NEW environments often provide the catalyst for creative evolution.

FUELLED by plein air painting, Jonathan Shearer’s latest body of work reflects his engagement with his new home in Easter Ross and the surrounding territory of the Northern Highlands and Islands. The dynamic between direct physical response to the natural environment and formal elements of design are visible in the immediacy of oil paintings created in the field, together with the development of larger scale works in the studio.

Jonathan Shearer - River Coe, Glencoe

There is a war to be fought in relation to Highland Landscape between an environment that is essentially elusive and transient and the art of painting, which communicates the core of human experience in this environment in terms of permanence. Only artists brave enough to consistently challenge themselves, pushing the boundaries of paint handling and composition are able to create more than just a view. While Jonathan Shearer’s latest solo exhibition does not present a defining statement of a human mind perceiving the landscape, seen in the work of an artist such as Allan MacDonald, it is a wonderful exploration of land and technique which heralds an important new phase in the artist’s work.

It is exciting to see the fluid translucence and shifting elements of water and sky in Dornoch Beach (Oil on board) or Surf I, the rhythmic intensity of Autumn Spate (Lewis) – a sketch for a larger work, with all it’s spontaneity and vigour. Although painted on a relatively intimate scale, these works bear a direct human mark and physicality which expands beyond the modest confines of their scale. The key is in the handling of paint and a resistance of surface ground which arguably gives the work an edge. Larger works such as Autumn Spate Isle of Lewis (Oil on Canvas) feel more consciously mastered, a rush of water spilling into the foreground within a misty landscape of purple mountains. Varying densities of paint and a tapestry of colour; rich browns, purples and greens viewed in a haze of muted Scottish light and rain saturate the scene.

While this and a work like Winter Sun Rannoch Moor (Oil on Canvas) are beautifully evocative ( the latter a mindscape of stillness crisply observed in heightened blue and white reflecting a brief encounter with winter sun), there are elements within the larger scale works which feel rather self conscious by design. In River Coe, Glencoe (Oil on Canvas) the balance created between form, colour and light within the curvature of the glen, sweep of stone into the foreground and flow of water seemingly emerging from the mountain pass in the distance, create balanced composition but muted feeling.

In contrast, Culcraggie Track In Snow (Oil on Canvas) with its cross hatched marks and vibrant brushwork, palette of white, ochre, sienna, umber and depth of blue shadow, draw the eye compellingly into the work and allow it to remain. The viewer is pulled into the image not through illustration of a scene but through the tactile handling of pigment – a raw, immediate response to the subject as an exchange between place, artist and viewer.

This can also be seen in the great swathes of paint and monumental shadow of Mountain Blues (Oil on Canvas) contained in a canvas of intimate scale, the delicacy of Lochans Skye II (Oil on Board) or the almost abstract composition of accents in red, ochre and blue in Inverness High Street; a marriage of deliberation and first impression, design and instinct. This sense of grappling with subject and technique in relation to new environmental stimulus is a leading element in the exhibition, ranging from landscape to cityscape and wildlife paintings. The best of these combine dual pursuit of paint handling and of the subject, communicating an essential tension between the two. This is perhaps best illustrated by Shearer’s series of stag paintings.

Jonathan Shearer - Inverness High Street

There is a mythic and emblematic brand of Romanticism in relation to Highland landscape which begins to rear its head in this series of watercolours. Thankfully Stags (Sketch III) (Watercolour) is all about accomplished paint handling and capturing a transient moment rather than clichés, pulling itself back from subject leading over and above creative process. The adjacent two works, however, are not as convincing, and the artist’s capacity to bring the rigors of technique and his vision of landscape resoundingly together will prove definitive in future. It is encouraging and exciting to see an artist actively experimenting and redefining his practice in a new setting and the best works in this show bode well for a resounding statement of place and artistic vision to emerge in future work.

© Georgina Coburn, 2012

Links

• Jonathan Shearer
• Castle Gallery

ANGIE Lewin’s latest solo exhibition at the Castle Gallery features watercolour drawings, linocuts, wood engravings, lithographs and screenprints inspired by the natural environment and found objects, revealing the artist’s consummate skill as a printmaker, designer and draughtsperson.

Characteristically Lewin’s prints are distinctly Retro both in terms of their delineation, stylised forms and choice of palette, evocative of the natural world and of living memory. Though reminiscent of interior design and fashion of the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s, Lewin’s art is not simply a nostalgic echo of these periods, but a distillation of influences crafted into her own inimitable style using a variety of multi-layered techniques.

Angie Lewin - Rain, Harris (Linocut)

What is particularly gratifying in this show is to see the juxtaposition of watercolour drawings and original prints, revealing the artist’s creative process and adding a new dimension to appreciation of her work. This is exemplified in the display of Festival Mug ed 34 (Lithograph) with Festival Mug (Watercolour Drawing), the fluid delicacy of the drawing defining the composition of the final original print in graphic form. The profusion of life contained in the mug flows outwards and it is this rhythmic line that in both spirit and design permeates all of Lewin’s work.

Herald Mug With Teasels (Watercolour Drawing) is another example, displaying grace and surety in the drawn mark and an almost 18th century sensibility in the observation and illustration of the natural world, complimented by the barest accents of colour in Naples yellow, soft mossy green and teal blue. The natural linear rhythm of this work is distilled and strengthened in the stylisation of an adjacent work such as Grain Field ed12 (Linocut). Here bolder forms defined in a palette of grey, yellow, russet brown and black are derived from organic curvatures; seen in the mountains in the background, abstracted oblong circular clouds, the presence of a crescent of moon eclipsed within the sun and cut white marks which allow air to flow through the composition. Form, line, colour and movement unify the image and suggest timeless cycles of nature.

The very best design surpasses the decorative, drawing the eye into patterns of life. Lewin’s inspirations are small details of the everyday; the grasses at our feet, objects gathered in remembrance of place and the subtle nuances of muted colour that denote the turn of the seasons. Winter Birches ed 65 (Screen Print) is an excellent example, with resilient plant life clustered at the base/ foreground of the vertical composition, inclining upwards towards the promise of warmth and light. Bare striated birch trees and an icy flow of line resonate with the chill of winter and the artist’s choice of colours; grey, green, blue, orange seed heads and subdued feel like the dormancy of the Northern winter, the emotional counterpoint of waiting for spring to come.

Angie Lewin - Skye Sun (linocut)

The variable scale and exploration of different printmaking techniques represented in the show is extremely interesting with the complexity of pattern in a work such as Skye Sun or Late Summer Spey contrasted with a more abstract work of intimate scale such as Skye to Harris (Wood Engraving). Here the black landmass dominates the small composition; defiant of the actual scale of the print, the sun locked within the landscape, a green baseline and dashed marks suggestive of the ocean and wind. Familiarity of place through plants and colours seen in the West Coast, Spey Valley and Outer Hebrides are infused in Lewin’s current body of work with design driven by exploration of the artist’s chosen media.

