Off-Beat new venue Wonder Inn, perfectly positioned in Shudehill on the outskirts of the NQ, has been home to some excellent events and artistic offerings since opening and looks to continue the trend with a new Breaking the Colours exhibition opening this week.
A collaboration between Gideon Conn and Maxine Gilbert, Breaking the Colours is the result of two studio colleagues discovering that their skills and materials are compatible to create works that could not have been achieved separately.
Maxine loves cutting glass and Gideon is passionate about cutting wood with a jigsaw. Gideon draws the lines; Maxine provides the colour; creating a world full of shapes, personalities and imagination.
After finishing a degree in sculpture at MMU, Gideon decided to become a builder – but quickly nipped it in the bud once he realised it was too much hard graft. It was at this point that he decided to be a full-time artist and musician, becoming a feature on the Manchester indie folk scene – becoming well known for doing drawings at gigs and giving them to bands as a souvenirs.
Conjoined with music, sculpture is Gideon’s number 1 passion. His work is often abstract and usually involves rhythm and processes. It’s about materials and how they behave, discovering the unexpected things they can do, and always about finding ways of breaking up space and the search for a new aesthetic. Materials include wood, paper fliers, ceramics, plastic, fabric, electric cable, cardboard and whatever else i can get my hands on.
Maxine, at the age of 48, has more or less finished bringing up four children and is now using her time creating art with coloured glass. She had private tuition studying The Tiffany Technique in France while working at local craft fairs. In 2002 she moved from France to London where she continued to take commissions joining the art studio at The Wonder Inn where she met Gideon Conn. He invited her to collaborate and the rest they say is history.
The exhibition comes after Gideon connected with the Wonder Inn in 2015 and became an artist in residence. This in turn led to a year-long collaboration with Maxine Gilbert for Breaking the Colours.
Breaking the Colours is on from May 5th – 7th
The Wonder Inn, 29 Shudehill, Manchester M4 2AF
07743 000707
