Araminta Blue Wieloch is currently part of ‘Painting the Figure’, a group exhibition taking place at Gallery Rosenfeld, until 15 May 2021.

“I am painting at a studio in Wembley, which I leased with the proceeds of the 2019 Artists’ Collecting Society award. It’s my first official studio, other than that shared at school and at the flat, where I rolled my painting trolley from one room to the other. Working solo in a self-contained, clean ‘white box’ was a shock after recently graduating with fifty students buzzing around. At first the loss of distractions made me feel restless, but I’ve now found a rhythm and love the silence.

My work places a lot of importance in negative space, and my activity in the studio reflects this – pauses and stillness, rushes of intense energy and some beats in between. The setting can’t help but affect the work. Having the capacity for multiple and larger scale paintings has also expanded the space in my head. The paintings form their own ecosystem, with elements of the compositions connecting to one another, both in subject and material. This past year has grown my love and interest in the paint as a material itself, with all its expansive, expressive qualities.

‘Silt’ (2021). 150 x 200 cm. Oil on canvas © Araminta Blue Wieloch

I entered the ACS studio prize towards the end of my two year MFA course at the Slade School of Art in London. I began a summer residency soon after our degree show closed, and from there moved to my current studio. It was amazing to continue my practice relatively seamlessly after graduating, which in turn lead to exhibiting in London, including at Rosenfeld, who took me on as a gallery artist in 2020.

The prize was a catalyst for this support. Having a location where curators can view artists’ progression feels very important. I’ve just sent my paintings on their first trip over the Channel for an exhibition with Galerie Tracanelli in Grenoble, and am currently showing at Rosenfeld’s ‘Painting the Figure’ exhibition that continues until 15th May 2021 in central London.

Thank you to ACS for their continued encouragement and massive luck to those applying for this year’s prize! ”

– 2019 ACS Studio Prize Winner Araminta Blue Wieloch

Applications for the ACS Studio Prize 2021 are now open until midnight on 30 June 2021. Visit the ACS Studio Prize website to enter.