The inclusion of textile works incorporating Lewin’s patterns of Dandelion, Hedgerow and Seedheads, effectively bring nature’s design indoors and seen in the wider context of the exhibition illustrate the way in which creative process defines product. Design, Craft and Fine Art disciplines are all richly in evidence in Lewin’s work and the way that each of these elements inform each other is one of the great pleasures of viewing this exhibition.

© Georgina Coburn, 2011

Links

• Angie Lewin
• Castle Gallery

THE Castle Gallery’s latest solo exhibition is a dual celebration, showcasing the work of Black Isle based artist Gillian Jones and marking the gallery’s 10th Anniversary. Since opening on 20th April 2001, the Castle Gallery has consistently presented work of quality and it is entirely appropriate that the work of a local artist with a long association with the gallery be celebrated in this 10th anniversary show.

What is evident throughout is the artist’s command of her chosen media in a series of watercolours, wood engravings and lino prints of varying scale. How these techniques inform each other, and the dynamics between the intensity of work on an intimate scale and the freedom of mark in larger works, is one of the most fascinating elements of the show.

Avoch

The artist’s considerable skill as a printmaker is obvious; the intricacy of a small scale wood engraving like Avoch ed 1 is both delicate and beautifully defined in stark black and white. The incredible detail and energy in the sky, the curvature of the horizon and angular entrance to the harbour reinterpret a familiar scene with precision and clarity. Exploration of a range of mark and strong design can also be seen in the lino print River, Snizort ed 12, where the landscape is abstracted into an interlocking pattern of bold form in purple, orange and ochre, the flow of water depicted in a delicate sweep of fluid line.

There is an impressive balance struck between formal structure and the fluidity of paint handling seen in the artist’s larger scale watercolour compositions which are the main focus of the exhibition. Watercolour is an unforgiving medium, and Jones delivers without hesitation a direct response to the landscape full of spontaneity and vigour. The bold and confident brushwork in Tarbat Ness, for example, works in brilliant counterpoint to the overall design of the composition. Use of colour matches the energy of large brush marks, reimagining the landscape in the vibrant red foreshore, purple tangle of seaweed, ochre dunes and the prominent lighthouse in bands of red and white.

Tarbat Ness

Even in paintings with a high horizon line Jones allows the sky a wonderful sense of expansion in her use of bare white paper, this restraint in her use of the watercolour medium makes the freedom of individual marks all the more potent. In this way she allows the subject to live and breathe, conveying the immediacy of painting “on the spot” and of being grounded within a particular environment. A work such as Torrin, Skye (Watercolour) is a particularly lyrical example, the eye lead into the composition by the rhythmic brushwork with an anchorage of dark mountains and pure paper sky accented by clouds of blue and purple above.

Human dwelling feels very much embedded in the landscape in this and other works in the exhibition. The small cottage in Torrin, Skye is sunken into the view of the valley below, and although there is no figurative content in the artist’s work there is a human element present in many of the works which seems representative of an intrinsic and heartfelt relationship with the landscape.

Torrin, Skye

Towards Loch Harport, Skye (Watercolour and gouache) is another example, the heightened perspective rendering the white cottages as part of a pattern of life, nestled in a landscape of serpentine streams of blue leading down to the sea. The winding roads and passing places and resilient headland of raw sienna and ochre in the distance are also part of the fabric of the image, visualised as a harmonic balance between natural and human elements. The varying saturation of pigment and the way that layers of colour and mark emerge from the ground allows the entire scene to sing.

Two paintings of island locations Blue House Harris (Watercolour) and Na Gearranan, Lewis, intensify this idea of embedded human culture or habitation; the Blue House in its homely and welcoming cadmium red and cerulean blue set within an olive green and ochre landscape, crisscrossed by tracks as if seen from a bird’s eye view and the image of Lewis where the sparse pattern of dwellings merges with the stone in denser layers of mark both convey a unique sense of place and belonging.

Jones’s paintings and prints inspired by the landscape of Skye, the Moray Firth, the Black Isle and the outer Hebrides are consistently balanced, and as the first solo exhibition from the artist in a decade, it will be extremely interesting to see how this work continues to evolve in the future. Where the layering, precision and design elements of printmaking and the fluidity and freedom of watercolour meet, the artist has created an engaging body of work grounded in the landscape of the Highlands and Islands.

© Georgina Coburn, 2011

Links

• Castle Gallery

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

THE CASTLE GALLERY presents a varied showcase of paintings, original prints, ceramics, jewellery, glass and sculpture this month, with many individual works to be savoured.

Drifting to Sleep by Trevor Price

The art of glass is well represented with works by Natalie Aird, Phil Atrill, Will Shakspeare, Adam Aronson, Mike Hunter and Graham Muir, ranging from functional pieces on a domestic scale to larger sculptural works. Mike Hunter’s Concerto Vase in lemon and deep purple, the design wrapped elegantly around the curved form like a musical scale, is a lovely example of a beautifully crafted functional piece.

Graham Muir’s elemental sculpture Arctic Current Wave in hues of reflective pink, emerald green and blue, is a superb example of the glass artist’s incredible skill. The sheer cuts and tremendous movement of form convey the power of nature coupled with the elusive quality of light. The fluidity of solid glass, play of light and colour in this work is a pleasure to behold.

Also among the sculptural highlights in the exhibition are David Meredith’s elegant Kingfisher (ed 45 in bronze and black polished slate), and a series of ceramic figurative sculptures by Eoghan Bridge.

The Castle Gallery continues to be an excellent showcase for the art of original printmaking, and there are some strong works in this latest show by artists such as Mychael Barratt, Trevor Price, Linda Farquharson, Veta Gorner and Angie Lewin.

Linda Farquharson’s bold works in linocut and wood engraving are striking examples of fine composition and design. The Lino Bird IV ed24 in blue, black and white and the beautiful vertical composition Roost are good examples. Farquharson is equally adept at subtle variations of colour such as we see in Dawn Riders, where crimson, rose and steely purple combine with equine form to create a beautifully balanced image. Similarly Helios Hunters presents a solid, sculptural treatment of the animal with a complimentary palette of burnt orange and blue, softening the stark line and heightened tonality traditionally associated with wood and lino cut technique.

It is wonderful to see ongoing development in the work of Trevor Price, a regular exhibitor of original prints at the Castle Gallery. In this latest exhibition Price’s series of etching and drypoints together with acrylic paintings on board display his characteristically whimsical, slightly surreal take on love and human relationships, tempered with an exciting new palette.

Drifting To Sleep (Acrylic On Board) depicts a couple on a bed hovering above a field. Held aloft by a series of lush jewel-like balloons in red, green and orange, the feeling of weightlessness somewhere between love and the unconsciousness of sleep is captured beautifully in the repose of Price’s two stylised figures. The colours in this work and in Entwined (Acrylic on Board) are emotionally saturated like very ripe fruit, a quality that works extremely well with the subject matter.

Entwined is something of a departure for Price, the robust stylisation of the human figure giving way to a more interior display of delicate butterflies and fruit suspended from fragile strings. The figures are suggested rather than depicted in their physicality and the suspended objects in the foreground give the viewer a feeling of vulnerability in the exchange.

