Castle Gallery, Inverness, until 24 December 2007

Jim Bond - Blown Away

THERE IS A great range of work on display including regularly exhibiting artists such as Ian McWhinnie, Joe Davie, Michael Ross, Angie Lewin, Gayle Robinson, Eileen Gatt, Shazia Mahmood, Jonathan Shearer, Phillipa Crawford, Gareth Watson and Blandine Anderson. New artists also feature strongly in the show with work by Ken MacLennan, Sheena Graham-George, Veta Gorner and Emma Cameron.

A graduate of Camberwell School of Arts & Crafts and St Martins School of Art & Design, Emma Cameron’s captivating work is one of the highlights of the exhibition. Her human figures emerging out of abstracted grounds of fluid ethereal colour seem to inhabit an imaginative world of interior mythology.

There is something classical and timeless about her study of the body, beautifully observed and defined by the suggestion of outline. Miraculously the artist maintains all the spontaneity and freshness of a drawing in her finished works which are full of earthly physicality and flights of imagination in equal measure.

“One Moment” drifts in hues of orange, lilac and purple, a lyrical dialogue between two figures. Loose atmospheric brushwork define their world as a place of our imaginings, the male figure outlined in umber and purple and the woman standing with a tiger cub draped about her neck.

Cameron’s superb draughtsmanship makes every muscle and sinew visible by suggestion, with a sensitivity that only comes from years of life drawing and careful observation. The artist’s brushwork and spirited animation of human and animal figures reminded me very much of the 19th century Romantic Delacroix.

“Another Way To Be” is a completely absorbing work, set in a landscape just beyond earthly perception. Swirling acidic yellow and green and the hint of vegetation defy our sense of physical scale. The female figure we see could be intimately human or godlike, sat astride a panther or lioness with an eagle resting on her hand.

It is a powerful and confident image of the psyche, allowing the viewer to complete the image in their own mind. This quality of suggestion rather than absolute definition heightens the potency of the image and is an integral part of the feminine character of the work.

Orkney based artist Sheena Graham-George’s appealing suite of whimsical paintings are aptly displayed beside works by Castle Gallery regular Aliisa Hyslop. The dreamlike “Pentalina B” (Oil on Canvas) with pyjama clad figures soaring like aeroplanes above the gentle suggestion of a beach has a natural kinship with neighbouring work.

“Blue” with its vertical composition of stacked mattresses and figure cross legged in levitation above them evokes an altered state of consciousness. There is natural humour here and a gentle palette keeping the subject and viewer elevated and buoyant.

Joe Davie’s latest mixed media work is characteristically intriguing. “The Lost Shopper” with its isolated female figure amongst the easy chair patterned décor of modern life is as bright and suitably colour coordinated as it is unsettling. Formally bound and framed by the central doorway of his composition, the figure suggests more than the decorative trappings of lifestyle. The use of triptych form suggests an ambiguous relationship with consumerism coupled with the strangely emotive presence of the figure isolated in the doorway.

An accomplished printmaker, the technique here is fully aware of positive and negative space, each colour and element balanced perfectly against the next in a layered effect. “Caught” is another excellent example with finely painted forms, delicate textures and metallic surfaces bound by a strong formal design. The dynamic movement of a male figure in silhouette becomes the focal point in this meticulous work.

A graduate of the Glasgow School of Art and now based in the North East of Scotland, Davie’s paintings, handmade prints and mixed media work are endlessly fascinating and subdued. He has the ability to catch our attention and lead the eye into the work invoking a deeper level of contemplation than that of surfaces.

“The Televisionary” suspended in a world of abstracted blue and green and trapped in the heavy suit of a deep sea diver plunges into similar depths. The empty lined aqua screen gives no answer but as with all of Davie’s work it provokes enquiry which is what makes looking at his work so compelling.

A fine range of glass including work by Will Shakespeare, Phill Atrill, Julie Langan and Mike Hunter, exquisitely crafted contemporary wooden boxes by Alec Garner and textiles by Anne Marie Henderson, Samantha Peare and Angela H. Smith also feature as part of this show.

The accent on unique handcrafted pieces for the home is exemplified by Mike Hunter’s striated work in glass. Elegant and distinctive his spiral coloured stemmed wine glasses, perfume bottles and spirit bowls resonate with colour. His “perfume pods” with twisted lids of coloured glass are particularly beautiful.

This latest exhibition from the Castle Gallery presents a range of original handcrafted works of exceptional quality in a wide variety of media with emphasis on affordable pieces for the season. The viewer is also rewarded with the introduction of new artists and new work by artists already associated with the gallery, keeping the selection of work fresh and invigorated.

© Georgina Coburn, 2007

Links

• Castle Gallery