Sara Willett

'A walk in the Wutong Mountains'. 

Gouged acrylic on wood. 

122x122 cms.

£2400.

A Walk in the Wutong Mountains visually describes just that -  a walk (or a series of walks) I made in the beautiful Wutong Mountain range above Shenzhen in South East China.   I was lucky enough to have been awarded a fully supported residency for a month at the Da Wang arts centre which is idyllically situated in an area of great natural beauty surrounded by the Wutong mountains.     Each day I would take a circular walk through the the hills, at the end of the day the earth rich in iron would glow a brilliant rust red as the dying rays of the sun hit the ground;  I have tried to capture a sense of this in the painting.

The piece also references the deep significance of the circle and the square in Chinese culture; the former representing perfection and unity and the latter representing order and regularity.   The construction of the painting is thus circles within circles, within circles all contained within the square.  

EDUCATION

2009 – 2011 Camberwell College of Art
MA Fine Art

1999 – 2002 Camberwell College of Art
BA (hons) Painting

1998 – 1999 Sir John Cass
Foundation Diploma

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

China Web, Da Wang Culture Highland, Shenshen, China 2013
Shape Shift, Cinnamon Kitchen, London 2013
Kunstforment der Poundland, Deptford X London 2012
Ligeia, Deptford X, main programme, London 2011
Psychidea, Tinpitch Art at Ganapati, London 2010
Arabesque, Arthouse Gallery, London 2010
One Fine Day, Beverley Knowles Fine Art 2008
Excavaton, The Flea Pit Gallery, London 2007
Recent Work, The Shed Gallery, Norwich 2005

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

Fenglin Shanshui International, Shenshen, China 2014
One Square Mile of Sky - with Foreign Investment -Hong Kong 2014
Jamworks 2014, London 2014
8 Studios From Here - Deptford X festival 2013
8 Minutes From Here, Royal Festival Hall 2013
Razzle, Dazzle Wall - with Alma Tischler Wood, London 2013
Wild New Territories, London, Vancouver, Berlin -with Foreign Investment, 2012
No Now, Space Station 65, London 2012
Voyage, Harts Lane Studios, Londn 2012
Down to Earth, Lewisham Arthouse, London 2012
A Smile Spreading like a secret, Harts Lane Studios, London 2012
Jamworks 2012, The Jam Factory, London, 2012
Kunstformen der Poundland – MA Degree Show, Camberwell College of Art 2011
The Gasworks Project, Gasworks Gallery, London, 2011
Saturation, Arthouse Gallery, London, 2011
Jamworks, The Jam Factory, London 2011
Big Society, Space Station 65, London, 2010
Bedizzened, APT Gallery, London (also joint curator), 2010
South London Women Artists, Bankside Gallery, London 2010
Near Dark, Camberwell College of Art, London 2010
Be Careful what you wish for, Space Station 65, London 2010
Objects of Love, The Arthouse Gallery, London, 2010
Art Bin, The South London Gallery, London 2010
New Blood Artists, New Blood Art, London, 2009
Friends Exhibition, Dulwich Art Gallery, London, 2008
Mark of Action, The Arthouse Gallery, London 2008
Sugar in Mi Tea, Arthouse Gallery, London 2007
Jamworks, The Jam Factory, London 2007
20/20, Beverley Knowles Fine Art, London 2006
Beadale Street, Beverley Knowles Fine Art, London 2005
Circle’s Edge, The Greenspace Gallery, London (joint) 2004
The Shed Show, Shed Gallery, Norwich 2004
Sounds of the Suburbs, Woodlands Gallery, London 2003
First Wave, Kingly Court Gallery, London 2003
Photocall, The Centenary Gallery, London 2003
Art London, Beverley Knowles Fine Art, London 2003
The Next Big Thing, The Gallery in Cork Street, London 2002
Future Map, The London Institute Gallery, London 2002
C6, House Gallery, London, 2002

PROJECTS

Lead artist with Alma Tischler Wood Simply Red and Green, Luxmore Gardens,
London, 2009. Large scale project to transform Luxmore Gardens, South London
into a giant art installation

Secretary of The Lewisham Arthouse, Artists run co-operative and community
arts centre also leading community art projects. Currently organizing and running
the graduate residence programme.

Founding member of Painted Circle, an initiative to develop vacant retail spaces
in central London, in collaboration with Landlords and local businesses, for use as
temporary gallery space.

Between 2002 and 2008, Designed sets and costumes for four Lewisham Council
funded musicals for schools, LIGHT, INDIA, EYGYPT, and THE VICTORIANS all
in collaboration with composer John Lunn and Director Olivia Fuchs.