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Talking Sculpture Making (TSM)

@talkingsculpturemaking

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TSM is an exhibiting and discussion forum curated by three women abstract sculptors @gillianbrent @harleysculpture @sheilavollmer

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TSM would like to send a heartfelt thanks to all the people who came to our chaired discussion for ‘Rebalancing the Abstract’ @themargateschoolofart on 17 October.

It was a great pleasure and honour for us to have the knowledgeable, empathetic and incisive questioning from the Chair @johnbunker7272.

@gillianbrent @sheilavollmer and @harleysculpture were joined on the panel by @melanieahmed.art , sharing our histories, approaches and experiences of making abstract art over several decades.

It was a fantastic end to the show we curated in the beautiful gallery space. We would also like to thank The Margate School of Art community for their warm welcome and excellent support throughout.

A recording of the discussion is available on the TSM website (link in TSM bio).

TSM already have two shows programmed for 2027 so watch this space for our next exciting projects.

Photo: Ben Hawkins

#abstractsculpture #talkingaboutabstractart #womenabstractartists by @talkingsculpturemaking

@talkingsculpturemaking w @harleysculpture & @gillianbrent so enjoyed our time w guest painter @melanieahmed.art @themargateschoolofart getting to know the lovely staff, trustees & studio holders as well as the vibrant art scene of Margate.
Thank you to @johnbunker7272 for his expertise & warmth leading our panel discussion on Saturday & to all the visitors who came & participated.
#abstractartbywomen #contemporarysculptureandpainting
#aptartist by @talkingsculpturemaking

Some views of Rebalancing the Abstract’ on show @themargateschoolofart until Sunday 18 October.

Join the artists @harleysculpture @gillianbrent @sheilavollmer @melanieahmed.art for a free and open discussion about our practices and making abstract art on Saturday 17 October, 1.30-4, chaired by @johnbunker7272

Images:
1. L-R Sheila Vollmer x2, Melanie Ahmed, Gillian Brent.
2. Gillian Brent, Melanie Ahmed
3. Alexandra Harley, Gillian Brent
4. Alexandra Harley
5. Sheila Vollmer

📸 @petergriffiths2d

#abstractsculpture #abstractpainting #margate #womenabstractartists by @talkingsculpturemaking

TSM are really looking forward to welcoming many of you to our free discussion event on Saturday 17 October, 1.30-4, @themargateschoolofart , chaired by @johnbunker7272 (link in bio to book)

The discussion which takes place alongside the exhibition “Rebalancing the Abstract’ is an opportunity for John to question us about our ideologies and experiences of working as abstract artists and offer an exchange of ideas around the languages of abstract art and the evolving nature of women’s practices.

John Bunker is an artist and writer whose work is characterised by an obsession with those twin disruptors born of Modernism, abstraction and collage, and their continuing powerful presence in contemporary art. John exhibits widely and also regularly curates exhibitions which have included artists as diverse as Frank Bowling RA and Harland Miller. He also writes regularly about art, with numerous reviews, catalogue essays and articles to his name. In 2018 he founded instantloveland.com with Matt Dennis, a website dedicated to exploring the histories and potential futures of abstract art.

John will be joined by TSM artists @harleysculpture @gillianbrent @sheilavollmer and invited artist @melanieahmed.art and will be asking them about their histories, collaboration and working abstractly and inviting the audience to contribute their responses to the discussion.

Images: John Bunker and installation shots of ‘Rebalancing the Abstract’, 📸 @petergriffths2d

@instantloveland1968

#abstractart #abstractsculpture #womenabstractartists #margate by @talkingsculpturemaking

Thanks to everyone who came to the TSM artists’ tour and PV of ‘Rebalancing the Abstract’ @themargateschoolofart yesterday.

We had some insightful comments and observations from the participants in the tour and it was great to welcome old friends and people we hadn’t met before to the PV and have lively conversations about the sculpture and painting.

@harleysculpture
@melanieahmed.art
@gillianbrent
@sheilavollmer

The show continues until 18 October, open Tues-Sun, 10-4.
#abstractsculpture #contemporarysculpture #abstractpainting #margate by @talkingsculpturemaking

🎨 Abstract art is taking over Margate!

