
Feb 2006'Indigo' Paris