Royal Glasgow Institute Kelly Gallery, until 23 September 2006

Lizzie Rose – Storm Jura

A PHRASE that immediately sprung to mind when viewing this exhibition of two distinct halves was “sense and sensibility”. The contrast between the works of these two Argyll artists could not be greater.

Oban-based artist Kate Kirby presents a response to the Ganavan environment that at times seems to paint life out of her subject. Whilst her work in acrylic is a pleasing depiction of landscape, her pastel drawing ‘Trees at Ganavan’ contains the seeds of something more vibrant and compelling.

Otfen artists treat drawing with a freedom they do not allow themselves in a painted “finished” work. I would have loved to have seen more of the “unfinished” and spontaneous in Kirby’s selection of work.

The looser handling and strong colour of this single drawing conveyed more to me about the artist’s inspiration from nature than any of the paintings displayed above it.

‘Green Ganavan Summer’ with its low cloud, clumps of dark trees and vibrant green hue is a pleasing composition, but the handling evens out any contrast, dissipating the potential energy in the piece.

‘Kite Flying’, a sunlit beach scene with the heavy shadow of cliffs, contains a joyous yellow mark in the sky above two tiny figures dwarfed by the landscape. Somehow I found myself wishing for more than just one joyous mark.

In contrast, Argyll-based Lizzie Rose’s ‘Jura Big Sky’ in acrylic, pencil and oil pastel is alive with beautifully articulated movement. Broad brushstrokes build into white lines of tension that recede into the expanse of sky.

There is freshness and immediacy here, combined with an accomplished sense of handling in mixed media. The range of Rose’s work, capable of both power and delicacy conveys a keenly observed sense of nature which is intensely felt.

The drawn mark as a first response is celebrated in every work and never lost. This is not simply agitation of marks. A work like ‘Shorelines’ contains a beauty and calm simplicity that is no less intense than ‘Dark Jura Storm Cloud’.

Both aspects are successfully brought together in ‘Dark Jura Blue Sea’, the sky heavy with cobalt, black and white layers of drawn line over a clam sea of pale blue serenity.

‘Twisted White’ a large scale work in mixed media, conveys the essence of nature and is reminiscent of Japanese prints. The asymmetrical tree forms are beautifully composed with a delicate tracery of palest ice blue foliage against a white ground and thinly drawn horizon. We squint into the glare of snow to define the space and complete the scene with our mind’s eye.

What is often seen in Chinese painting, the sense that the essence of nature can be expressed in one brushstroke, is in evidence here with economy and elegance of design. It is a sublime depiction of natural beauty and simplicity.

‘Small Tall Trees’ contains the same direct energy animated in acrylic, pencil and oil pastel. Influenced by the work of Canadian artist Emily Carr, the handling in this small work is wonderfully concentrated and large in stature.

Carr’s depiction of the British Columbia forest in her paintings and drawings was thoroughly modern in sensibility. Her profound love of nature and wild places translated into the energy of every painting and this same spirit is very much in evidence in Lizzie Rose’s current work.

Full of pure spirit and raw energy I look forward to the artist’s next solo show.

© Georgina Coburn, 2006

Links

• Kate Kirby
• Lizzie Rose