Inchmore Gallery, Inverness, until 7 September 2008

Work by Mark Lomax at Inchmore Gallery

PAUL KLEE’S credo that “Art does not reproduce the visible; rather, it makes visible” seems particularly relevant in relation to Inchmore’s latest solo exhibition by artist and sculptor Mark Lomax. Absorbing, beautifully executed and satisfyingly ambiguous, the show represents an impressive first major showing of the artist’s work in Scotland.

A series of wall and floor works created specifically for the upper gallery space are an intriguing combination of artistic disciplines; sculpture, painting and site specific installation, retaining all the primary energy and freshness of the drawn mark. Each sequential element in this show lends itself to multiple interpretations and begs closer scrutiny.

The artist’s concern with rhythm allows the eye to move within the picture plane, demonstrating admirably a deep understanding of the formal elements of art-making through abstraction. The interrelationship between two and three dimensional works really grapple with the whole idea of perception in art. It is refreshing to see an artist fully engaged with the physical, social and psychological “ground” from which imagery and meaning emerge through creative process.

The artist has conceived this show effectively, treating the architecture of the space as “a formal constraint”. The frieze-like presentation of the two dimensional works, lighting, atmosphere and associations with the converted church are all brought to bear on how we engage with the work.

There is a great deal of subtlety in how the artist’s chosen materials absorb and reflect light and in his layered technique, allowing imagery to shift and emerge before our eyes. The suggestion of imagery operates very much like the open space we feel in a poetic text, allowing the viewer or reader to create their own meaning and associations in a way that is fluid, imaginative and liberating.

The central installation, ‘Sticks and Stones’, consisting of a hundred cloth bound books sealed enigmatically shut and hovering above the deep charcoal floor, embody the naivety and wisdom of the rhyme. This field of found objects presents us with a formal structure where human knowledge sits uneasily with the potential violence and power of language.

We have a sense that every object invokes a life or has a story to tell and this idea is extended to the wall works whose titles are derived from the books that we see but cannot read. The whole work is rendered in an extremely painterly manner with a myriad of shades from hot cadmium red to aged sienna and deep alizarin crimson. Use of colour is aesthetically beautiful but also an agent of suggestion; various shades are evocative of human history and the passage of time.

The contrast of organic and man-made forms also adds to the sense of formal structure and movement, with the cover of each book painstakingly inlaid with a piece of stone, slate or wood. This is as much about the eye being led into the work as it is about its aesthetic or textural qualities. The formal 10 x 10 arrangement of bound volumes and the pattern of sticks and stones have a compelling rhythm of their own.

As an intellectual proposition or a purely visual statement the work is equally successful. The “transient nature of thoughts, dreams, memories and ideas” has real physical presence. It is also strangely emotive. The human hand in this work is always present both technically and thematically. One feels a sense of continuity throughout the exhibition, not just in the artist’s individual handling of materials , but in the epic sweep of human history and experience.

‘Ephemera’, a poetic sequence of found and crafted objects, each marked with a single word, present a fusion of natural processes with deliberate human action. The weathering of objects oxidised, rusted or scorched are inlaid with meaning through the visual sequence of object/image and text.

‘Ephemera’ is a poignant work because it seems to gather together life’s debris arranged in a beautiful, terrible line. The sense of “alone” as an isolated caged word permeates this piece, alluding to a collective human condition. ‘A World Full of Strangers’ with its barely discernable script and coffin like space marked out in the composition is a further example.

In the wall works we are sometimes not sure if the marks we see are the artist alone or the marks of ages, generations of human hands, nature, weather and accident. This dynamic of control and randomness is a fascinating aspect of the artist’s process and a key to its inherent delicacy. It is a balancing act which the artist manages to navigate in his own inimitable way.

Constructed from layers of plaster, filler, paint, pigment, soot, sand and rust the two dimensional panels have a strangely aged feel to them like rock glyphs or graffiti. Their beauty is in the sensitivity of the mark and the way that layers are excavated like a form of psychological, emotional and spiritual archaeology.

The overlap of layers of material creates spatial awareness within a narrow tonal range, encouraging the viewer to go closer and be drawn in by the rhythm of the marks themselves. ‘The Scarlet Thread’ is a fine example, with delicate chalky articulations that read like musical notation. When pigments are introduced they are remarkably subtle shifts in the overall sequence of dominant grey. The understated nature of the artist’s work is part of its strength.

A work such as ‘Twixt Land and Sea’ can be interpreted as a physical or a real view, a psychological space or a purely abstract composition of tone and form. Removal of literal subject matter encourages contemplation of a different level of reality, it invokes that most human of all compulsions to form meaning, construct narrative and make sense of the world. ‘Yesterday’s Child’ contains the ancient monumentality of low relief sculpture and the naivety of our first drawn expressions. The surface appears utterly natural yet it is superbly and deliberately crafted.

The relationship between text and image is a fascinating line of enquiry in these works and part of their overall unity. The text within the inner frame, working titles, labelled objects (not in terms of classification but in terms of poetic meaning) have an associative power that operates within and between the works on show. If we accept that the world is a well of contradictions where no easy answers are presented to us, then this body of work explores this concept with empathy, compassion and skill.

It is entirely appropriate that as the gallery celebrates its first year, exciting and challenging new work is introduced complimentary to the high standard of regular exhibitors. Also on display in the downstairs galleries as part of Inchmore’s summer showcase are mixed media works by Gwen Black, paintings by Cyril Reed and Maggie Savage, and some exquisite and unusual new glass works by Karen A Kester and Carrie Fertig.

© Georgina Coburn, 2008

Links

• Mark Lomax
• Inchmore Gallery

visualarts,highland