FRANCES BLOOMFIELD

Living and working in Brighton Frances graduated in Fine Art from Ravensbourne College of Art. From lecturing in graphic design in London at the Sir John Cass School of Art and Design and the University of the Arts, Frances has established a strong reputation as a contemporary artist working in a broadly surrealist tradition. She is represented by a number of UK galleries and has exhibited widely in Britain and in Europe. In 2015 she was selected for Aesthetica’s long list. Previously she has had work included in the London Group Open and the East Sussex Open. In 2015 and 2016 she and her partner Pete Fraser, who collaborated with her on a number of design projects and art works, created the design concepts for the Gebruder Thonet Vienna exhibition stands at Salone del Mobile, Milan.

Her work can best be described as a series of fascinating dreamscapes exquisitely created in three-dimensional collage. Each piece is like a small theatre set which plays with space and perspective to draw the viewer into the curious worlds she creates. The subject matter varies from the domestic to the industrial to the natural but there are recurrent themes throughout her body of work. Notably there is always a suggestion of parallel realities – it might be a juxtaposition of what is considered ‘real’ and what is imagined or desired or the conflict between the façade and what might be really occurring behind it. However the meanings are not prescriptive and it is for the viewer to contemplate and reflect upon these scenarios.