Oonagh Young is pleased to announce a solo exhibition of new work by the British artist Amy Stephens. Restless Nature presents work made during the artist’s residency at the Irish Museum of Modern Art and in response to her time spent in Iceland (2009).

As her main characters, Stephens uses found, man-made and natural elements to create unique sculptural hybrid compositions. Hand hewn timber is used throughout the works and elegant outlines of geometric shapes display an affinity to drawing and awaken an instinct to critically engage with form and colour.

Flock fabric acts as a colourful surface material adorning singular lines of wood that cut through the space in horizontal, vertical and diagonal formations. Aligning highly polished and organic materials with flock fabric offers the viewer a sensuous tactile landscape full of delightful collisions.

The exhibition draws our attention to the delicate symbiosis between form and materials that have undergone a total metamorphosis. Using the Mid-Atlantic Ridge as a starting point, a divergent tectonic plate boundary located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, the piece Riding the Fault Line is an example of her exploration into the themes of physicality, materiality and aesthetics whilst remaining true to the natural habitats from which the elements originate. The physical process echoes the efforts taken to maintain our control over nature both in reality and in the space.

Amy Stephens demonstrates an understanding of sculpture as a fundamentally spatial conception. This new work touches on the recurring themes of Stephens’ practice: the relationship between the natural world and the man-made. As the title suggests, her interest lies in the endless possibilities created through an intriguing use of materials and appropriation of nature creating something completely new – a minimalist sculptural world full of warmth and colour.

Amy Stephens received her MA from Chelsea College of Art and Design, London in 2008. Recent solo exhibitions include Spatial Territories, La Scatola Gallery, London (2011); The Rise of the Wapiti, Other Gallery, Banff Centre, Alberta, Canada (2010); Recent group exhibition include Piece of Paper, Madder139, London (2011); Line, Poppy Sebire, London (2011); Common Logic, IMT Gallery, London (2011); No Soul For Sale – A Festival of Independents, Tate Modern, London (2010); Meet Pamela, John Jones Project Space, London (2009); 195 Miles, Project Space Leeds in collaboration with the Whitechapel Gallery, London (2008). Recently shortlisted for both the Threadneedle Prize and the Converse / Dazed Emerging Artists Award 2011, Amy Stephens has just completed a three month residency at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), Dublin. Stephens has work in several public and private collections, including the Zabludowicz Collection. The artist lives and works in London.

www.amystephens.co.uk