Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, until 28 March 2009

Highland Artists Exhibition 2009

THE PREVIEW invitation for this latest group show by Highland Artists asks the very pertinent question “What’s Highland got to do with it?”. With definitions of visual culture in the Highlands so dominated by a persistent mythology of landscape it is refreshing to see a representation of the diversity that actually exists here exhibited in a public space. Formed as a networking group to showcase the work of professional artists living and working in the Highlands, Highland Artist’s current exhibition presents an exciting range of perspectives and perhaps most importantly evidence of individual creative development. Featuring work by Michael Forbes, Caroline Hewat, Alex Dunn, Pat Hay, Rosie Newmann, Denise Davis, Kirstie Cohen, Eugenie Vronskaya, Anita Murray, Pamela Tait, Gwen Black and Linda Smith, this is a varied and enjoyable show occupying all three foyer levels of the Eden Court Theatre. Eugenie Vronskaya’s Prayer Position (Oil on canvas), exhibited as part of An altar and fruits and a flame at Kilmorack Gallery last September, provides an impressive entry point to the show above the main theatre staircase. Her adjacent Self Portrait is beautifully animated by loose brushwork, retaining all the freshness and immediacy of drawn marks and emerging enigmatically from a ground of blank canvas. In contrast, Snow envelopes the viewer in a profound mantle of chilled silence, the muted light and subtle palette transforming the still life into an image of illumination and transcendence. There are many more highlights in the show, including Kirstie Cohen’s Icarus Series 1 & 2 (Oil on canvas), combining the abstracted human figure with the dynamic and changeable element of air. For me this is the artist’s best work to date, demonstrating her full engagement with the art of painting where technique and penetration of the subject matter have equal gravitas. Best known for her atmospheric Highland landscapes Cohen extends her technique into new terrain with this accomplished series of paintings. Anita Murray has contributed a beautiful series of multilayered mixed media works to the show including Abdication, an intriguing combination of heavily varnished luscious jewel-like colours and natural forms emerging out of dominant black. Equally impressive are Murray’s two smaller works, Turn Away and Return, executed in a looser, more lyrical style. Return positively vibrates with colour and energy reminiscent of the luminous otherworldly pastels of Odilon Redon. Denise Davis’s Curvature of the Spine reduces the figure to the vertebrae, suggesting the poise of the figure in a gestural sweep of line on an abstract ground of vivid cadmium red, alizarin sienna and black. This is a visceral, arresting piece of work, an echo of spine hovering to the left of the composition like a Memento Mori. Davis creates a totally convincing image from the abstract, with an understanding of the body gained through experience of life drawing and modelling. This is a painting borne out of keen observation, expressive handling of paint and a highly charged choice of palette. The treatment of the figure, though not as extreme or grotesque as Bacon’s Three Studies at the Base of a Crucifixion, bears the same kind of painful and emotive associations, the human form reduced to suffering and the mortal starkness of bone. Linda Smith’s If You Go DownTo The Woods Tonight… (Oil on canvas) utilises the texture of under-painting to great effect, echoing the psychological aspect of the work. One has the sense of the artist exploring the handling of paint and layers within her subject with equal enthusiasm. The alizarin crimson shadows between turquoise trees, empty swing suspended eerily in movement and pale yellow light illuminating the forest clearing contribute to the sense of unease within the work. Even the most benign or reassuring everyday object – a pram, a swing or a still life – is transformed in Smith’s work by heightened theatrical use of tone and surreal use of colour. Erland Tait’s Sleep Machine connects the circular pattern of coloured clouds to the eyes of its dreaming protagonist. The light box is beautifully framed both in terms of the outer presentation and also in relation to pattern and design, echoing strongly the craft of stained glass and strength of line evident in his black and white graphic works. The associative element of light is both richly decorative and illuminating in Tait’s design, adding new layers of potential interpretation. Another interesting development is Rosie Newmann’s exploration of mixed media, notably McFarquar’s Bed. There are two versions of this work, one hung above the other. The lower is the more subtle, displaying sensitive handling of colour and an understanding of flesh tones ranging from pale blue, purple and yellow hues which bring the body to life. Layers of media are beautifully rendered, clothing the human form in a metaphoric veil of exposure and concealment. The texture of cloth and the delicacy of the palette add to the intimacy of the image, with the shadow of a portrait hovering ghost-like at a cornered edge of the canvas. It will be very exciting to see the artist develop this technique further in future exhibitions. Although the Eden Court venue is problematic in relation to lighting and the range of work that is able to be shown in the upper foyers is restrictive, particularly for work in three dimensions, it is always encouraging seeing visual art made visible in a region with so few designated visual art spaces. If you only see this exhibition in connection with an evening performance I would strongly recommend returning during the day to enjoy the work in full natural light. The active role taken by artist groups in the Highlands in providing access to Visual Art in recent years has been vital and significant. Although the group’s work can be accessed via their website there is no substitute for direct experience of visual art in all its forms. Coming into close contact with the artist’s mark, being able to scrutinise layers of media and meaning encourages a more immediate human connection with an audience. We are fortunate that groups such as Highland Artists continue to actively facilitate this kind of exchange. There are many ways to be creatively inspired in the region, not all of them literal or a product of Victorian Romanticism. The whole definition of art as Highland is complex and problematic for many contemporary artists working within the region, and for many the whole idea of “Highland” simply isn’t the point. This exhibition admirably demonstrates engagement with the craft of art, individual creative development and the desire to raise public awareness about the work of professional artists in the region in all its variety. © Georgina Coburn, 2009

Links

• Highland Artists
• Eden Court Theatre