John Cumming and Frances Pelly at an talla solais Ullapool Visual Arts 11th June – 3rd July 2011

John Cumming and Frances Pelly are two Sculptors based in Orkney. Their work is deeply influenced by the environment they live in, both the natural landscape and the culture of the Northern Isles. An Talla Soalis is thrilled to introduce the beautiful work of these artists to the west highlands.

Cumming is originally from Shetland. The fishing industry has long been an influence in his work; buoys, ropes, creels and gear appear in much of his visual vocabulary. He responds also to the poetry and writing of the Orkney and Shetland Isles. Pellyʼs background is Edinburgh and Perthshire, she settled in Orkney after a residency with Highland Park distillery in Kirkwall in the 1980s. Her work shows her keen observation of her surroundings and a developed understanding of the landscape she lives in. Pelly studied Sculpture and Ceramics, her traditional tutoring in these processes introduced her to stone carving and letter cutting, this has been an influential process in her work since.

This exhibition at An Talla Solais is a unique collection of new and retrospective work. The artistsʼ work compliments each other, their subjects spring from a similar source, and their rendering of these subjects and the shared understanding of materials and processes unite the exhibition.

It is an appropriate show for the highlands too, where stone, water and land are so important. The work lends itself to a similar contemplation, in the way many visitors will come to the highlands this June to grapple with and marvel at the landscape, so An Talla Solais hopes people will come with high expectations of this wonderful exhibition, which will provide another way of seeing the land around us.

www.antallasolais.org

Source: An Talla Solais