“Rebalancing the Abstract” is on at The Margate School, bringing together sculpture and painting in an exhibition exploring materials, process, space, colour and visual connections. 🖼️✨

The exhibition also explores the experiences and practices of women working in abstract art, creating space for new conversations around the genre.

📍 The Margate School, 31-33 High Street, Margate
Show open 8-18 October.
Tues-Sun 10-4.
👀 Have you seen it yet?

#Margate #Kent #Art #thanet by @talkingsculpturemaking

Here are some details of works taken during the installation of Rebalancing the Abstract by TSM @themargateschoolofart

The show opens on Thursday 8 October with an informal artists’ tour/talk, 3 - 5, followed by the PV, 5 - 8.

Open 8 - 18 October,
Tues - Sun, 10 - 4.

Everyone welcome!

Images of work by
@harleysculpture
@melanieahmed.art
@sheilavollmer
@gillianbrent

#abstractsculpture #abstractpainting #contemporarysculpture #margate by @talkingsculpturemaking

It’s less than a week now until ‘Rebalancing the Abstract’, curated by Talking Sculpture Making (TSM) opens @themargateschoolofart

The show has abstract works by @harleysculpture @gillianbrent @sheilavollmer and invited artist @melanieahmed.art

Join us for an informal pre-show discussion with TSM, 8 October, 3 - 5, followed by the Private View, 5 - 8.

Book on Eventbrite (link in TSM bio) for the Public Discussion
17 October, 1.30-4
Chaired by artist, writer and advocate for contemporary abstract art @johnbunker7272
Free and open to all.

#margate #abstractsculpture #abstractpainting #abstractsculpturebywomen #womenabstractartists by @talkingsculpturemaking

Today’s artist update is @sheilavollmer , member of TSM. Sheila works @aptstudiosgallery in London. She will be co-curating ‘Rebalancing the Abstract’ @themargateschoolofart with @gillianbrent and @harleysculpture .

Show open 8-18 October, Tuesday-Sunday 10-4
PV 8 October, 5-8
Artists tour 8 October, 3-5
Discussion chaired by @johnbunker7272, 17 October 1.30-4

This year Sheila has co-curated a show @morleygallery with @harleysculpture celebrating 50 years of sculpture @morley_college .
She has also had two shows in Ireland with @two_singers_one_song alongside painter @jackieaskew_painting , @thelinenhall_castlebar and @burrencollegeofart
She will be showing in ‘Small is Beautiful’ @flowersgallery Cork Street, London opening in November.

Playing with line, form, space, rhythm and colour, Sheila Vollmer constructs her sculpture in various materials including wood skirting boards, steel, Perspex and piano parts She works within both a systematic and spontaneous process of responding directly to materials and making; opening and containing space, searching to express the inside/outside pull of energy and emotion to achieve an organic wholeness.

Added colour accentuate the lines, forms and negative spaces, which in turn add to the viewpoints, mood and rhythm of the work. Inspiration comes from various sources within experiences
of architectural space, natural systems and our relationship to these.

1. Sheila in her studio
2. ‘Pezzo I’, 2026, wood piano keys, hinges, paint.

#abstractsculpture #margate #contemporarysculpture by @talkingsculpturemaking

Today’s artist update is @gillianbrent , member of TSM, and based in Sheffield. She will be co-curating and showing work in ‘Rebalancing the Abstract’ @themargateschoolofart with @harleysculpture and @sheilavollmer

Show open 8-18 October
Tues-Sun 10-4
PV 8 October 5-8
Informal artists’ tour, 8 October, 3-5
Public discussion event chaired by @johnbunker7272 , 17 October, 1.30-4. Link in bio.

This year she has shown work in @abjectgallery in Sunderland, with @thelondongroup and @haarlemartspace .At the same time as ‘Rebalancing the Abstract’ , she will have a piece in Assembly, @assembly_rss_exhibition a show of 35 members of @royal_sculptors in Hypha Gallery Southbank, one of the @hyphastudios spaces in London. She has also been recently invited to participate in an @whitenoise_projects show next year.

Gillian constructs sculpture in steel, with additional elements in materials such as wood, stone, concrete and objects cast in Jesmonite.

