Meet the Artist...

Over the next few months we're going to hand over our newsletter to some of our gallery artists so you can find out more about them. This month, it's over to Loren Beven:

 I grew up in South Africa but moved to London half way through my degree. After graduating from Wimbledon School of Art, I joined an artist’s collective that set up Studio Voltaire in London. It had artists’ studios, an education programme and exhibition space. So, I’m not only used to being an artist and working in the arts, but really enjoy it.


 
After London, I moved a lot, living mainly in the Far East. Because my work is a response to where I am – a kind of ‘poem to place’ – the subject matter changed with each move and I’ve experimented widely with different materials.
 
Now that I’m settled in Deal, I’ve returned to my roots as a painter and printmaker. The Popeye series started as a single piece in my MA show at UCA Canterbury where I looked at modern iconography of the seaside. I was fortunate to have a tutor who recognised that it’s possible to make serious art that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Not only that, they gave a distinction.
 
The ice cream has a special place in my heart because I spent my childhood summers in Durban with my grandparents. Every afternoon, they drove my sister and I to the esplanade for a Mr Whippy and a go on the trampolines.

For me, Deal is even more blissful than Durban – a metaphorical Endless Summer. It has an upbeat feel to it that I try to bring to my work. One of the highlights of being represented by Taylor-Jones & Son is knowing the number of people who stop and smile at the sight of glittery ice cream.

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