Among the new works at the gallery are a series of mixed media pieces on canvas by Jo Oakley, an intriguing combination of decorative domestic interiors and found objects of remembrance. Morning Coffee is perhaps the most successful, with its distressed vintage feel, subdued palette and emergent under-painting. The arrangement of objects including a “token of love” postcard and distant ship add to the range of narrative possibilities in the work, a quality that could be developed further still.

Happy Days is more staid in terms of a still life, a selection of objects presented on a shelf which shifts slightly uneasily between interior decoration and illustration in the paint handling. The cool white plates and crisp edges of alizarin give the scene an edge just this side of domestic cosiness and it will be interesting to see if Oakley develops these gentle ambiguities further in future work.

If you fail to look up you may well miss a hidden gem in this show; Hilke MacIntyre’s Skating in ceramic relief. The unity of design in the oval rink, cut with the flow of movement from the skaters, is echoed in the semicircular arrangement of trees and onlookers together with the curve of branches receding into the depths of cool wintery blue.

This small piece is brimming with life and owes much in its multilayered treatment to the printmaker’s art. The repetition of oval forms in the work gives it a unity, simplicity and balance which cannot fail to raise a smile.

© Georgina Coburn, 2010

Links

• Castle Gallery

FACED with the forceful beauty and enormity of scale of the Californian landscape, Shazia Mahmood has responded with characteristic sensitivity, employing her unique style of painting based on chromatography in an elemental exploration of the natural world and the art of painting.

Yosemite Valley, 60 x 76cm, by Shazia Mahmood

Experimentation and distillation of technique has always been a cornerstone of the artist’s practice, and it is wonderful to see this quality extended further still in this latest body of work. Fuelled by the photographic compositions of Ansel Adams, Mahmood’s journey to California and her work in Yosemite have heightened her engagement with mixed media resulting in bolder, freer exploration of mark.

Storm Over Sentinel Rock (Mixed media and oil on canvas) presents the viewer with what we feel to be a cross section of implied vastness, sheets of water and rock felt rather than described by the artist’s handling of paint. The feeling within this work extends beyond the boundaries of the two-dimensional canvas, creating an overwhelming sense of the human gaze in relation to the power and scale of nature.

The depth and space of the mountains and their sheer verticality is intensely revealed in Sentinel Rock Yosemite, where technique is extended to exactly the right degree – the separation of media in the actual paint-work communicating the volatile, almost fire-like energy at the mountain summit. The solid powerful weight of rock and snow in thick impasto is superbly contrasted with the fluid and beautifully evocative movement of air and water, handled with consummate skill.

There is delicacy in the artist’s palette – accents of purple, blue and orange that positively lift the spirit, offering not a distant, untouchable vision of the mountain but an image which is as immediate and visceral as the artist’s creative process.

The affect of these experiences in the field on the artist’s subsequent work in the Scottish landscape can clearly be seen in a painting such as Camasunary, defined by the finely wrought texture of sky and raw energy of impasto in the foreground. There is boldness and freedom in the artist’s mark which creates a space for the viewer’s imagination to step into.

It is always a pleasure to see such progression in an artist’s work, and the inclusion of early sketchbooks in the show give insight into the artist’s evolutionary process. The dynamic of control and accident through experimentation with her chosen media of ink, pva and oils is one of the most compelling and distinctive aspects of her work.

Her mixed media technique employs a base medium of pva. Ink is then applied, the glue “draw[ing] out the individual dyes to create a distinctive colour transition”. Pouring rather than brushing requires a high degree of control and the subsequent build up of layers of oils creates a unique visual dynamic in Mahmood’s work.

Mixed media works on paper, such as Loch Alsh in yellow, purple, blue and umber, vibrate with raw energy – pure liquefied colour and light in a perfect distillation of the elusiveness and changeability of the Highland landscape. The artist’s American journey has clearly heightened her sensibility, allowing her to explore more familiar territory anew. Mahmood has long been forging a path of her own – a new visual response both in technical and pictorial terms, and this latest solo show represents a significant milestone in her creative journey.

© Georgina Coburn, 2009

Links

• Shazia Mahmood
• Castle Gallery
  

Ian McWhinnie - Circus, 50 x 50cm, oil on gesso board

INFLUENCED by the artist’s travels in Ireland, Italy, France and America, Ian McWhinnie’s latest solo show at the Castle Gallery presents a wonderfully intriguing body of new work. Characteristically, the artist stimulates the imagination with beguiling fragments of suggestion and narrative in his distinctive figurative paintings. The relationship between figures is endlessly fascinating and part of the inherent mystery typical of his work.

Like his overall approach to composition the artist’s stylisation of the human figure is beautifully controlled. A subdued palette, fine draughtsmanship and the delicacy of the painted mark contribute to the appeal of his work. These qualities, however, are coupled with a distinct edge, both in terms of the artist’s handling of materials and the acute psychological aspect of his paintings.

His technique of oil on gesso board – a surface which, unlike canvas, offers resistance and does not give – contributes to the crisp solidity of the images, curiously combined with warmth of colour and the dream-like lyricism. Applying oil paint to board is a multilayered process, an approach no doubt influenced by the artist’s earlier work in ceramics. There is a certain unforgiving quality to these materials which, when tempered by the artist’s deliberation, sensitivity and care, create compositions of harmonious balance and unexpected irony.

McWhinnie’s painterly vision of the human figure is stylistically cast like low relief sculpture with figures overlapping each other, often cropped to the edge of the frame in the manner and with the immediacy of a photograph. What is so fascinating about their frozen and intricate choreography is the sense of expectation within a given moment captured by the artist, coupled with the timelessness of the stylised human image.

The human condition in the artist’s work remains constant. Each figure is distinctly singular in spite of the dominant style which defines and delineates them. Although there are spectators and participants within a given scene they are largely disconnected from each other, staring out beyond the picture plane.

The Catcher is an excellent example from McWhinnie’s Circus series, in which the upwards gaze of anticipation is the primary focus of the work. No two figures acknowledge the presence of each other, drawn in by the spectacle. The artist skilfully echoes the curved theatricality of the performance ring in the curtain, shoulder and open hand of the central figure, a device often used by the artist to create unity of form and movement in a scene.

A larger painting, Circus, illustrates this beautifully, with the subtle repetition of gently undulating lines; the back of the horse and its flowing tail, the hairlines framing the faces of the female spectators and the curved back of the acrobat suspended in mid-air. These gentle curves are contrasted with the geometric angularity of the curtain partly opened at the centre of the scene. That which we do not see, behind the curtain, is like the void of dark space in The Catcher, with its ladder to a space above, eternally beyond our view.

The largest work on display, The Emigrants, is pervaded by a sense of expectant melancholy with a procession of three figures in the foreground carrying nondescript boxes tied with string, full of belongings or hopes in a scene of departure. In the mid-ground, groups of figures in boats stare fixedly outward while in the background a lonely island appears on the horizon. The curve of shoreline, water and boats echo each other beautifully, evoking a feeling of stillness, longing and anticipation.

