Song of the Path
Prints, Drawings and Sketchbooks
An exhibition by Rosie Montford
Private View: Tuesday 17th June (6pm- 8pm)
Exhibition: Monday 16th - Sunday 22nd June 2025 Open: 12pm - 5pm
Walkshop: Thurs 19th June 11am - 12pm
Combining movement and mark making together with Vicky Hunter.
This event is FREE but places are limited – you can book your places here:
See below for more info.
Artist Talk: Saturday 21st June 1pm - 2pm
This exhibition celebrates Rosie Montford’s strong creative link of walking and drawing. Rosie’s work depicts moments of being in landscape through drawing, printmaking and bookmaking. We are delighted to share these with you in this exhibition, in a live walkshop and in the original images which you can buy.
Song of the Path celebrates the actual paths along which Rosie has been walking. These prints capture the vibrant colours of lavender as she tiptoed gently through rows of flowers at a Somerset farm, or the tall grasses, willow herb and brambles as she struggled along an ancient pathway beyond Bath, arms held high to avoid getting scratched. Some works follow a more urban route - along the Feeder Canal in Bristol on a bright autumnal morning - or find a path in the Lake District that revealed itself after mist had cleared.
Another theme, Song of the River, recalls riverside walks along the Ter and Fluvia, in the city of Girona, Spain. Rosie combined natural forms depicted in the preserved fragments of pieces of stained glass she had drawn in the cathedral.
Rosie experimented with layering thin washes of colour and texture, to represent the floating debris and the cycle of the river’s journey, finding beauty in an urban setting.
The series, Spanish Paths, are prints of the rugged area inland of Alicante. Rosie wanted to capture the dryness of the landscape with its stark contrast of scorched trees and the dusty softness of the colours and textures she encountered. As she walked, she followed a dried riverbed low down in the valley, with tall reeds and bleached pathways snaking around banks. Relleu has an old reservoir edged with a precariously high walkway that you can peep down past massive rock formations, creating a dramatic sense of scale.
Rosie was a member of the Sussex Guild and was in shows across that region and took part in Chichester Open Studios Arts Trail. She moved from Chichester to Bath three years ago. Initially Rosie was part of Bath Artists Studios but has now set up her own studio.
Rosie is part of a European group of artists who have walking as part of their practice. She is also a member of the prestigious Society of Designer Craftsmen.
A performative element to presenting her work invites participants into the sharing of her practice. It often involves creating a physical piece such as an extended collaborative drawing which flaps and unfurls in the wind, making its presence felt - and alerts us that we too have a presence here in the landscape.
Rosie will be at the gallery daily.
Walkshop: Thurs 19 June 11am-12pm
Combining movement and mark making together with Vicky Hunter.
How to book:
This event is FREE but places are limited – you can book your
places here:
This walkshop is part of Rosie Montford’s exhibition ‘Song of the Path’ at Gallery 44AD.
From the Gallery, participants will engage with a nearby walking route through a series of tasks involving drawing, moving, pausing and reflecting on experiences and encounters gathered along the way.
The walk will culminate in a movement workshop back at the Gallery. We will draw on the walk to create a collaborative movement ‘score’ for participants to collectively engage in.
No specialist dance or movement experience is required – this workshop is inclusive, adaptable and open to all.
What to wear / bring:
Loose comfortable clothing and trainers are recommended.
Please bring water, sunscreen, waterproofs.
Families, adults, children all welcome, children must be accompanied.
Workshop Leaders:
Rosie Montford’s practice explores the dialogue between walking and drawing, seeking out landscapes from which she can physically combine disciplines to work across printmaking, drawing and bookmaking.
Vicky Hunter is a Visiting Research Fellow in dance and environmental humanities at Bath Spa University and formerly Professor of Site Dance at the University of Chichester. Her site-specific dance research examines the body’s engagement with space and place through considering bodily, spatial and kinetic engagements with environments.
Vicky has produced a number of site dance performance works and a book publication: Site, Dance and Body: Movement, Materials and Corporeal Engagement (2021).