The Artist in Residence position is one we look forward to at Courtyard Arts. It is a pleasure to see an emerging artist at work take over the gallery space, to experience their process and to see where their experimentation will take them.

This summer we are delighted to welcome Maddy Durbin to the gallery space.

“For me, art is an obsession with mark making. I’ve spent the last few years experimenting with different materials, styles, and formats, but line and how to use it has been a continued fixation. My work is mostly landscape focused, something I explore across mediums, looking at themes of isolation, loneliness, but also joy in nature and our own company. My main inspirations come from Impressionism, but also artists such as Craigie Aitchinson, Edouard Vuillard, and Maxfield Parrish. Other motifs recur in my work, such as isolated structures, figures in a landscape, and strange creatures. At university, I have been able to bring my drawing practice to three-dimensional mediums. My course, Artist Designer: Maker at Cardiff Metropolitan University, allows me to experiment in wood, glass, metal, and more. In particular, I have loved returning to ceramics, where I have transferred techniques I learnt in printmaking and drawing to clay.”