Suzanne Holtom
And Hills Bore Scars
The paintings draw from key sites around Walsall and Dudley described as ‘geosites’ in the Black Country Global Geopark. Specifically, the areas around Streetly formed the topography of significant personal memories and stories of Suzanne Holtom’s earlier and later life. A deep mapping of place has become the primary motivation in her work, which encompasses geological time, social histories, personal experiences and memory.
The works also contemplate bodily forms, land masses, histories, patterns of energy and industry, layered materiality and shifting terrains. The idea of scale is important, epic themes can collide with the trivial or commonplace but what is always conveyed is how human activities impact upon and interact with the landscape.
The Black Country geosites of Barr Beacon, Streetly and Wren’s Nest, Dudley have been key to her most recent work. Ancient limestone formations and more recent collapsed structures from mining and industry provide rich visual inspiration. But also, the sweep of pylons, the silent sentinels that extend across the land near Barr Beacon.
Publication
A publication accompanying the exhibition will be available to purchase in the Gallery Shop, for the special price of £5.95, during the run of the show, £7.95 thereafter.
Preview
Saturday 29 March, 1-4pm
Free, all welcome
Exhibition Tour with artist Suzanne Holtom and Director, Stephen Snoddy
Saturday 21 June 2025, 2pm. Free. Booking essential.
Printmaking with Suzanne Holtom: Monoprint, Drypoint and Tetrapak printing
Saturday 10 May 2025, 10am-4pm. £40 (£36 concs.)
Join artist Suzanne Holtom for a tour of her Floor 4 exhibition And Hills Bore Scars, and an exploration of etchings by Samuel Palmer in the Garman Ryan Collection. Watch demonstrations of a variety of printmaking process and then have a go at creating your own prints with guidance and support from Suzanne. Create your own monoprints using black ink on coloured papers, drypoint prints using perspex, and intaglio prints using Tetrapak. Refreshments provided.
Walsall Arboretum: Walk and Sketch with Suzanne Holtom
Sunday 11 May 2025, 11am-3pm. £35 (£31.50 concs.)
Join artist Suzanne Holtom for a day of looking, walking, sketching and learning at Walsall Arboretum.
Record the sights, sounds and smells around you in sketches and words. After lunch, work on a large charcoal study, taking inspiration from photographs of the Arboretum and our morning sketches.
