“They’ve given me a chance to grow and become what I want to be” – Salford artist features work at Manchester Art Fair after landing scholarship

A Salford-based artist has showcased his artwork at the Manchester Art Fair 2023 after landing a scholarship with Salford University.

Jeffrey Knopf, 52, a University of Salford MA graduate in Contemporary Fine Art, now a full-time artist and dad, embraced the idiosyncrasies of 3D printing to create plastic sculptures displayed at the fair.

The artist based in Broughton at Paradise Works showcased artworks ‘Check me Bird Out’ and ‘The Closest I Got to Freud’s Desk’, which are based on scans from sculptures at Manchester Art Gallery and the Freud Museum in London, and are ‘de-familiarised’ objects that serve as ambiguous representations in the form of incongruous contemporary materials.

Knopf continues to show “immeasurable” commitment and gratitude towards Salford University for the support they provided in allowing him to further develop his skills during his Masters degree.

Before enrolling at Salford, he faced struggles whilst trying to elevate his artistic visions and make them a reality.

“When I left university 25 years ago, [I was] just thrown out into the world and you’ve got nothing,” Knopf said.

He wanted to “press the restart button” and complete his Masters. Fast forward to when he just turned 50 after graduating in 2021 with a Distinction grade, he gained massive confidence in his talents and relished the opportunity to land a scholarship fund at Salford University.

Knopf added: “I had this fantastic safety net there, this support, this programme that helps guide you through certain pitfalls to get somewhere and do something.

“This wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t been to Salford University and had exposure to this sort of technology and then gradually figuring it out.

“They’ve given me a chance to grow and become what I want to be.”

Younger artists of the future graduating with artistic degrees will enter an ever-changing art industry. Knopf believes, as an artist who gives talks at Salford University and makes an effort to communicate with students who are in the position he used to be in, that the opportunity to reach the next level is rare but special.

“Since doing the scholarship, I’ve had other students get in touch with me. My view is, to get the scholarship, you’ve got to be in it to win it. If you don’t go for it, you don’t know if you’re ever going to get anywhere.

“As artists, we’re very underrated in some ways. Unless you’re down South, you don’t get a look in!”

‘Salford Scholars’ at MAF also included four other graduates’ works at stand 211 in Manchester Central from November 17-19. Katie Aird used experimental ‘scanography’ to distort a photograph of flower symbolising the cycles of nature in ‘Entropy’, whilst Mollie Bradshaw’s ‘My studio is on the bus’ exhibited a humorous new work of a bus seat to depict the reality of the the unconventional places that artists find inspiration in.

Katie Aird, Mollie Balshaw, Adam Rawlinson, Katie McGuire and Jeffrey Knopf are all Salford graduates who achieved a BA (Hons) or MA in degrees ranging from Fine Art and Contemporary Fine Art to Photography. The ‘Salford Scholars’ collaborated with Castlefield Gallery for an exhibition celebrating 10 years of the University of Salford Graduate Scholarship Programme.

Adam Rawlinson’s oil on canvas ‘It’s Nice To Be Alive’ employs a bold colour palette rooted in natural surroundings. ‘And again…’, ‘Keep on Growing’ and ‘Where do we go from here?’ are original biro drawings from Katie McGuire, who takes inspiration from industrial landscapes to present poignant ideas of endless repetition through hand drawings in an era of digital dominance.

Rowan Pritchard, 26, is a graduate associate with the University of Salford Art Collection and curator of Salford Scholars at The Manchester Contemporary.

Pritchard emphasised the importance of bringing the works of recent graduates to MAF: “I think it’s amazing to be able to champion some of the talent that comes from Salford at MAF because it really brings together the whole community of arts across Manchester.

“In Salford, I think we have such a thriving art scene here. Showing that off on a scale like this is really important.”

Having also graduated from the university with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art in 2021, Pritchard appreciates how art can communicate unique messages originating from different backgrounds.

They recognise, as a curator, how balancing “putting on a beautiful show” with the aim for visitors “just going to have a nice moment and relax” can, almost inadvertently, lead people to think about bigger ideas regarding the issues of today, such as the frequent topic of climate change that the University of Salford Art Collection is passionate to express.

“Maybe if you just saw a poster with words on, you wouldn’t be grabbed in quite the same way,” Pritchard added.

Career progression is at the core of the university scholarship programme’s values, as some of the graduates at the ‘Salford Scholars’ MAF stand made sales for the very first time over the weekend.

Pritchard said: “We want to make sure that artists who study here in Greater Manchester can really see that there’s an opportunity to have a career here. They don’t have to go to London. They can stay here and thrive here.”

The University of Salford Art Collection features over 800 modern and contemporary artworks and offers a graduate scholarship programme for students.

For more information about Manchester Art Fair 2023, click here.