Shorelines provide a potent setting for the artist and works on a more intimate scale such as Harbour Wall and Boathouse, County Mayo are particularly interesting. In Harbour Wall a man and a woman occupy the same space but remain separated by the partition, she in the light and he in shade, their gazes parallel, never meeting. The pictorial psychology of this relationship is compelling, the life ring hanging next to the male figure could perhaps save them both – or not at all. Elegantly suspended in time they are a puzzle to the viewer that can never be solved.

This lack of resolution is also played out in the arrangement of another couple in Boathouse, County Mayo, where the relationship is a mystery cast within a strongly devised composition. Foreground and background mirror each other with the angular line of the wall and landscape beyond unifying the painting and dividing the figures, facing but gazing eternally past each other. The palette of russet, ochre, greens and blues contribute to the irony and harmony of this scene of disconnection.

McWhinnie admirably demonstrates that what is pleasing to the eye is not necessarily benign. Although there is a decorative element of design operating within his work and his technique focuses attention on the paintings’ surface, this is never at the expense of the complexity of the subject.

A casual glance might discern dominant similarity between the paintings on display; however, McWhinnie is a subtle artist and one which rewards the viewer with each successive viewing. Paintings which have their origins in different locations convey subtle nuances of light, hue and shifting mood and the possible narrative fragments at work within each painting consistently provoke thoughtful daydreams.

© Georgina Coburn, 2009

Links

• Castle Gallery
• Ian McWhinnie

visualarts

Beachware bowl by Will Shakspeare

THIS CURRENT mixed show of paintings, prints, sculpture, glass, ceramics and jewellery introduces exciting new work together with some interesting developments in some of the gallery’s regularly exhibiting artists.

A highlight of the exhibition is the unique and poignant work of Capetown-based ceramic artist John Bauer. These are pieces on an intimate hand-held scale exploring the personal memories, thoughts and dreams of the artist. Their beauty lies not only in the fragility of the chosen material, a visual diary incised on porcelain, but in their emotional resonance. There is something very honest, vulnerable and human in their making and also in the experience of direct contact with these works.

Bauer gathers thought in each dish like form for the viewer to hold and to witness, investing the object with deeply personal meaning and archetypal significance. In “The pursuit of love so often becomes the addiction” the imprint of old lace and crochet adorn the outer surface while figures float within in soft dream-like blue.

Bauer’s ceramics are objects of remembrance, recollection and connection with the viewer defined by honesty and painful experience rather than sentimentality. “What an uncertain world we live in…” gives a glimpse of a darker, less hopeful reality while “I hope that when next I fall in love it will be forever. I hope that you hope that too” is a drawing and object of pure poetry.

Raku work by Andrew Niblett draws inspiration from “munitions of warfare and the wartime coastal defences of Normandy”. Characterised by strong forms and what can only be described as an intense aurora borealis of colour, the fusion of smoked clay and metal makes the physical process of Raku beautifully visible. Variations of colour and movement within bold simplified form provide an interesting contrast. The industrial design of warfare is curiously transformed by the almost etched marks on metal and the myriad of colour contained in each work.

There are some fine examples of work in glass including Graham Muir’s supremely elegant ‘Slipper’, Bill and Jacquie MacNeill’s ‘Triptych’ of fused glass and metal , Carrie Paxton’s large and colourful retro plates, and Will Shakspeare’s new ‘Beachware’ and ‘Fireworks’ ranges. Adam Aaronson’s ‘Large Tapestry Vase’ is wonderfully subtle, a simple opaque form utilising silver leaf and droplets of turquoise, crimson, orange and soft pink within the central plaque like decoration. Glass work will be a particular focus in the gallery in February with the opportunity to see larger scale pieces Gunta Krummins.

Lindsey Gallacher’s wonderfully observed and finely constructed drawings in jewellery wire on paper such as ‘Flock of Greylag Geese’, intricately layered scrap metal jewellery by Edinburgh based artist Colin Duncan, and a series of enamel panels on copper by Janine Partington are also among the exhibition’s highlights. It is equally exciting to see new currents emerging in the Castle Gallery’s regularly exhibiting artists such as Blandine Anderson, Katie Spong and Trevor Price.

Regular visitors to the gallery will be familiar with Anderson’s finely crafted ceramic sculptures inspired by nature and Gaelic proverbs. Recent work such as ‘Fan Tree’ represents an exciting evolution of form and scale in the artist’s work. A strong and beautifully rendered piece, ‘Fan Tree’ feels like a scaled-up detail derived from nature but living and breathing in its own right.

Even in the miniatures on display there is a sense of evolution at play exemplified by ‘Owl With Green and White Flowers’. This small piece has the same monumental quality as Inuit soapstone sculpture. There is a something elemental at work here which is not simply the result of acute observation of the natural world, manifest in detail, but a stronger sense of understanding and affinity with the subject through relative abstraction.

Prints by Trevor Price such as ‘Open Book’ (etching and drypoint) clearly exhibit the artist’s stylistic treatment of the figure. However rather than using powerful black outline to define form, here Price explores light and shade. Use of chiaroscuro is revealing an intriguing nuance of character in his work and it will be extremely interesting to see this develop further in the artist’s paintings and prints, both technically and psychologically.

Price’s often playful depiction of coupled figures seems to have taken a more meditative turn, revealed here too in the relationship between the two figures absorbed in their own spot-lit view. In an intimate space, where we expect to be read like an open book each character appears comfortably separate.

Katie Spong’s latest monoprints also have an exploratory spirit in them, using different textures of paper and abstraction to develop new work. It is very encouraging to see artists stretch themselves and audience expectation while maintaining their unique vision, and that this creative development is supported by the gallery representing them.

Artists Ian McWhinnie, Jonathan Shearer, Nicola Slattery, Marie Prett, Bronwen Sleigh, Samantha Bryan and Shazia Mahmood will feature in the gallery’s ongoing 2009 exhibition programme. This current mixed show represents a fine start to the new year with a satisfying combination of the familiar and the unexpected.

© Georgina Coburn, 2008

Links

• Castle Gallery

Beach Boy by Joe Davie

THIS SOLO exhibition of paintings, prints and mixed media works by Fife based artist Joe Davie, entitled mouth-piece, is a fascinating show. Deliberation and spontaneity carry equal weight in Davie’s work, which is characterised in thematic terms by a dynamic of opposites.

The human figure is central to his work in all its inherent ambiguity and uncertainty. This is challenging work which presents the viewer with no easy answers. It is an art of questions and contradiction, an insightful exploration of the human condition and modernity. Cultures and ideas meet without resolution in a way that is as curious, playful and thought provoking as the creative process driving it.

