Like No Other: An Exhibition by Owen Gildersleeve & Harvey Lloyd Screens

posted by Robyn Pitts March 1, 2023

Multi-award winning paper artist Owen Gildersleeve has teamed up with masters of screen printing, Harvey Lloyd Screens, for an exhibition and brand new body of work. Like No Other is a celebration of hand-crafted individuality, the beauty in imperfection, and the magic of collaboration.

Specialising in handcrafted illustration, set design, and art direction, Owen’s unique style brings graphic designs to life, through carefully hand-cut layers and a playful use of light and shadow. His practice ranges from intricate paper illustrations and animations, to large-scale sets, window displays and installations.

The exhibition, which takes place at the Phoenix Art Space in Brighton (UK) from 22nd March – 9th April 2023, will showcase a distinctive body of work that displays a unique coming together of handcrafted techniques which combines mono-screen prints (inks hand painted directly onto the screen creating endlessly unique results) with hand cut paper designs. Created by Owen in his signature graphic style, the designs celebrate light, colour, space, and form, exploring themes of beauty in individuality, wonder in the everyday, and finding perfection in imperfection.

The idea for Like No Other was sparked during the COVID lockdowns of 2020, where Owen suddenly found himself faced with the freedom to experiment with different approaches to his work. This included creating watercolour washes, exploring gradients and in turn, combining these with his hand-crafted paper artworks. This opportunity of exploration led to Owen reaching out to Harvey Lloyd to collaborate on a one-off piece, who then took the idea and evolved it into something completely new, creating an array of wonderful mono-screen prints inspired by Owen’s initial concept. Through this creative ‘call and response’, Harvey Lloyd helped grow this seed of an idea into an amazing array of printed possibilities.

Like No Other tells a story of human connection and collaboration, stepping out of one’s comfort zone with the exchange of techniques and ideas, and the freedom that comes with embracing unexpected results. Owen’s papercut elements are created using the very same paper stock as the monoprints they interact with, bringing the two together in unison, as well as providing a natural colour limitation to the paper cut elements in nice contrast with the vibrance of the prints.

The show, which features over 50 one-of-a-kind original pieces of artwork, will be a take over of the gallery’s Project Space Room, and will guide viewers through the collaboration and its themes, from the small details to large scale immersive interpretations.

Visitors to the Private View will also each get a super special one-of-a-kind print, created by Harvey Lloyd especially for the opening.

All the artworks will be available to purchase, with a portion of sales donated to Arts Emergency, a charity who help support young people from low income families and aim to break down the barriers to entry in the arts.

March 22 – April 9 2023 Phoenix Art Space Brighton
Private View 23rd March, from 6pm
RSVP here.