Ink & Metal
An exhibition by printmaker Ian Hunter & sculptor John Thomson
16th to 24th May 2025
Private view Thursday 15th May 6-8pm
Meet the Artists Saturday 24th May
‘Ink & Metal’
Ian Hunter –Printmaker & John Thomson- Sculptor
The printmaker, Ian Hunter and sculptor, John Thomson, have been friends and teaching colleagues since meeting at Portsmouth Polytechnic in the early 1970's.
This exhibition is simply intended to give an insight into the variety of images, techniques and materials that both artists have employed to visualise ideas, over the ensuing 50 years.
Ian Hunters prints are made using silkscreen, etching and woodblock techniques, complimenting the small scale steel and wood sculpture of John Thomson.
A shared interest in both traditional and industrial production processes is made evident in the highly worked, decorative surface imagery in the resulting prints and sculpture.
The stimulus for the work is derived from city, seaside, town & country – but the resulting artworks are not saccharine consumables, but rather, accessible visual narratives conceived with intellectual rigour and crafted with skill and knowledge.
Ian Hunter – Printmaker
Bluebells by Ian Hunter
“I grew up in post-war London and attended St Martins School of Art in the mid 60s. A great place in amazing times. After graduating I became a printmaking technician at Bournemouth and Poole College of Art, later moving to the Fine Art Department at Portsmouth Polytechnic, where I enjoyed working closely with both students and staff. This experience increased my understanding of print techniques and contributed to the development of my own personal work. I am of that generation who thought themselves to be ‘artists first’ and was lucky to be working at a time and in an atmosphere that encouraged a continued personal practice alongside teaching.
The imagery in my early prints came from my immediate surroundings. The colour contrasts of terraced streets, Solent shipping, aviation flight paths and the architectural and human peculiarities I noticed. I always tried to avoid the obvious.
Throughout the 80s and 90s I taught at Portsmouth College of Art and Design and then latterly at the University. As the last guardian of physical letterpress my work moved from realism to a delight in the abstract qualities of metal and wood type, and its inherent symbolism. The digital revolution has passed me by, and holds little fascination. I have exhibited prints regularly both in the UK & Europe including at the Barcelona & Berlin, Mini Print Biennales.”
Ian Hunter 5/2/2025
John Thomson - Sculptor
Calcium by John Thomson