Davie’s personal iconography, symbolic figures of soldier, pilgrim, shopper or protagonist are presented in compositions with a strong contemporary feel. Use of overlap, multilayered mixed media and texture add spatial depth, with colour and form superbly balanced. ‘Blue Cross’ and ‘Faith and Apostasy’ are excellent examples. Where text is present it is often singular or placed at the very edge of a work. Like the interaction between figures there is merely a “whiff of narrative”.

Even though there are elements of illustrative technique present, there is nothing literal in Davie’s work, which is what makes it so compelling, complex and utterly original. The work is open to interpretation and engages the imagination. Juxtaposition of the familiar and the unknown, civilised and primitive, domestic and exotic give the work a surreal and mysterious quality. Although Davie draws on a variety of sources from design catalogues, popular culture, tribal and expressionist art his vision is uniquely his own.

The artist cleverly uses the language of design not for consumption but for interrogation, as part of the creative process, an instrument of Faith. The idea of interior design is not just manifest in the stencilled silhouette of light fittings or furniture; it is self reflexive and speaks of our own interior design as human beings, our aspirations and how we define who we are.

There is an unexpected sense of grand design in the familiarity of Davie’s domestic interiors. The scale of the work varies from large scale paintings to smaller works on an intimate scale, there is however a strong sense of continuity in the artist’s vision throughout.

‘Mouth piece’ (Handcoloured Etching) depicts a finely detailed grey interior space with remnants of technology adorning the walls. The setting of the subject presents the central figure masked in tribal dress as an image of primitivism in the context of modernity. The scale of the image is intimate which adds to its psychological weight, as always the figure is rendered with care. The artist chooses his mark; here etching gives the image its delicacy. The way in which “themes old and new…occur, intervene and clash” is beautifully subdued and wonderfully subtle. Davie actively demonstrates that a whisper is every bit as potent and engaging as a shout in visual terms.

‘Camouflage Head’ (Watercolour) illustrates the way that design and accident combine forces in Davie’s work. The mustard yellow ground of bled watercolour becomes a design formalised into the camouflage pattern of skin, hair and clothing. This is not just design as decoration or simply an exploration of technique but a psychological and symbolic act.

Layers of camouflage in this work seem to operate like a series of screens. The top of the composition splits the ground in a stage-like way and merges this yellow ground with the masked eyes of the head. Identity becomes ambiguous rather than fixed, an observation of the human condition, a universal pattern of hidden behaviour.

‘Homo-Logo-Modern Fetish Figure’ (Hand Coloured Copperplate Etching) is an intriguing piece of work. The base of the composition presents the palette as a barcode with the entire body tattooed in a pattern of symbols and objects drawn from modern and tribal imagery. Intricacy and branding are part of the contradiction in contemplative shades of blue and purple. The eye is lead into the work by design and lingers there, lost in the profusion of signs and symbols that form the whole body.

‘Hymn To Confusion’ (Mixed Media) is undoubtedly the darkest work in the show, what feels like a post apocalyptic scene under a turbulent grey, black and turquoise sky. The broad, expressive brush work overhead and barbed wire-like detail in the foreground are contrasted with areas of delicate wash, bled and scratched sections of paintwork. The scene is an accumulative act, technically and spiritually, populated by a lone figure in combat trousers and tribal headdress.

There is a sense of foreboding here, like an oncoming storm. The painterly technique recalls Abstract Expressionism but as always in Davie’s work there is more going on than just the freedom of individual expression. The approach is considered, a fusion of illustrative and expressive techniques.

Philip Guston’s comment that “painting is impure. It is the adjustment of impurities which forces continuity” seems particularly apt when viewing Davie’s work. The artist is in a constant process of refinement of his craft, and like Guston’s work, the human figure an agent of social commentary. “We are image-makers and image-ridden” (Guston) is an observation made by both artists.

Joe Davie’s latest exhibition presents a large and substantial body of work, and there are many pieces that beg further investigation including; ‘Under Arm Tig’, ‘Worship’, ‘The Right Word’ ( Acrylic, Ink and Gouche), ‘Plague Magazine Cover – October’ (Watercolour) and the large scale painting ‘Protagonist (Green)’ (Mixed Media).

The hanging of the show is well balanced in terms of colour and theme, leading the viewer through the exhibition on both floors and creating an interesting dialogue between works. In an age of consumerism Davie turns visual language in on itself, presenting an alternative to the empty static of the television screen that appears as a recurrent motif in his work. There is always more to be seen in Davie’s work within its design. Quietly powerful, these are satisfying multilayered works both in terms of technique and ideas, full of irony, humour and compassion.

© Georgina Coburn, 2008

Links

• Castle Gallery
• Joe Davie

Moon Bather Star Gazer, 15x17.5cm etching by June Carey

BEAUTY and the Divine are at the heart of this latest show at the Castle Gallery showcasing pastels, original prints and constructions by June Carey, blown and carved glass by Graham Muir and silver, resin and enamel jewellery by Miranda Sharpe. Collectively these works are remarkably complementary to each other and their display within the gallery is beautifully coherent, defined by light, colour and attention to detail.

June Carey’s distinct style is characterised by her uniquely personal iconography, an intriguing and surreal vision that is as mysterious as it is technically adept. Drawing is the cornerstone of her compositions and it is especially gratifying to see the range of work in this exhibition from pencil drawings, constructions, pastels, mono, digital and etched original prints providing insight into her creative process.

A superb draughtswoman, Carey’s stylisation of the female form is distinctly otherworldly. There is aloofness in her representation of the feminine that invokes a Goddess-like presence. The artist seems to invest every voluptuous curve with an edge of cool intellect. The red haired iconic protagonist in this series of works has a powerful presence, creation and destruction of equal probability under her gaze.

The female form is strong, robust and contemplative, an interesting combination of both masculine and feminine traits. Carey’s iconic women occupy the whole space they inhabit and are not easily defined in terms of the female nude as a traditional Western genre. This ambiguity is part of their appeal.

The large scale pastel ‘Constant Companion’ is an excellent example of the female figure commanding the entire framed space, kneeling in the manner of ancient monumental relief sculpture. Inspiration from the artist’s journey to India in 2004 is richly evident in her signature adornment of the body in henna-like tattoos while the form and pose of the figure recalls Classical Hindu sculpture. Her stained hands, feet and breasts in vibrant pink and the heart in her hand with a bird like spirit hovering above it are full of colour and vitality.

A series of torches in the background mimic the flame of her hair and in spite of the figure’s stone-like stillness she is abundantly fertile. This impression relates more to procreation of thought from out of the subconscious than to sex. Carey’s figures may be seductive, but this is never just for seductions sake. There is a holistic feeling throughout this work whereby a woman’s soul is never separated from her body. The way the figure is drawn and adorned declares her faith in herself, likewise the artist is stylistically confident in a way that inspires.

‘Moon Bather’ ed 2 (etching), is a beautiful example of the printmaker’s art in black and white. The power of the figure in this smaller work is no less potent with the curve of the tilted crescent moon spun into orbit around the hand by cross hatching. This natural imagery linked with feminine is not just part of the artist’s iconography but a collective archetypal image.

