Ensconce: to settle securely, snugly, or comfortably in a place.
Laura Blake (UK) and Alvaro Aramburu (ES) create abstract landscapes that start life in the natural world. This exhibition is the result of being outside, often together, observing, talking, and sketching.
An example of this is seen in the brush sculpture, ‘Portal into the salmon lake’, which emerged from a section of water surrounded by reeds. Passing it over the course of a year highlighted a form that they couldn’t shake. After the shape was found repeated in a piece of timber in Alvaro’s workshop, the work was born. During a winter walk earlier this year, Álvaro ignited another of these sparks as he shared his obsession with the blobs made by objects covered in snow. It is no coincidence that he then created ‘Florecer en Dalsland’, where we see spheres germinating from timber in bright blossoming hues.
Since they both separately emigrated to Sweden a decade ago, Laura and Álvaro have settled into a life in line with their surroundings. Through learning to pick mushrooms, Laura fell into a world of natural dyeing. Acorns and birch leaves have resulted in some of the colour in this room. Realising the ridiculousness of importing timber to an area so rich in wood, Álvaro began working with fallen trees to create a material source that is as locally produced as possible. Ensconse shows how their crossover of craft, organic forms and colour is increasingly entwined with their rural home.
