An arrangement of objects, prints, and hand-worked materials are found within the borders of JD Rooney’s work. Much of his exploration looks towards a discovery of residual material either salvaged or washed up between West Africa, the Caribbean, and Britain. The objects in his work are loaded with information to pass through time. Perhaps they may be encountered as fragments of secretive technologies, only to be understood by those with a shared relationship or history.
Rachel Clancy plants unexpected objects into mundane scenes, charging her paintings with tension. Her compositions often depict cropped representations of domestic spaces, hinting at the presence of human intervention. Clancy is interested in how the process of layering and abstraction mimics a magic trick, hiding and revealing clues within the paintings. In pointing to the narrative beyond the frame, Clancy captures past interactions between people and space.
Gabriel Kidd considers the relationship between insertion and extraction. Gathering ephemera from countless walks on the moors, Kidd’s work serves as a portrait of collecting. Interested in the formation of queer identity, their work is dotted with pockets containing precious items. Pockets are private, portable yet precarious entry points. They are a way to take pieces of ourselves around with us yet are also prone to invasion.
Grace Kalyta unpacks the social coding and hierarchies embedded in material and surface. Interested in thresholds and what exists under the surface, Kalyta upholsters and embellishes her canvases with pre-used materials such as leather and gem-stones. Similarly to the way we use clothing as a form of seduction, these appendages serve as points of access for the viewer and a tangible gateway for what lies beneath.
Lexia Hachtmann uses ambiguity to shape the viewer’s relationship with her work, providing just enough context to guide the scene. Grounding her paintings in a shared reality through symbols such as flowers, Hachtmann reflects on the passing of time and offers the viewer a glimpse of a wider narrative.
Embedded within hand carved wooden frames, Em Kettner’s figurative drawings portray disabled bodies in a range of playful and empowering positions. Kettner controls the physical accessibility of her work, positioning her drawings at the eye level of those seated or in a wheelchair, whilst requiring others to crouch for a closer look. Like peep-holes, the carved frames serve as both a barrier and entry point.
JD Rooney (b. 1995, London, UK) lives and works in London, UK and studied Fine Art at Chelsea College of Arts. Previous solo exhibitions include Formed in Water, Cob Gallery, London, UK (2023). Selected group exhibitions include Unknown Journey, ACAVA, London, UK (2022); Regal Oriental Hotel: AVA, Hong Kong (2019); Departed, LOA Gallery, London, UK (2019); Letting objects speak, SET, London, UK (2018). Previous Residencies include Cob Award, London, UK (2023); Into the Wild, Chisenhale Studios, London, UK (2023); Wysing Residency, Cambridge, UK (2023); Studio 13 Residency, ACAVA, London, UK (2022); AVA residency, Hong Kong (2019).
Rachel Clancy (2000, Manchester, UK) recently completed her MFA at Manchester School of Art (2024). Selected exhibitions include, Connections, Stockport War Memorial Art Gallery (2024); Resonance, Saan1, Manchester (2024); Figurative Impressions: Interwoven Perspectives, Hurst Contemporary, London (2024); Staged, Contemporary Six Gallery, Manchester (2024).
Gabriel Kidd (b.1999, Manchester, United Kingdom) is currently studying for an MA Fine Art at Slade School of Art (2025). Solo exhibitions include I’ve always kept a unicorn, Pipeline, London, UK (2023). Selected group exhibitions include: Heartlands, Flexitron Gallery, London, UK (current); finetoothcomb, Greatorex Gallery, London, UK (2024), Blue tac on a spike is no good, EC2A 2BS, London, UK (2024), In the membrane, Paradise Works, Salford, UK (2023), The Alumni Strike Back with Short Supply, Paradise Works, Salford, UK (2023) and New Contemporaries 2022, South London Gallery, London & Humber Street Gallery, Hull, UK (2022).
Grace Kalyta (b. 1991, Manitoba, Canada)) received a BFA in 2018 from Concordia University and is currently a MFA candidate at Concordia University. Previous solo exhibitions include Hall of Mirrors (2024), Pangée, Montreal, Canada. Selected group exhibitions include: Foultitude (2023) at Projet Casa, Montreal, Canda; Untitled (2023) at Galerie Cache, Montreal, Canada; Spaghetti Western (2022) at GHAM & DAFE, Montreal, Canada; Opið Hùs(2021) Skagaströnd, Iceland; Privé (2020), Montreal, Canada.
Lexia Hachtmann (b. 1993, Berlin, Germany) lives and works in London. She obtained her BA in painting from Universität der Künste Berlin in 2022, followed by an MA in painting from Slade School of Fine Art in 2024. Solo exhibitions include Galerie Mellies, Detmold, Germany (2023); Hew Hood Gallery, London, UK (2023) & LKIF Gallery, Seoul, KR (2024). Selected group exhibitions include Hew Hood Gallery, London, UK (2024); carlier I gebauer, Berlin, Germany (2024); carlier I gebauer, Madrid, Spain (2024); WESTGERMANY, Berlin, Germany (2024); The White Space, London, UK (2024); Studio Hannibal, Berlin, Germany (2023); DELPHI Space, Freiburg, Germany (2023); London Paint Club, London, UK (2023).
Em Kettner (b. 1988, Philadelphia, USA) earned her BFA from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Recent solo exhibitions include François Ghebaly, New York (2024), Los Angeles (2022, 2021); Chapter, New York (2022); Specialist, Seattle (2022). Selected group exhibitions include: Sacramento State University Gallery, Sacramento, California (2024); Winter Street Gallery, Maine (2024); Personal Space, California (2023); Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Maine (2023); Hales Gallery, New York (2023). Kettner’s work has been reviewed and published in ArtForum, Art in America, Sculpture Magazine, Contemporary Art Review LA (CARLA), HyperAllergic, Sixty Inches From Center, Institutional Model, and Fulcrum Arts: Sequencing. She is the recipient of the Wynn Newhouse Award, the MIUSA Women’s Institute on Leadership and Disability, and an SAIC Teaching Fellowship.