The mirror-like surface in ‘The Constant Companion’ on which the figure is poised is a common motif in the artist’s work echoed in the two figure composition of “Moon Bathers” ed1. (Digital Print). Inhabiting a dark ground the two figures float facing each other in an upside down inversion, swimming through the unconscious.

The term Surreal applies to Carey’s work on numerous levels. The small watercolour ‘A Dream Away’ is imbued with the soft colours of a sunset and the definition of an ink drawing. It is both elusive and precise in a way that recalls early automatic drawings by Surrealists such as André Masson in the 1920’s and 30’s. The landscape floats through two figures, a composite drawing of a male and female figure merged in embrace, each sharing an eye.

This is a gem of a piece, intricate and complex with none of the potentially narcissistic trappings of the dominant style on show. ‘A Dream Away’ could be read as a relationship, masculine, feminine and self, deconstructed. The identity that dominates the rest of the exhibition so convincingly is lost momentarily in this work. It is more experimental, standing slightly off centre to the iconic goddess works and it is great to see this quality in evidence as part of the exhibition.

Similarly Carey’s Monoprints such as ‘Sweet Dreams’ or ‘Thinking Thoughts’ have a freshness of mark and looser style that is invigorating, a direct product of the process. Drawing with inks onto a sheet of glass to produce a one off original print invests the work with certain spontaneity. The image isn’t overly refined but revealed immediately.

‘Reclining Nude’ (Relief Print & Acrylic), where a figure is simply suggested, embossed in gold like an uncovered fragment of archaeology, is also an interesting exploration by the artist. This contrast between highly detailed and refined stylistic work and fresh lines of enquiry are a compelling part of the show.

Use of digital print is used to great effect in ‘Bird of a Different Kind’ and the divine ‘Touching The Soul’, allowing a higher concentration of ink and saturation of colour than possible with other original print techniques. ‘Touching The Soul’ ed1 is alive with orange, purple and the mythological blue of the central figure. Every mark is invested with symbolism from the locket strung onto the hand to the birds bound to the body, tattooed on the skin.

The dream-like quality of this work is typical of Carey’s marriage of the familiar and unknown. Ultimately meaning in her imagery is tantalisingly hidden in a labyrinth we enter into through her highly accomplished work. The influence of Eastern and Western symbolism and evolution of technique in her art begs further investigation.

Miranda Sharpe’s work in precious metals, resin, leaf metals and enamel combines strong contemporary design with natural forms. Colour is used to great effect to define each range in the exhibition; turquoise, yellow, pink, purple, black and red. Her ‘silver and turquoise medium and small cone drops’ earrings are bold and delicate while the ‘slim ellipse bangle’ with its lace like turquoise resin core is a stunning combination of precious and non precious materials.

Bound in silver this piece is both a personal object of adornment and a design that has an almost architectural aspect to its form. Simple and beautiful the materials, colour and pure metal are allowed to speak for themselves. There is sensitivity in Sharpe’s work not just in relation to synthesis of natural form and colour but in what the artist describes as “making additional planes with the body creating movement upon and around its form”.

Graham Muir’s extraordinary work in glass pushes the boundaries of techniques in blown and carved lead crystal. ‘Midnight Ocean Bowl’ is a superb example, a great natural curve in waves of purple and indigo that contains the sculptural energy of the sea. It is an amazing piece of construction with delicate lapping edges, sheer striations of force, liquid translucence and shifting density capturing the pure element of water. ‘Sargasso Wave Form’ in a range from deep emerald green to pale yellow captures light and colour in movement and like ‘Midnight Ocean Bowl’ it celebrates the qualities of glass as a medium.

The way that colour is filtered combining with light and mixing hue in pieces such as the ‘2CF Disc’ and ‘Meridian’ series is subtle and beautiful. Clean and contemporary, the simplicity and geometry of these precious vessels recall Art Deco. Similarly, works such as ‘Solar’ and ‘Lotus’ abstract natural form, placing the inner vessel at the heart of the piece. Muir’s work is distinctive, the result of a deep understanding of his chosen material and evolution of techniques that are uniquely his own.

© Georgina Coburn, 2008

Links

• Castle Gallery
• Additional images from the exhibition

Jim Bond - Blown Away

THERE IS A great range of work on display including regularly exhibiting artists such as Ian McWhinnie, Joe Davie, Michael Ross, Angie Lewin, Gayle Robinson, Eileen Gatt, Shazia Mahmood, Jonathan Shearer, Phillipa Crawford, Gareth Watson and Blandine Anderson. New artists also feature strongly in the show with work by Ken MacLennan, Sheena Graham-George, Veta Gorner and Emma Cameron.

A graduate of Camberwell School of Arts & Crafts and St Martins School of Art & Design, Emma Cameron’s captivating work is one of the highlights of the exhibition. Her human figures emerging out of abstracted grounds of fluid ethereal colour seem to inhabit an imaginative world of interior mythology.

There is something classical and timeless about her study of the body, beautifully observed and defined by the suggestion of outline. Miraculously the artist maintains all the spontaneity and freshness of a drawing in her finished works which are full of earthly physicality and flights of imagination in equal measure.

“One Moment” drifts in hues of orange, lilac and purple, a lyrical dialogue between two figures. Loose atmospheric brushwork define their world as a place of our imaginings, the male figure outlined in umber and purple and the woman standing with a tiger cub draped about her neck.

Cameron’s superb draughtsmanship makes every muscle and sinew visible by suggestion, with a sensitivity that only comes from years of life drawing and careful observation. The artist’s brushwork and spirited animation of human and animal figures reminded me very much of the 19th century Romantic Delacroix.

“Another Way To Be” is a completely absorbing work, set in a landscape just beyond earthly perception. Swirling acidic yellow and green and the hint of vegetation defy our sense of physical scale. The female figure we see could be intimately human or godlike, sat astride a panther or lioness with an eagle resting on her hand.

It is a powerful and confident image of the psyche, allowing the viewer to complete the image in their own mind. This quality of suggestion rather than absolute definition heightens the potency of the image and is an integral part of the feminine character of the work.

Orkney based artist Sheena Graham-George’s appealing suite of whimsical paintings are aptly displayed beside works by Castle Gallery regular Aliisa Hyslop. The dreamlike “Pentalina B” (Oil on Canvas) with pyjama clad figures soaring like aeroplanes above the gentle suggestion of a beach has a natural kinship with neighbouring work.

“Blue” with its vertical composition of stacked mattresses and figure cross legged in levitation above them evokes an altered state of consciousness. There is natural humour here and a gentle palette keeping the subject and viewer elevated and buoyant.

Joe Davie’s latest mixed media work is characteristically intriguing. “The Lost Shopper” with its isolated female figure amongst the easy chair patterned décor of modern life is as bright and suitably colour coordinated as it is unsettling. Formally bound and framed by the central doorway of his composition, the figure suggests more than the decorative trappings of lifestyle. The use of triptych form suggests an ambiguous relationship with consumerism coupled with the strangely emotive presence of the figure isolated in the doorway.

