Browns Gallery, Tain, until 25 August 2007

Moon River, Melvich by Allan MacDonald.

ALTHOUGH identified primarily with the depiction of Northern landscape, Alan MacDonald’s latest solo show reveals a range not seen in previous exhibitions, especially in relation to human subject matter. There are interesting seeds being sown within the landscape work also which suggest greater depth of exploration and maturity in the artist’s practice.

Two large oil paintings of the artist’s parents “Dad” and “Mum Reluctant” are positive signs of evolution in MacDonald’s treatment of the human form. “Dad” is a beautifully realised portrait, a combination of loose layered brushstrokes in cool blues and warm flesh tones which dull none of the complexity of the subject.

Previous figurative and portrait work seem flat in comparison, smooth and flawless in approach, containing surface emotion but unable to penetrate fully the nature of the subject. The key to this change is his ability to handle paint and explore a range of mark with passion and verve regardless of the subject matter.

The depiction of the artist’s father is a sensitively aged face infused with respect and empathy. It is also the depiction of a life and full of this force is equal to his best landscapes. Viewed close up the control of the palette becomes apparent in counterpoint to the more gestural strokes. It is wonderful to see the energy normally invested in MacDonald’s landscapes entering his portraiture in this way.

There is a sense of compassion in MacDonald’s work which is also clearly demonstrated in “The Coming of Age”. The figure of an elderly woman sits like an apparition half masked in the green shadow of visible decay, her eyes faded, pupils ghost like in direct contrast to the ground of alizarin crimson and the chair she sits in. Another smaller square painting of the same sitter “Worry” is an excellent study of white panic and anxiety on the aged human face.

Less convincing are three large still lives in the show in vibrant colours; “Overflow”, “My Table Thou Hast Furnished” and “Abundance”. Given the strong portrait and landscape works in the exhibition these works are an uneasy fit. The garish hues, austere titles and scale of the subject matter seem forced. The palette in these still lives is an interesting development though and the portrait “Shona, Fireside Blues” gives a hint of how this might be explored in the future.

Two further still lives of silverware titled “To Whom Much is Given” exhibit a more subdued palette and the least representational of the two is the most compelling, an excellent study of light and accomplished paint handling.

“Shona, Fireside Blues” focuses on the downcast eyes and face illuminated by firelight and a vibrant colourful palette. On a red brown ground, the face emerges out of shadows of deep alizarin and purple. Lit on one side by strokes of vivid blue against the heat of cadmium red and orange the treatment of this portrait reminded me very much of German Expressionist works.

This resonance can also be seen in two fascinating and distinctive landscape works; “Moon River, Melvich” and “Moonstruck”, an oil work on paper. The stark contrast in tone and abstract nature of the landscape are another interesting departure for MacDonald and in the case of “Moon River, Melvich” reminded me of Nolde or even Beckmann.

However brooding or dark the Northern landscape may be there remains a resilient glimmer of hope in Allan MacDonald’s creative vision. “Day’s End, Winter, Glencoe” depicts the dying light as a burst of yellow setting the branches aglow in the high right hand corner of the painting against a heavily laden landscape in dark tones of raw sienna and umber.

“Atlantic Coast- Harris” is another example with its oppressive blocked in sky of tempestuous purple and angry relentless sea redeemed by the emergence of light, breaking through in cerulean blue and warm yellow in the corner. Scratched marks articulate the waves through layers of deep green, blue and white foam.

In choosing to depict the lifting of dark elements, the moment of ease after the tension of a storm, light breaking through cloud or as in the triptych “Orcadian Sea” light coming from beneath the horizon, MacDonald seems to capture a redemptive quality in nature.

“Sea Surge” visually immerses the viewer in the sound of waves against rock, the tension of paint pulled in all directions and flecks of orange and blue under painting. Natural energy translated into paint and the act of painting itself remains in a work like “Autumn Spate” depicting a cascade of water on stone.

There is resistance here where paint is pulled down by a palette knife allowing layers of colour and impasto to reveal themselves. The importance of working outside and engagement with the elements permeates the artist’s creative process. This physical quality is richly evident in the handling of paint.

“Birch Dance”, a large work which hung centrally in the new gallery space, positively sings off the wall. The subtly twisted curve of the trees read like figures defined by layers of impasto, scratched marks and gouges of bark with a complimentary palette of warm russet and ochre coupled with blues and purple.

“The Great Herdsman” with its mountainous form, swathes of blue, purple and white is highly evocative of the flow of air across the landscape. Buachaille Etive Mor has the same subtle quality registered in a lighter touch of brushstroke.
In “Mushroom Cloud, Dounreay” an ominous mass of cloud overshadows the low Caithness landscape in a wide ball of cross hatched marks. This is an interesting development in MacDonald’s work which relates not to natural elements or effects of Northern light and weather but human interaction with the landscape.

It is a pleasure to view this body of work in the newly renovated and extended gallery, flooded with natural light. A thoroughly contemporary space which draws attention to the original stonework and architectural features of the old façade, glass, wood, stone and slate has been utilised by architect Robin Webster to create an open space in which to appreciate this and future exhibitions to the full.

Browns Gallery, Castle Brae, Tain, 01862 893884, Mon- Sat, 10am-5pm; other times by appointment.

© Georgina Coburn, 2007

Links

• Allan MacDonald
• Click here to view more of Allan MacDonald’s work