Kilmorack Gallery, by Beauly, until 1 May 2010

Fall From Grace by Kirstie Cohen

KILMORACK Gallery’s latest show reveals exciting developments in the work of two of its regular exhibiting artists, Kirstie Cohen and Henry Fraser. It is an exhibition of stylistic contrast united in the quality of paint handling and adept crafting of composition.

Cohen’s signature atmospheric interpretation of Highland landscape is successfully taken a step further into new territory. Her engagement with oils and the art of painting have expanded the boundaries of her own technique, revealing another dimension beyond the depiction of misty mountains.

The introduction of a strong series of abstract figurative works which actively investigate the dynamics of composition are an important element in this latest showing of the artist’s work. The relationship between these and the landscape works is compelling, demonstrating the artist’s willingness to grapple with visual language, less reliant on her established grammar.

In these new works light is revealed not just as an observed optical effect but the stuff of illumination. This is illustrated beautifully by Winter I and II, where the directionality of the brushwork together with areas of high tonality creates a contest of natural elements binding the image convincingly together. There is a terrific sense of movement and cascading light in both works that is deeply affecting.

Cohen’s suite of Four Figures in a bright palette of vibrant orange, lilac and alizarin crimson suspends each figure within well balanced abstract fields of colour. The vibration of these hues together with loose and energetic brushwork defines human form within the composition.

Her diptych Fall From Grace (From the Icarus Series), composed with the same dynamic in a more subtle palette akin to her landscape works, distills these qualities further. The feminine and masculine figure in Fall From Grace assume a monumental presence and manipulation of abstract elements, fields of hue and tone are central to how we read them. A continuation of Cohen’s mythic Icarus series, human flesh and the physicality of paint meet the element of air, heralding a new equality of technique and ideas in the artist’s work.

This quality is also present in the magnificent larger scale diptych Sea Change (Oil on canvas), depicting an oceanic expanse in the Romantic tradition of Turner. The variation of mark and liquefied fluidity of fine brushwork lead the viewer’s imagination into the central storm of light at the centre of the composition. It is the human mind interacting with the landscape that is depicted, rather than descriptive trappings of vaporous mist.

It is equally gratifying to see the scale of ambition of Henry Fraser’s paintings expand in this exhibition. Fraser’s bold and deceptively naïve treatment of the human figure is pure expressionism, and larger scale works in this show such as The Visitors and Spirit Guide (Acrylic on Board) are exceptional examples of his work.

In The Visitors, the delicacy of Fraser’s paint handling and range of palette is all the more exquisite for not revealing itself immediately. The pale, opaque faces of the couple, warmed only by a feint spatter of vermillion and hint of yellow ochre, dominate the foreground, while the vertical bars or fence line behind them creates a confined psychological space.

The psychology of Fraser’s compositions and their emotional impact are pivotal in how we read the human element in his work. Although the figure is simplified, sometimes defined in the barest of brushstrokes, there is a feeling of emergence from a deeper ground of understanding, both in terms of the art of painting and on a spiritual level.

The characteristically small eyes in Fraser’s figures give us a glimmer of what lies behind; his art encourages the viewer to look closely and become truly absorbed in the space that the figure occupies.

The emotional range of Fraser’s work is expansive; from the pensive luminosity and stillness of Sister, the shining innocence and whimsy of Leo, or the menacing fear of Incantation, the bare soul of humanity is revealed in the crafting of the image.

Spirit Guide (Acrylic on board), a brilliantly balanced composition in striking umber and white, is tempered by more delicate layers of gold under-painting and bluish tinges of subtlety. The mask-like faces of human and cat, together with the striped horizontal bars of clothing, dominate the composition, compressing the subject in an intensely focused way.

The eyes seemingly reduced to dark pupils only heighten this sense of inner dwelling. The way the shadow on the face is handled in fine drip and spatter operates in beautiful counterpoint to the overall strength and simplicity of the image. There is always human vulnerability present in Fraser’s work in the merest line or shadow which is part of his appeal.

It is always a pleasure for established artists to surpass stylistic expectation, and Turn of the Tide and Congregation achieve this admirably. The integrity of paint as a medium of human expression and the visual literacy of both artists is richly in evidence throughout the exhibition, providing stimulating points of connection with the viewer.

© Georgina Coburn, 2010

Links

• Kilmorack Gallery