An accomplished printmaker, the technique here is fully aware of positive and negative space, each colour and element balanced perfectly against the next in a layered effect. “Caught” is another excellent example with finely painted forms, delicate textures and metallic surfaces bound by a strong formal design. The dynamic movement of a male figure in silhouette becomes the focal point in this meticulous work.

A graduate of the Glasgow School of Art and now based in the North East of Scotland, Davie’s paintings, handmade prints and mixed media work are endlessly fascinating and subdued. He has the ability to catch our attention and lead the eye into the work invoking a deeper level of contemplation than that of surfaces.

“The Televisionary” suspended in a world of abstracted blue and green and trapped in the heavy suit of a deep sea diver plunges into similar depths. The empty lined aqua screen gives no answer but as with all of Davie’s work it provokes enquiry which is what makes looking at his work so compelling.

A fine range of glass including work by Will Shakespeare, Phill Atrill, Julie Langan and Mike Hunter, exquisitely crafted contemporary wooden boxes by Alec Garner and textiles by Anne Marie Henderson, Samantha Peare and Angela H. Smith also feature as part of this show.

The accent on unique handcrafted pieces for the home is exemplified by Mike Hunter’s striated work in glass. Elegant and distinctive his spiral coloured stemmed wine glasses, perfume bottles and spirit bowls resonate with colour. His “perfume pods” with twisted lids of coloured glass are particularly beautiful.

This latest exhibition from the Castle Gallery presents a range of original handcrafted works of exceptional quality in a wide variety of media with emphasis on affordable pieces for the season. The viewer is also rewarded with the introduction of new artists and new work by artists already associated with the gallery, keeping the selection of work fresh and invigorated.

© Georgina Coburn, 2007

Links

• Castle Gallery

Silver bowl by Alan Baillie.

THE CASTLE and Tore Galleries have joined forces to present joint exhibitions this month “celebrating the role of the visual arts in the Culture of the Highlands”. With the lack of an adequate public gallery space in the area, commercial galleries provide vital public access to art, raising awareness about the range of work being produced and inspired by our unique environment.

This contribution has not been recognised within the official Highland 2007 programme and both galleries have therefore staged parallel fringe shows to make the work of visual artists in the Highlands more visible in this focus year of culture.

Paintings, Screenprints, Jewellery and Sculpted Wood by Eileen Gatt, Tom Mabon, Alisdair McKay, Evelyn Pottie, Jonathan Shearer feature at the Castle Gallery, Inverness, and works by Alan Baillie, Clare Blois, David Body, Suzanne Gyseman, Michael Stuart Green, Kitty Watt and Allison Weightman are featured at Tore Gallery.

An Illustrated talk on “Art Inspired by the Landscape and Culture of the Highlands” by Castle Gallery Director Denise Collins also focused the spotlight on Highland artists represented by the two galleries.

That two commercial galleries have felt the need to invest in an educational and awareness raising programme is admirable and extremely positive, however in any other developed city this is usually part of basic public provision for Visual Arts via a central public arts space or spaces.

What Highland Fringe Exhibition brings into sharp focus are the skills, expertise and contribution of Highland based Visual Arts practice to the economic and cultural wealth of the area.

Evelyn Pottie’s screen prints are particularly evocative of Northern light and landscape. “Winter Haze” ed 7 is a perfect example with a soft frosted palette of colour. Multiple screens of colour are evident in Pottie’s technique which allows for the subtle changes of colour and light in the natural environment.

“Windy Day at Rosehaugh” is another example of this multilayered approach. Here there is a sense of movement through the overlap of colour in the sky, turbulently hanging low over the landscape. There is also a drawn quality to the foreground marks of russet vegetation that add detail and interest to the treatment of the scene.

“Snow Lying on Higher Ground” ed 2 is distinctive for its vertical striations in the shifting winter sky, again subtle details are used to great effect. Not perhaps what we would expect from the art of screen printing due to its usually bold commercial associations. This degree of skill and refinement of technique is testimony to Evelyn Pottie’s many years of experience as an artist and printmaker.

Eileen Gatt’s superb works in silver are beautifully displayed, with ample light and space around each piece to really appreciate the textures and finish of every part of the work. A series of framed brooches in silver, 18ct gold and acrylic with a softly textured finish, incorporating animal forms and rowan branches are both elegant and lyrical.

They are part jewellery-as-adornment, framed as unique and precious works of art, but also part of a narrative. It is significant that the artist has previously collaborated with well known Highland Storytellers such as Janet MacInnes, Bob Pegg and Martin Watssman. Her interest in myth, fantasy and Highland custom is coupled with excellence of design and a thoroughly contemporary feel to the work.

A series of beakers displayed together – “Fish Beaker”, “Mad March Hare Beaker”, “Animal Form Beaker” and “Selkie Beaker” – are exquisitely finished. Gatt’s “Mad March Hare” bowl is a beautifully rounded and highly crafted form in silver.

Alisdair McKay’s sculptures in wood such as his “Elm Spiral Shell” take inspiration directly from natural forms. In this piece the gradations of wood, position of the grain and rhythm of the work as a whole create a wonderful sense of movement.

A highlight of the exhibition is his “Vessel in Ash” (sycamore & ash) an amazing example of contemporary design but also a living breathing form. The way in which the wood has been fitted together allowing it to ripple and move like the flexible shell of a living organism in response to sunlight and atmosphere is inspired. The organic abstract shape of the vessel and its thinly sliced sections enhance our appreciation of the natural grain.

Influenced by artists such as Turner and Horatio McCulloch, Jonathan Shearer’s oils on canvas display loose gestural brushwork and an earthy palette of umber countered with blues, greens and greys. There is variety in the handling of the paint drizzled and applied with varying degrees of thickness.

“Am Monadh Dubh” and “The Sound of Sleat Looking Towards Rum” are two strong examples. In contrast Tom Mabon’s work including landscape, town and cityscapes are characterised by a flat pastel palette. Whilst I found his oils dull due to the paint handling and candy like colours, a small watercolour, “Taransay, Harris”, was an absolute gem. The sketched lines still visible, the rhythm of stones and shoreline are pure poetry in this work.

At Tore John O’Groats based artist David Body displayed his usual brand of vibrantly coloured landscape. Favouring a square format “Freswick Beach” is a good example of Body’s handling of colour and subject with blocks of colour and delicate spatters. The mixed media works are the most effective incorporating sand and other layers of material to add depth and texture to the landscape.

Clare Blois’s signature use of strong colour and animated brushstrokes can clearly be seen in “Field of Cornflowers, Black Isle” in gold, orange, cerulean blue and ultramarine and “The Wild Garden” in purples, greens and blues.

Scoraig Ceramic Artist Allison Weightman has contributed a number of works to the show among them a beautiful “Set of 3 Pebbles” in Raku with pierced and crackled surfaces. Her “Blue Vase” in the form of a pod or raindrop-like shape coated in a turquoise glaze and “Lacy Vase” with russet, white and tinges of green appear to be new explorations in terms of decoration.

