Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, until 30 May 2009

Clare Cummings - Going Somewhere

THIS SECOND showing of work by Moray-based artist group A96 presents a varied and interesting exhibition on all three foyer levels of Eden Court Theatre. These are problematic spaces in which to hang and display work, especially in three dimensions, and creating a strong visual statement overall is a challenge in a space not essentially designed for the display of Visual Art.

Presenting an eclectic range of work by artists at different stages of their careers, the exhibition contains some excellent examples of work by individual artists together with those that demand greater execution and attention to detail, notably in the presentation of work.

Clare Cummings has contributed some fascinating work to the show including The Door We Never Opened (Mixed Media) an illuminated multilayered box construction. The surface image of a human face, eyes closed, has the quality of early silver gelatin photographs, the portal-like doorway in the forehead carved in the architecture of another century and revealing another layer behind the framed face.

This is a satisfyingly complex piece of work in terms of ideas and the interplay of the layers within the light box is compelling. However, the artist needs to pay more attention to the overall presentation of the work. Whilst the inner dialogue is well executed, the outer finishing of the piece is rough compared to the core of the work.

Going Somewhere? (Mixed Media) has the quality of a ready made, which is perhaps appropriate given the subject matter of current economic decline, but this taped or tacked together approach does not serve the artist well in a piece as visually eloquent and poetic as The Door We Never Opened.

Painted Ladies is an equally intriguing sculptural work consisting of four low relief panels in subtle variations of grey. Three spherical hollows within the panels contain red balls while red cord drawn beneath each piece adds to the accent of colour and rhythm in the work.

The beautifully understated smooth surfaces of each panel and the overall balance of this drawing in three dimensions is part of its appeal, demonstrating an understanding of form, colour and composition. In all three works by the artist there is great potential and it will be interesting to see how this develops in future.

Of the mixed media works by Myra Galliker on display, Spirit Door is the strongest. This is a lovely piece of drawing; the ashen gateway hovering in an ethereal ground of chalky pastel-like grey. Marks emulating into the surrounding space resemble incised rock art or even hardboard circuitry. There is a feeling of resonance and timelessness in this work which is contemplative, drawing the viewer in.

Paintings by Anne Munn vary in style and execution; there is a range of exploration in her handling of paint which begs further development. Serendipity and Concerto in Orange (Oils) are good examples. In Serendipity the intricate interlocking pattern of greens, blues, browns and icy aqua form the rippling surface of reflection on water. The style is almost decorative, in a manner not unlike natural studies by Klimt or Mackintosh.

In total contrast Concerto in Orange saturates the surface with vibrant colour in a composition of dripped paint, emergent under-painting and swept vertical accents of brush marks in turquoise and green. The stave-like horizontals add to the sense of concentrated sound, coupled with the artist’s use of colour and exploration of paint.

Munn’s neighboring work On The Beach-Sea Sculpture With Sea seems decidedly less adventurous and flat in comparison, there is less of a feeling of engagement with the craft of painting that Concerto In Orange celebrates.

An artist actively engaged in exploration of the craft of painting is Brian Crawford Young, whose abstract works investigate the “way surface, form and colour interact on the picture plane.” This is exemplified in a series of works in pastel which present form and colour as a visual conversation.

Up For Grabs is a good example, with strongly defined areas of red and blue on a black ground creating a well balanced composition. The work has an almost figurative quality to it, but it is the interplay of colour and form rather than association with subject matter that brings this drawing to life. This purity of elements is also revealed in Red Contained, where three solid blocks of colour hover in relation to each other, the soft pastel edges adding to the sense of vibration in the work.

This and the interlocking forms of Blue Red Dialogue are reminiscent of Rothko. The abstraction is deceptively simple. In Rothko’s large scale Colourfield works the edges are often feathery, painstakingly delicate and the use of colour is immediately suggestive of feeling within a painting; between blocks of colour and also within a whole space where a series of works are displayed. Crawford Young ‘s works in the exhibition employ the same kind of dynamics on a more modest scale, with the balance created between the various elements of the two dimensional surface suggestive of a more expansive reality.

A group of paintings by Linda Smith present a less convincing statement than in previous shows where a unified palette and engagement with paint handling created a stronger impression of the artist’s vision. The Bonnet (Oil on Canvas), however, is a real gem, taking an inanimate object of childhood association and encapsulating it in a halo of religiosity.

The tonality and illumination of the object in hues from midnight to icy blue light is transformative, almost puritanical, offset by the warmth of russet in the corners of the picture frame. The human presence in the work is part of its inherent psychology and its power, causing the viewer to mediate upon the nature of childhood. The painting feels like the central panel of an altarpiece, creating an interesting dialogue between the intimate domestic nature of the object and the way in which it is framed by light. This suggestion of collective reverence permeates our reading of the image.

David Lloyd’s Cracked and Slippery Customers (Oils) are beautifully observed character portraits, combining the intensity of a restricted palette with a range of brushwork and drawn marks scored into the paint. This sensitive excavation of painterly layers mirrors the exploration of human characters in both works. In Slippery Customers the deep purple, hot cadmium red and cool blue grey, together with the sharply incised details heighten the moment; the first figure sizing up the viewer, eel in hand, the second fisherman’s eyes narrowed in distrust.

Cracked conveys a more poignant exchange; here an old man seated within an intense red and whitewashed interior faces the viewer, the deep purple of his empty eyes echoing the dark window pane. Holding a framed image of a ship with cracked glass in his hands, suggestive of a life at sea or a lifetime of aspirations, his gaze confronts us with our own mortality and broken dreams.

An eclectic collection of work by Caroline Bury ranges from sculpture using found objects, illustrative finely executed imaginative works such as Creature, graffiti or logo-like images such as the Issues series in stark black, white and grey and works of a softer rhythm and palette such as Ceilidh 1 & 2. Although these demonstrate a healthy experimental approach there is less of a feeling of coherence and a strong overall artistic statement or vision on show.

Development of line and rhythm are a strong current throughout the two dimensional work and it is interesting to see this evolution. However, the sporadic presentation of work means that it loses its power. The small sculptural objects for example feel isolated and somewhat lost in the context of the artist’s work and in the show as a whole.

The poster advertising the show adds to the haphazard feel of the presentation and ultimately does good work no favours. With artist’s groups seemingly driving the programme of exhibitions at Eden Court it is important that how work is presented contributes to raising public perception of the professional context of working visual artists in the North.

There are some excellent works to be savored in this show and the group is to be congratulated on bringing visual work to the attention of a wider audience. However, it is both in their own interest and in the interests of the overall profile of Visual Arts in the region that greater attention be paid to details of presentation.

If public opportunities for seeing Visual Art are consistently relegated to the outer walls of a city theatre – if this is our only field of reference, then what we present on those walls needs to raise the bar of expectation in defiance of the narrow definition of that designated space.

© Georgina Coburn, 2009

Links

• A96 Artists
• Eden Court Theatre