FOUR Cambridgeshire artists with close personal links are joining forces for an exhibition at King’s College this month.

King’s Connections features the work of Terry Beard, Natalie McIntyre, Stephen Murfitt and Stuart Green, all of whom were previously teachers in the art department at The King’s School, Ely and who have now found an appropriately-named location for their show, which celebrates the diversity of their individual work. As the title of the show suggests, work that may initially appear very different, soon reveals certain shared themes and approaches to art. All four artists are interested in texture, detail and surface, bringing a sense of unity to the show.

Terry Beard uses various media, including acrylics, monoprinting and collage to explore colour and the relationships between colours in a non-representational way, that is nonetheless inspired at times by the world around her.

Natalie McIntyre creates meticulously detailed portraits of insect life, revealing the intricate detail and the alien other-worldliness of these fascinating and (at close quarters) rather forbidding creatures. Stephen Murfitt uses clay to explore form and surface influenced by the natural world and the manmade built environment. His ceramics are all Raku-fired, resulting in pieces where smoked and carbonated areas are intentionally left exposed to form a marked contrast with glazed surfaces.

The final member of the quartet, Stuart Green, is a versatile artist who describes himself as “by inclination... a painter of landscape” and has been influenced by time spent overseas, particularly in Australia. His work simultaneously captures a sense of place, and reveals the patterns and marks left my nature and by man.

The exhibition runs from March 4-March 17, and takes place within the King’s College Art Centre in their Scott’s Building – and is open to the public every day throughout its run, even if the ‘College Closed’ signs are up.