Two Singers One Song is an exhibition and artistic collaboration featuring painting and drawing by
Jackie Askew and sculpture by Sheila Vollmer. Grounded in their shared language of abstraction,
the exhibition examines the relationship between their artwork and creative processes: ‘Each of
our respective art practices is distinct in its unique use of abstract construction, made
independently in our studios. Yet, there is a clear sense of harmony in our visual languages that
unites our work’.

Both artists explore fundamental elements of form, line, color, surface, energy, and rhythm.
Through a material-led practice, they express their experiences of space—whether architectural,
poetic, or organic—creating a visual rhythm that guides the viewer in, out, and around their work.
In Two Singers One Song, their vision is to spark dialogue and synergy between their pieces,
connecting them within the gallery space. They aim to invite conversation about how abstract
sculpture and painting communicate through visual language, material, and space, as well as how
they reflect our ever-changing world and personal experiences.

Jackie Askew (Painter) and Sheila Vollmer (Sculptor) first met at St. Martin’s School of Art,
London in the late 1980’s, both having moved there to study from their home countries of
Ireland and Canada. A strong creative link formed between these two artists and friends,
they went on to establish and work for several years at a studio complex in Forest Hill,
South London, where they continued to explore their shared dialogue of contemporary
abstraction. Currently working in two separate countries they continue to communicate
and exchange similar concerns in their work, often uncovering unexpected parallels in
their approach to abstraction on the occasions when they exhibit and collaborate.
Jackie Askew – lives in Ennistymon, Co. Clare. She has participated in exhibitions in both
Ireland and internationally, receiving many awards, recently from the Arts Council of
Ireland, she has spent time at artist residencies in Ireland, Iceland and Spain. Her work is
held in the public collections of, The Irish Government Office of Public Works / Meath
County Council / Limerick City Council / Civic Theatre Tallaght, as well as private
collections in Ireland and abroad.

Recent exhibitions include: 2025 Abstract Vernacular – Continuing Conversations,
presented by Talking Sculpture, London, U.K; 2025-Two Singers One Song, The Lido
Stores, Margate, U.K; 2024-APT Open Studios, guest artist, Deptford, London; 2024-It
Rose and it Fell, Terrace Gallery, 258 Church Rd, London; 2022/’23-Winter Show, Linden
Hall, Deal, Kent U.K; 2021-The Lido Open, The Lido Stores Gallery, Margate, U.K; 2021-
Dunamaise Open, Dunamaise Arts Centre, Portlaise. 2021 A Generous Space, Hastings
Contemporary, U.K. 2021-Matthew Burrows Selects, Unit 1 Gallery, Bards Rd. London.
2020 – WAY OUT, 80 International artists, La Grange Art Gallery, Cernay-Les- Reims,
France. 2020 The Nearby, three-person exhibition with Sheila Vollmer, Judy O’Sullivan,
KAVA Courthouse Kinvara, Galway. 2020-Winter Open, The Courthouse Gallery,
Ennistymon, Co.Clare.

“My work encompasses painting, drawing, collage and site-specific installation: I find a
personal vocabulary through abstraction by exploring line, structure, and boundaries, as a
response to space and place. Guided by the transformative nature of materials: new
pieces emerge from the destruction, retrieval and reassembly of previous paintings,
where the layers of their history – painted, destroyed, collaged and repainted – are clearly
visible. My recent work focuses on smaller, more intimate pieces using collage, paint, and
soft chalk pastels on paper. I’ve become increasingly engaged with the conversation that
unfolds between small pieces when they are hung together as a group on a wall, creating
installations that when integrated into a space, aim to engage viewers visually and
emotionally. My approach is intuitive: reacting to the process and materials; the work is
open-ended: it evolves organically, each piece freely transitioning into the next as they
evolve and change. Mine is an emotional and reflective process, open to all possibilities
with the hope of finding something surprising and poetic. ” JA.

Sheila Vollmer – based in London works from her studio at A.P.T Studios, Deptford, is
Sculpture Program Manager at Morley College Waterloo London. She has exhibited
widely in the U.K. and has featured in group exhibitions in Ireland, Holland, Taiwan, Germany,
Canada and USA. Recent exhibitions & commissions include ‘Sine Line’, Public
Sculpture Commission, Integral Powertrain Ltd., Milton Keynes. 2024-Thames-Side Studios
Gallery: A Push or a Pull, curated by Alexandra Baraitser. 2024-Reveal, Morley College
Printmaking & Sculpture Staff exhibition, Morley Gallery, London. 2024/’23 Talking
Sculpture: Dialects of Making, TSM (G Brent, A Harley & S Vollmer) @ Vessel Gallery, York
St John University, Exhibition and Symposium with Yorkshire based artists, C Cullen, K
Cowling and H Honeywill, (Symposium guest speaker G Pollock) York. 2023-TSM
presents ‘Still Here –Women Making Abstract Sculpture’ exhibition & discussion, with
guests, A Reading & B Galletley, APT Gallery, Deptford, London. 2023-Colour 2023′
Burghley Sculpture Garden, Burghley House, Stamford, Lincs. 2020-APT Portal Project
solo gallery window exhibit, APT Gallery. 2021; Artist of the Day (solo show), Flowers Gallery
Central, London SE1 2015-The Atrium Gallery, Cooper’s & Lybrand, London WC1.
“my sculpture practice explores line, form and space, using steel, wooden skirting board
and more recently tinted perspex, with references to architecture, natural systems, and
the body’s relationship to these. My working method responds directly to the material
and the space, constructing sculpture in a modular rhythm of replicated and changing
units, both opening and containing space, searching to express the inside/outside pull of
energy and emotion. Added colour accentuates the inside/outside of the lines, forms and
negative spaces creating rhythm and energy to the ever-changing views.” SV.

https://www.instagram.com/two_singers_one_song/
https://www.instagram.com/jackieaskew_painting/
https://www.instagram.com/sheilavollmer/
http://www.sheilavollmer.com
https://www.aptstudios.org/sheila-vollmer
https://sculptors.org.uk/artists/sheila-vollmer