Castle Gallery, Castle Road, Inverness, until 24 December 2010

THIS LATEST seasonal exhibition at the Castle Gallery features original and handmade glass, ceramics, jewellery, prints, paintings and sculpture with Christmas gift giving firmly on the agenda. The selection of work is a reminder of the high quality and craftsmanship available by side stepping the High Street and supporting local galleries, artists and makers throughout the UK during the festive season and year round.

Among the highlights are new works by Karolina Larusdottir, notably Rok ap (Colour Etching) in which her characteristically enigmatic treatment of the human figure is distilled to the central relationship between a solitary middle aged couple. Architecturally framed they are positioned in relation to a distant lighthouse fixed resiliently within one continuous expanse of aqua, sea and sky merged together. Robust and steadfast, a chill wind encircling them, the man shields his head with his hands, while the woman stares fixedly beyond the viewer.

Karolina Larusdottir's etching Rok Ap

The psychology of Larusdottir’s images and her grouping of figures is always a source of fascination, creating an intriguing space between the realms of theatre and assembled congregation. Her strong decisive depiction of the human figure rendered convincingly by the etching process and high tonal contrast is coupled with the intricate interactions between figures earth bound and other worldly, giving her images a mysterious and surreal quality.

In Magic (Colour Etching) a more whimsical aspect emerges, with birds escaping from the magician’s box as he and his assistant perform on an outdoor stage to an audience suspended in applause. Colour is used sparingly and to great effect within the composition, with forms of black and white well balanced between blue sky and bold accents of red in the assistant’s costume, the illusionist’s box and a robe worn by one of the onlookers. This triangular arrangement galvanises the various elements of the composition and holds the viewer’s gaze as convincingly as the protagonists.

Among the selection of jewellery are some beautiful pieces by Katrina Martin, Linda MacDonald and Sally Ratcliffe, each exploring the relationship between hand crafted and organic forms in their own unique way. Linda MacDonald’s Scribbles Bangle, part of her Daisy and Daisy Chain collections in silver with 9ct gold detail, is an excellent example; a seemingly natural tangle of adornment superbly designed and beautifully crafted.

Karolina Larusdottir's New Year's Eve

Sally Ratcliffe’s work in silver, gold and gemstones clearly draws inspiration from nature’s design of seeds, pods and shells, creating distinctive contemporary jewellery of innate delicacy. Katrina Martin’s work has the look of flotsam, a clever combination of materials that feel as though her jewellery been plucked directly from the shoreline. Two sets of necklaces and bracelets, the first in a palette of browns, the second in blues and greens utilising fibres, stone and beads sourced from around the world, convey a memory of place in their suggestion of randomly found natural materials by loch or seaside.

Janine Partington’s jewellery in enamel, copper and acrylic and her enamel panels have an elegance and simplicity that seems to capture the essence of the winter season, when plant forms and trees are pared down and silhouetted against a landscape of frost, ripe for contemplation. One of her larger panels, bare seed heads drawn elegantly in red on a background of shifting opaque blue and white enamel is a particularly fine example.

Simplicity of form and the delicacy of porcelain are celebrated beautifully in Mizuyo Yamashita’s exquisite Tiny Wobbly Bowls coloured in gentle jade green and aqua. The balance of these small objects and the Tiny Plate and Tiny Bowl designs decorated with a butterfly designs embody a fragile movement akin to insect wings. The way in which the bled design is rendered in subtle pastels together with the transparency of porcelain adds to the beauty of these decorative and functional objects.

In addition to hand crafted seasonal decorations there are many pieces to grace the home or table in this show, including ceramics by Maureen Michin, Robert Goldsmith, Helen Martino and Hilke MacIntyre, and glass by Jill and Jacquie McNeill, Gunta Krummins, Karinna Sellars, Phil Atrill, Mike Hunter and Will Shakspeare. Shakespeare’s Seismic Vases have an elemental quality to them in the fluid swirl of colour and pattern evocative of the evolving landscape and of Bronze Age designs. In contrast his Waffle Pattern perfume bottles and bowls have a more painterly, intimate feel to them in keeping with the domestic space they might be used in.

Other exhibition highlights include new collagraphs by Brenda Harthill, mixed media sketches by Shazia Mahmood and framed three dimensional works incorporating found materials by Sarah Jane Brown.

Karolina Larusdottir's etching The Good Gathering

As we collectively descend into consumer meltdown in the lead up to Christmas it is good to be reminded of the choice we all have beyond the nation’s retail parks. The best craft, design and fine art practices can often be seen simultaneously in the one hand crafted object, original print or painting being created by artists right on our doorsteps and championed by select private galleries all over the country. With public awareness growing about traditional craft practices due to recent media and television coverage, perhaps more people will choose to connect with handmade and original work as an alternative to mass consumption.

© Georgina Coburn, 2010

Links

• Castle Gallery