Islington News - Marianne Fox Ockinga | Art Exhibition | Contemporary Printmaking Show | London Olympic Stadium

Publications by New Journal Enterprises

Home

Archive

Competition

Islington Tribune - by PETER GRUNER
Published: 13 February 2009

Emirates stadium

Prints build a complete picture of new architecture

POPULAR Barnsbury artist Marianne Fox Ockinga, famous for her colourful landscapes of well-known building sites including the Emirates stadium and King’s Cross, is to exhibit later this month at the Contemporary Printmaking Show.
Dutch-born Marianne, who lives in Thornhill Square with her husband the military historian and journalist Robert Fox, was dubbed “artist in residence” during the building of the Arsenal stadium, and is currently painting various stages of the new London Olympic stadium at Stratford.
Marianne, a member of the pressure group Cally Rail, began a series of prints, paintings and drawings of the transformation of King’s Cross and the creation of the international Eurostar terminal at St Pancras in 2001.
Her pictures followed the process of conversion, regeneration and construction season by season in the subsequent years.
She has also been recording the changes close to the new location of the Waterpoint with the construction of the Kings Place complex and arts centre at the King’s Cross canal basin.
“I like to go out and explore industrial landscapes,” she said.
“I draw something that I’m interested in and then paint it or turn it into a print.”
During the building of the Emirates stadium, Marianne was only able to roam around the site in her hard hat and boots with four health and safety officers from construction firm McAlpines. Many of her works were sold to the building firm.
“Today, when I go to the Olympics site I can queue for an hour before I can get in because of all the tight security,” she added.
“Not only are there health and safety officers keeping an eye on me, but I even have to attend a health and safety course.”
For the exhibition she is presenting her latest print, New Age of Rail, a landscape of the King’s Cross redevelopment.

• Marianne Fox Ockinga at the Contemporary Printmaking Show, Originals 09, from February 18-28, 10am to 5pm daily, at the Mall Galleries, near Trafalgar Square, SW1. 020 7930 6844. Visit www.mallgalleries.org.uk.

Comment on this article.
(You must supply your full name and email address for your comment to be published)

Name:

Email:

Comment: