Inchmore Gallery, nr. Inverness, until 18 June 2011

INCHMORE Gallery’s latest mixed exhibition features a wide variety of work including paintings, mixed media, glass, ceramics, jewellery, textiles and sculpture by artists such as Marion Boddy Evans, Elaine Russell, Cyril Reed, Helena Emmans and James Adams, Mark Lomax, Alex Dunn, Ingrid Fraser, Julie Whatley, Emma Siedle Collins, Daniel Kavanagh, Susan Duncan, Lesley Jones, David Body, Patricia Shone, Carole Robinson, Anne Bridgen, Kim Bramley, Emma Noble, Lynn Bennett MacKenzie, Vicky Stonebridge, Liz Myhill, Gwen Black, Jane Owen Inglis, Julia Cunningham, Jennifer Carr and Laura West.

James Adams - He Used to Take The Ferry

In addition to the display of her elegant and elemental jewellery based on organic shoreline forms, a series of acrylic and pastel works by Helena Emmans combine keen observation with exploratory technique. The soft palette and subtle textures of ‘Changing Blues, Kyleakin, Isle of Skye, September’ capture shifting patterns of light and colour beautifully, drawn mark and brush delicately combined. Land mass and whitened sky are described expansively with accents of green, brownish pink and blue, in a way which holds a definitive scene just beyond the viewer’s reach.

This play of light and hue are aptly described in the title of another work in the series, ‘Directions of Colour, Ashaig, Isle of Skye’, the gentle relief of paint layers, residue of pastel highlights and scratched marks making the curve of the shore emerge from the pigment like a mirage. Emmans has captured the characteristic Highland transformation of landscape and weather before the viewer’s eyes.

Michael Stuart Green has contributed a lovely series of mixed media and original digital prints to the exhibition, demonstrating his skill in relation to draughtsmanship and design. ‘West Coast Village 2′ is an excellent example, with the artist utilising positive and negative space to lead the eye into the composition; from our foreground vantage point, down into the village to the sea and headland beyond. The white paper of the pathway, border and sky create a convincing ground and an imaginative space for the viewer to step into.

Michael Stuart Green - West Coast Village 2

This is a work which is cleverly composed and beautifully executed, the interplay of forms demonstrating the artist’s command of traditional printmaking techniques and of design. ‘Diabaig’ (Monotype, ink and acrylic) is another fine example exhibiting a variety of drawn mark and density of ink that describes the scene with immediacy. The square brush blots of ink in the base of a dry stone wall solidify the structure, and work beautifully with more delicate treatment of details such as vegetation to create a convincing image.

Julie Whatley’s quietly assured gouache and mixed media works based on wildlife observation successfully convey the essence of her avian subjects. In ‘Gannets Fishing’ she captures the aerodynamics and solid intent of the birds observing their prey before their impending free fall into the ocean. Fluid charcoal defines their bodies and wings with an accent of ochre on each head introducing earthy colour to the habitat of air and water.

Julie Whatley - Gannets Fishing

‘Heron in Flight’ is another example, although cruelly cropped in its frame; the linear description of serpentine neck and layering of feathers in washes of paint and pastel capturing the presence of the bird. ‘Puffin Group’ also utilises pure line in its curvaceous and economical depiction of robust and rotund bodies, with the background in blue and grey bisected with a single curve of horizon.

New acrylics on canvas by James Adams allude to loss and human memory in relation to land and seascape. In ‘He Used to Take the Ferry’, Adams places the aged figure with a walking stick on the same plane as a line of hills and cottages in the top section of the painting in what feels like the present tense, while beneath two arch-like harbours seemingly inhabit his consciousness; a departing ferry depicted in one, a lighthouse in the other. The palette of deep green, steely blue and white and naïve rendering of form in stark black outline are deceptively naïve and complex in their associations.

The multiple perspective of Adam’s work is inherently Expressionistic and emotive. In ‘Red Tug’ the artist uses colour and a lighter touch to create a sense of hope and refuge with the red tug anchored in the harbour and a beacon in luminous yellow against blue. The dream-like sketched detail of the foreground and cleverly placed mid-ground of deep green creates a feeling of depth and immersion in the scene, leading down to the shore. ‘The Croft Inspector’ adds an element of humour to this suite of paintings with the purposeful stride of authority, brief case in hand, set against the landscape and flattened pink farmhouse.

Inchmore is continuing to establish itself since a change of ownership last year with an ongoing commitment to showing the work of “local artists, new graduates, emerging artists and nationally recognised names”. Those already familiar with the gallery will recognise work by regularly exhibiting artists such as Daniel Kavanagh, Patricia Shone, Cyril Reed and Mark Lomax, and this year’s programme of solo and group shows will continue to introduce new work and new artist’s to the gallery. The introduction of a programme of Classes and Workshops are being planned for autumn 2011expanding the role of the gallery and offering tuition for both experienced artists and beginners.

© Georgina Coburn, 2011

Links

• Inchmore Gallery