Carola Colley
Carola Colley was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1965. In 1983 she attended the Academie Charpentier in Paris and from 1984-88 completed a degree in sculpture at Edinburgh College of Art. Since settling in the Isle of Man twelve years ago she has worked from her studio in the north of the island. The Manx landscape and light has an ancient quality that has a strong influence on her work and provokes a constant stream of ideas. There is a pure exploration of colour, shape, line and observation of the physical interactions of land, sea and sky. She is inspired by the point at which these elements meet, the shapes that they create and the consequences of their interactions
My working practice has always involved a variety of media; sketches and studies in mixed media, print and painting in acrylic, oil and watercolour. My sculptures are built up from found, cast, carved and ceramic components.
Carola Colley
Like waves toward a pebble shore I
Oil on Canvas (16x16in) £650
Like waves toward a pebble shore III
Oil on Canvas (16x16in) £650
Mingled seascape I
Oil on Canvas (16x16in) £650
Colley's landscapes, often displayed on square canvases as if in defiance of the notion that a landscape has to be 'Landscape', are curious affairs where land and sea are pared down to their essential shapes - or indeed lines. Sometimes, as in the Mingled Sea Scape series, the image has become virtually abstract. Other works are more naturalistic, but often with a twist - the sky in Shifting Shorelines II looks more fluid than the water.
Stephanie Billen, journalist (August 2007)
Mingled seascape II
Oil on Canvas (16x16in) £650
Lhurgy Ruy
Oil on Canvas (36x28in) £1600
Corredy Keeil
Oil on Canvas (36x28in) £1600
She is a painter of light and space. No matter how abstract the paintings can become they are always rooted in the landscape. Despite her deep attatchment to the Isle of Man, she has travelled widely and lived in many counties. This is part of what makes her sensibility so unique. One gets a sense that she is constantly shocked and moved by details in the Manx landscape that many of us have become blind to, or take for granted. Such as the angle and quality of light. At the same time her relationship to the Manx landscape is deep and rooted. This is her home. She manages to combine the intense wonder of the newcomer with the deep primal understanding of the Manx-born.
David Lloyd, painter (February 2009)
Knock-Y-Dhooney
Oil on Canvas (36x28in) £1600
Mercy
Oil on Canvas (16x16in) £700
The Drinking Fountain
Oil on Canvas (16x16in) £700
The Stream
Oil on Canvas (16x16in) £700
Carola Colley's CV
Studies
1983-84
Preparatory Art Course
Academie Charpentier, Paris
1984-85
Foundation Course, Edinburgh College of Art
1985-88
BA Hons Degree Sculpture, Edinburgh College of Art
1998
Stone Carving Course, Tout Quarry Portland
Exhibitions
1989
Gallerie Citra, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (group show)
Talent Store, London, (2 person show)
1991
Stamford Arts Centre, Stamford, (2 person show)
1992
Edificio Chiado, Coimbra, Portugal (group show)
Museu MunicipalLousa, Portugal (solo show)
Galeria Estudio Arte Coimbra, Portugal (solo show)
1994
Art in the Glen, Cooil Dharry, Isle of Mans culpture trail
Arts Alive Gallery, Ramsey, Isle of Man (solo show)
Ainscough Gallery, Liverpool, England (group show)
Masons Arms, London, England, (solo show)
1996
The Courtyard Gallery, St Johns, Isle of Man (solo show)
1997
Galerie Wan Bangsa, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (solo show)
1998
Clachanmore Gallery, Galloway, Scotland (group show)
1999
Euro-Celtic Art '99, Lorient, France, (group show)
2001
The Blyth Gallery, Manchester, England (solo show)
Arthouse Foundation, Peterborough, England (group show)
2002
The Courtyard Gallery, St Johns, Isle of Man (2 person show)
Liverpool Biennial Independent, Liverpool, England (group show)
Collect Gallery, Liverpool, England (3 person show)
2003
The Courtyard Gallery, St Johns, Isle of Man (2 person show)
The Blyth Gallery, Manchester (2 person show)
2004
The Courtyard Gallery, St Johns, Isle of Man (2 person show)
2006
Villa Marina, Douglas, Isle of Man (solo show)
2007
Buxton Museum and Art Gallery, Buxton (solo show)
2009
Orpheus 55 paintings, Sayle Gallery, Douglas, Isle of Man (solo show)
2009
Bones of Time, Villa Marina Gallery, Douglas, Isle of Man and Konstmagazinet, Katerineholm, Sweden (collaborative exhibition with poet Paul Quayle)
Prizes
1998
sculpture prize, Singer & Friedlander competition (IOM)
Represented
The Courtyard Gallery, St Johns, Isle of Man
Arts Council Collection, Lousa, Portugal
Steam Packet Company, Isle of Man
Private Collections