STUART Edward
SHEARER Artist
Stuart has always been interested in the dynamic relationship between creativity and context. He has used interactive painting and site specific installation to explore how the viewing context of an artwork influences the ways in which audiences experience and make sense of art. In recent years Stuart's focus has moved away from audience experience to focus on day to day life and how everyday activities such as walking can inform creativity. In a recent interview he discusses how drawing whilst walking has changed the way he experiences the world and how this has transformed his understanding of the creative process.
'Drawing whilst walking allows me to experience and record much more than if I were standing at an
easel looking at the landscape. This way of working allows me to record my physical presence as I move
about a specific environment. By doing this I become part of the landscape alongside the other flora and
fauna living there and the drawings become visually dynamic records of a more immersive experience of
living in what is my habitat too.
Since 2015 I have used a harness to hold my drawing board in place whilst drawing. This has made it
possible to make larger drawings and to draw with both hands whilst walking. This has made the process
more physically dynamic, allowing the interaction of the ground and my hips or the wind and my upper
body to guide the drawing. I call walking and drawing with both hands 'ambulatory drawing' and the
combination of visual distractions and physical disruptions can make this activity either frustrating or
liberating. In my experience, it depends on one’s attitude towards the creative process.
Bthe embodied experience and embracing the complex dynami y mindfully attending to cs of the
interaction between artist and the other forces at play within the environment, I find myself
participating in spontaneous mark making and witnessing the emergence of unexpected and
arresting compositions.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:
Solo:
2023 'Stillness in Motion' - Cromer Artspace, Norfolk, UK
2022 'Recent Drawings' - The Old Workshop Gallery, Corpusty, Norfolk, UK
2015 'Transient' - St Nicholas Church, Salthouse, Norfolk, UK
2007 'Vir Domesticus Sublimis' - Habitat, Norwich, UK
2006 'A Sublime Phallacy' - The Granary, Norwich, UK
1999 Artist in Residence - Round Tower Gallery, Kyrenia, Northern Cyprus
1996 Permanent Installation - Pfizers Pharmaceuticals, Sandwich, Kent, UK
Joint:
2008 Horace Blue Gallery: 'Object and Image' (with Simon Wright), Norwich, UK
2005 The Cut Arts Centre: 'New paintings' (with R. Greenhalgh), Halesworth, UK
Group:
2021 The Hostry, Norwich Cathedral: Norwich 20 'Horizons', Norwich, UK
2019 The Undercroft: 'Metamorphosis', Norwich, UK
2018 Cley 18: 'Ambulatory Drawing - Salthouse to Cley-next-the-Sea', Norfolk, UK
2017 Cley 17: 'Ambulatory Drawing', Norfolk, UK
2015 Open Studios: The Crooked Rose, Aylsham, Norfolk, UK
2010 Salthouse 10: 'Time and Motion', Norfolk, UK
2008 Galerija Vojvodanske banke: 'Gruppa 20', Novi Sad, Serbia
2008 Halle aux Toiles: '50 Artistes d’Aujourd’hui', Rouen, France
2006 Salthouse 06: Interregnum, Norfolk, UK
2005 Fringe at the Factory: 'Four Room Installation', Norwich, UK
Competitions:
2007 Celeste Art Prize (Exhibition Catalogue) - Old Truman Brewery, London, UK
1995 Unipart Reflections of Technology Awards - Paddington Station, London, UK
Collections:
Pfizer, UK
Private collections in the UK, Cyprus and Malaysia
MEMBERSHIPS and VOLUNTARY WORK:
Norwich 20 Group - 2006 to present
North Norfolk Exhibition Project - committee member 2006-10
