Image by RELIANT IMAGING
Surface Tension
Surface Tension is a space for reflection and rupture; where photography merges with sculpture, painting and textiles. We invite you to explore how surfaces can both reveal, conceal and hold traces of time, emotion and cultural histories. Take time to sit in the tension between what is visible and what is hidden to discover for yourself intricacies that the artworks may reveal. In an era shaped by artificial intelligence and the quiet erosion of truth through images, we are drawn to the conscious reflection on the fragile boundary between image and form.
Hot Sheet is proud to present the 6th edition of our annual group exhibition, featuring nine contemporary artists: Leon Scott-Engel, Maya Silverberg, Chloe Beddow, Adam Boyd, James Berrington, Seungwon Jung, Joy Maxwell-Davis, Martín Del Busto and Thomas Moen. Since its inception, Hot Sheet has sought out artists who unmoor photography from its certainties, who question perception and truth in a landscape saturated with images both constructed and blurred. Each artist featured in the show reimagines the photographic through their exploration of subject, surface and material. Rather than presenting photographs as a fixed two-dimensional image, the artists stretch them across fabric, metal, wood, glass and resin, transforming images into something tactile, unstable and richly layered.
The audience is welcomed into the show by Chloe Beddow’s Gridded, visible from the gallery window. The piece reflects the architecture of the building’s own windows, it encompasses a process of transformation - from photograph to digital painting to print, and ultimately elevated through its framing as a luminous lightbox. This gesture sets the tone for the exhibition’s exploration of the photographic as a layered and performative surface.
From there Adam Boyd's work which involves melding of digital scans with hand-stitched textiles distorts the line between the technological and the handmade. While the work of James Berrington examines through photography how spirituality can be imbued into material. Leon Scott-Engel’s playful manipulation of canvas reshapes surface, crafting illusions that mirror lived objects; in this instance, a mattress where painted residues evoke memory and introspection, extending the dialogue of surface tension between the perception of reality and material presence.
Maya Silverberg’s practice harnesses industrial and everyday materials such as metal, ribbon and screenprints to construct complex, layered surfaces that challenge how we perceive depth and image. By integrating photographic elements within these sculptural compositions, she disrupts the flatness traditionally associated with photography, inviting viewers to navigate a space where image and object coexist in a delicate balance.
In each artwork selected for the show, surfaces become sites of transformation. The photographic is stretched, stitched, and sculpted, continually shifting between image and object, surface and depth - never static.
It is our pleasure to present Surface Tension at Fitzrovia Gallery and we would like to give special thanks to both Martina Larsson for supporting Hot Sheet and to Joy Maxwell-Davis, who guest curated the exhibition.
Images by RELIANT IMAGING
Artists
Team
Jasper Jones
Curator/Founder
Jasper Jones is a creative working in the field of curation, art direction and interior design . Based in London, Jasper studied photographic art at the University of Westminster. Since his Graduation in 2015, Jasper has had positions at The Ravestijn Gallery, Millennium Images and MACK books, alongside cultivating personal projects, covering interior design, film, photographic practice, graphic design and art curation.
Lauren Wells
Co-curator
As Co-curator at Hot Sheet since 2022, Lauren has supported the curation of exhibitions showcasing emerging visual artists from the UK and abroad, developing partnerships with venues, sponsors, and collectors to expand the project’s reach. Her curatorial focus on abstract painting and sculpture continues to bring a distinctive perspective to Hot Sheet.
Lauren holds a Bachelor’s degree in Art History from Amsterdam University College and a Master’s in Marketing and Communication from the University of Bologna Business School. She has worked with leading agencies in London, managing luxury and global accounts including Maybourne and Omega, delivering high-impact digital campaigns and fostering long-term client partnerships.
In addition to her curatorial work, Lauren is currently Marketing Manager at Lightroom, an immersive exhibition space in Coal Drops Yard. Known for its collaborations with leading talents across art, music, film, fashion and science, and for bringing audiences inside the worlds of David Hockney, Vogue and prehistoric landscapes, Lauren supports Lightroom by driving audience engagement and developing marketing campaigns that promote artist-led storytelling.
Joy Maxwell-Davis
Guest Curator
Joy Maxwell-Davis is an artist, with a background in photographic arts and film. With a keen interest in the display, capturing and re-imagining of the natural world, Maxwell-Davis' work challenges our relationship to nature and family histories. Through the use of unexpected materials in her practice, Maxwell-Davis brings a key understanding to the play an artist can have with materiality.