She synthesises her observations of the physical world by assembling elements into abstract configurations of line, mass, space, colour and balance that sustain a deliberate sense of awkwardness and ambiguity of logic. These non-representational constructions generate unexpected relationships, actions and reactions that allude to function and suggest narratives.

Image: ‘Optimistic Projection - Cross’, 2025. Steel, kauri wood, stone, Jesmonite.

📸 @petergriffiths2d

#margate #contemporarysculpture #abstractsculpture by @talkingsculpturemaking

For the exhibition Rebalancing the Abstract @themargateschoolofart , TSM have invited London and Margate based painter @melanieahmed.art to show with them.

Show open 8-18 October.
Tues-Sun 10-4.
PV 8 October 5-8.

@gillianbrent , @harleysculpture and @sheilavollmer wanted to select an artist who had links with Margate and shared their artistic concerns and interests in exploring and making abstract work. Melanie’s paintings and deconstructed painted objects offer a bridge between the more familiar genre of abstract painting and the composition of form, materiality, colour and surface in the works by the TSM sculptors.

Melanie’s recent exhibitions include Commonality, two-person show with Sarah Lord @_josephwales_ and Subject Object, a group exhibition @terrace_gallery which she also curated.

Group exhibitions include Winter Group Show @linden_hall_studio (2025 & 2026), Support Systems 15/16 Sands End, Fulham (2025); Abstract @fronteergallery (2025); Pieces of Me @art.works.east (2025); Colour Me In @pictorem_gallery (2024); Nudge It and It Rose and It Fell at Terrace Gallery (2024); Forces of the Small @filet_space .

Melanie’s paintings and wall based sculptures evolve through a process of accumulation, change and reworking. They may take more than a year to complete, as she returns to them repeatedly, building up, removing and altering the surface over time. Paint is built up, removed, obscured and reapplied across different supports. Using brushes, palette knives and scraps of material, she applies and manipulate paint in different ways. Paint shifts between dense, highly worked passages and thin washes, creating surfaces that record continual change.

The work develops from a mixture of recollections, objects and experiences, both past and present. She is also drawn to things she encounters in everyday life, which gradually find their way into the work. The resulting work offers traces and partial clues while resisting any singular or linear narrative.

#margate #abstractpainting #rebalancingtheabstract by @talkingsculpturemaking

Leading up to the TSM curated exhibition Rebalancing the Abstract @themargateschoolofart we will be giving updates on the artists in the show.

@harleysculpture the sculptor who brought us together to form the TSM collective back in 2019, has already had a busy year in 2026. She has had a one person show @muse_at_269 in London, a residency @wick.farm awarded by @royal_sculptors, had work in several exhibitions including with @thelondongroup, @morleygallery (which she co-curated with @sheilavollmer ) and been a featured artist by @collect_artwork. She has also had time to move her studio, quite a big feat in its self.

Alexandra’s materials-led sculptural practice focuses on ideas of motion, animation and flux; the sculptures are a physical manifestation of suspended animation, a transitory fragment in time, a fleeting moment. While not actually kinetic, she creates spatial and dynamic configurations to capture and render motion, constructing complex sculptural forms from multiple elements, generating an openness of form.

Working predominantly with wood, ceramic and bronze, the constructed sculptures have an energetic interplay between the parts and with rhythmic qualities of motion. Alexandra is interested in embodying a sense of unease and tension, in making pieces that teeter on the edge of stability.

Image: ‘Clymdych’, 2019. Ceramic, wire, steel

Rebalancing the Abstract
An exhibition of abstract sculpture and painting by four contemporary women artists @sheilavollmer @gillianbrent @harleysculpture @melanieahmed.art

@themargateschoolofart

Private View Thursday 8 October 2026, 5-8pm

Exhibition open Thursday 8 – Sunday 18 October 2026, Tuesday - Sunday, 10-4pm

Free public discussion with the artists, chaired by artist and writer John Bunker @johnbunker7272 will take place on

Saturday 17 October, 1.30-4pm. Everyone welcome. Eventbrite link in bio.

#abstractsculpture #margate #themargateschool by @talkingsculpturemaking