Introduced to each other at the Sheffield Modern: Architecture Weekender in 2018, concrete collaborators Mandy Payne and Helen Angell have forged a strong friendship based on their mutual passion for brutalism and post-war architecture and both feature in a new exhibition at Manchester's the modernist gallery.

Many of the pieces in the exhibition were inspired by Modernist Mooches led by the inimitable Stephen Marland and honed on return visits. Exploring concrete hotspots such as Manchester, Salford and Huddersfield as well as their native South Yorkshire, they have attempted to capture the changing fortunes of our urban landscape, always with an eye on the poetic, the lyrical and the beautiful.

Mandy Payne is a painter/ printmaker based in Sheffield. For her paintings, she employs materials that have a direct connection with her subject matter, casting concrete into canvases and painting with spray paint.

She has exhibited widely both in the UK and abroad. Group exhibitions include the John Moores Painting Prize in 2020, 2016 and 2014, where she was a prize winner, and selection for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, on six occasions, between 2014 – 2019.

Her work is held in public and private collections both in the UK and abroad. Further information can be found on her website: www.mandypayneart.co.uk

Helen Angell is a poetry and non-fiction writer who has worked creatively with The Hepworth, Manchester School of Architecture, National Railway Museum and Kelham Island Museum, often in collaboration with visual artists and musicians.

Her poetry has appeared in Atrium, Strix, The Blue Nib, The Modernist as well as anthologies published by Maytree Press and Wild Pressed Books. Helen recently devised and curated the ‘Commonplace Beauty’ photography project, encouraging others to see the sublime in the everyday.

She is currently working on a poetry collection, Everything Here Is Bliss, inspired by brutalist/modernist architecture and urban infrastructure in the north of England, extracts of which are featured in this exhibition.

Both artists can be found on Instagram:

@mandypayne_97 | @helenangell73

The Modernist, 58 Port Street, Manchester M1 2EQ

Open 11am to 5pm, Tuesday to Saturday

02.09.21 - 30.10.21

images:

Peck House - spray paint and oil on concrete - 22cm x 22cm

Beauty In The Banal - mixed media on board 32cm x 35cm

Fire Station - spray paint and oil on gesso panel -29cm x 29cm

So Much To Answer For -   - spray paint and oil on concrete - 30cm x 30cm

Stairwell  - spray paint and oil on concrete  17cm x 17cm

 

Editor’s notes

Founded as The Manchester Modernist Society in 2009 by Jack Hale, Eddy Rhead and Maureen Ward, The Modernist Society is a creative project dedicated to celebrating and engaging with twentieth century architecture, through publishing, events, exhibitions and creative collaborations.

Publishing arm 'The Modernist' was established in 2011, initially publishing as a quarterly printed magazine. The Modernist is now developing into a small press, publishing limited editions about 20th century architecture and design.

The Modernist Society enjoys the the support of its excellent Patrons: Jonathan Meades and Johnny Marr. The Modernist Society is a not for profit Community Interest Company.