Henley's exciting exhibitions by local Artweeks artists ahead of the main festival

Submitted by Esther Lafferty on Mon, 02/02/2015 - 12:28pm

Philip Koomen: Forest to Furniture
14 February - 7 June
an exhibition examining the relationship between forestry, design and craftsmanship in wood and the creative process.
Simon Murison-Bowie: Artists & Studios - Private Views 7 March - 31 May
an exhibition of rare photographs of artists working in their studios, revealing the relationship between them and the space they inhabit during their creative process.
Both at The River & Rowing Museum, Mill Meadows, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, RG9 1BF

The work on display will demonstrate the rich diversity of furniture by this designer and master craftsman Philip Koomen , acknowledged as one of Britain’s finest craftsmen and recognised for ‘excellence in design’ by Her Majesty the Queen. The exhibition will showcase his extraordinary achievements in a career spanning 40 years; survey a wide range of commissions, including ecclesiastical work from Dorchester Abbey through to exquisite Egyptian-style cabinets, and include sculptural furniture - notably the iconic Pondlife bench – and the OneOak table made from a 222-year- old oak from Blenheim Palace. The exhibition also features a series of experiments in wood, Ideas in the Making, a research project supported by Arts Council England, which shows how ideas begin and questions the boundaries between art, craft and design. You are also invited to join Philip for a creative symposium on Ideas in the Making at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History.

Alongside, Artists & Studios explores workspaces that have become special ‘natural habitats’ to the people who create them and create in them. This show looks at the wealth of talent in Oxfordshire, highlighting some of the region’s finest artists. The photographs extend the physical experience of Philip Koomen’s exhibition into the studios and workshops of other artists and crafts people, giving a glimpse of the absorption of the individual involved in creative processes of all kinds.

During Oxfordshire Artweeks, The River & Rowing Museum are offering 50% of admission to the museum for visitors carrying the festival guide.

The River & Rowing Museum is also showing over a hundred original works by Arthur Rackham, one of the most beloved children's illustrators until 31 May, including Peter Pan, A Midsummer-Night’s Dream, A Christmas Carol, Alice in Wonderland and Wind in the Willows accompanied by a a short film about Rackham’s life. Image: The Serpentine.