“Large Copper Vessel” (Raku) is another example with a greenish metallic glaze and a drawn resist pattern which echoes the overall form of the piece.

Suzanne Gyseman features in the Tore exhibition with works such as “Ural Owl and Moths” in delicate pen and ink and “Enchanted Forest” (coloured pencil). Originally trained as a botanist, Gyseman combines detailed observation with mysticism and fantasy in her illustrative works. “Thinking of Home” (pastel) is an example of her stylised landscapes, set on a high horizon line in strong green and blue.

Alan Baillie’s silverwork designs are clearly influenced by the natural world. “Jelly Fish Cuff” and “Chased Bangle” which reads like a wavy adornment of kelp are two such examples. Baillie also uses semi precious stones set in silver to great effect as in his oval moonstone brooch. His highly polished “Cone Pendant” features a strong elongated design that is both organic and striking.

I was glad to see information in the gallery about “Prints V Reproductions – What’s the Difference?”. In an age of digital printing there are many public misconceptions about the art of print making and what constitutes an original print.

As part of the focus event Tore Gallery have featured the works of artist-printmakers Kitty Watt and Michael Stuart Green. Based in Caithness and inspired by the land and sea in the Orkney Isles, Kitty Watt’s aquatint etchings result in fine graduations of colour which are as much about the art of inking the plate as incising the image into metal with acid.

“Arch Yesnaby” is a great example with dark stone rock formations in contrast with the sea faded into a spray of white foam at the shoreline.

I found Michael Stuart Green’s work particularly interesting due to his combination of drawing, print making and digital techniques which lost none of the spontaneity of original drawing. “Glen Shiel 11″ (digital print) has the fresh quality of drawn marks, combined with the look of lithography and blocks of screen print.

Similarly “Glen Shiel 3″ displays drawing as a baseline for the exploration of different techniques and media in Green’s work. It reads as a multilayered work with the combined qualities of charcoal and pastel drawing with solid areas of the landscape blocked in, in the manner of screen printing.

Digital technology is simply another “mark-making tool” and the Green’s method retains the integrity of the traditional production of print editions by “destroying the files” after an edition has been made in the same way that plates are destroyed in other print making processes.

Both galleries are to be congratulated for their awareness raising event and commitment to raising the profile of work created in the Highlands. We have now seen both artist groups and the commercial gallery sector showcase works by Highland Artists in this focus year.

It is time for the leadership, commitment and vision of Highland artists and private galleries to be equalled by sustained long term arts strategy from our local authority and provision for public access to Visual Art.

© Georgina Coburn, 2007

Links

• Tore Gallery
• Castle Gallery
• Additional images from the Highland Fringe exhibition

Bronwen Sleigh's 'Petrolia'.

THIS LATEST summer exhibition features glass, jewellery, paintings, ceramics, original prints and sculpture by Castle Gallery regular exhibiting artists together with a selection of new creative talent.

Works by Johnathan Shearer, Katy Spong, Vega, Karolina Larusdottir, Tom Mabon, Eoghan Bridge, Will Shakespeare, Gunta Krummins, June Carey, Trevor Price, Hilke MacIntyre, Bronwen Sleigh, Illona Morrice, Lyn Beckett, Blandine Anderson and Joseph Davie are joined by Maggie New, Aimee Birnbaum, Gareth Watson, John Brunsdon and Jenny McLaren.

One of the Castle Gallery’s strengths is consistency in terms of quality and the introduction of new work by emerging artists, and there is always something new to be discovered.

Maggie New’s oil on board technique which varies in density from thin wash over grain to layers of blues, greens and oranges heightens the intensity and saturation of colour. “Spring Tuscany” glows with light and strong hues while “The Bell Tower” exhibits scraped and drawn marks with the suggestion of landscape and architecture.

It is effectively a mood, or what the artist describes as an “inward looking experience”, which is captured, through luminous colour rather than descriptive details. Explorations of “energy, light, source, transience and change” are central to her work. Originally from Great Yarmouth Maggie lived and worked in York before settling in Moray in 1996.

Etchings by Aimee Birnbaum are a great addition to the range of original prints on show. “Spirits of the Dance” is a beautifully drawn figurative work in purple and sepia while “Jacob’s Ladder” is drawn in light much like the etched surface of medieval glass.

A number of etchings by John Brunsdon are also represented. “Sango Bay” and “Ben Nevis” both display great draughtsmanship in an almost graphic style, organically softened by the etched surface texture.

Moray College graduate Jenny MacLaren’s star piece in this exhibition is “Nesting”, a mixed media work in beeswax, ink and collage. The golden glow of wax bathes the whole piece in melancholy twilight, the shadow of moths and aged decay permeate the work.

It is a complex work of many layers. “Harness” is less convincing with its cut out silhouette of a horse and carriage while “Freedom and Sacrifice iii and iv” a mixed media diptych utilise this technique to greater effect. The artist’s use of found material including old lace, text and imagery cause the viewer to reflect on human memory and loss.

Hilke MacIntyre’s unique ceramic relief panels are both humorous and whimsical. “Chocolates” ed 16 and “Chess” ed 17 are excellent examples. “Dishes” ed7, with ceramic literally stacked all around the central figure, rejoices beautifully in the everyday. These small low relief sculptural works are a natural extension of her work as a printmaker, especially with regard to linocut technique, also on display in the gallery.

Bronwen Sleigh’s distinctive work presents an alternative view of the Highlands. The expanse of a work like “Cromarty Firth” ed 21 (Hand coloured etching) displays her characteristic accidental and drawn surface marks together with carefully accented touches of colour.

“Petrolia” ed1” merges industrial design with fragile line, abstract geometric shapes and accidental marks in a strong and supremely balanced composition. Colour and form exist in counterpoint and although this relationship is controlled (there is always a strong sense of draughtsmanship present) the presence of accidental marks remain, making each work thoroughly original and unique. Evidence of a human hand in relation to the industrial subject matter is unexpected and compelling.

My sincere apologies to Staffordshire based artist Paine Profitt who I mistook as an ironic pseudonym for local artist and printmaker John MacNaught! Profitt’s style bears an eerie though softened resemblance to MacNaught’s relief prints of football related subjects.

“Caley over Scotland” (acrylic on canvas), with its surreal combination of aerial perspectives, the floating player drawing back a curtain of night, shares a graphic quality in dominant black, white and blue with wood or lino cut.

“Not Forgotten” (acrylic on canvas) depicts monk-like players elevated above the field each clasping a white ball to their chests in an act of near religious obsession. A selective palette of black, white and purple is extremely effective.

Two watercolours by Gareth Watson display an amazingly subtle and controlled response to landscape with a gradation of steely blue and grey emerging from the surface. “Carn Mairg No 2” is a great example which depicts serene majesty in spite of its relatively small scale and without the riot of colour associated with a dominant style of Highland landscape painting in oils and acrylics. Less is definitely more in this respect and the result is an image of calm contemplation.

As always there is a huge amount to see, with glass by Will Shakespeare and works by Scott Irvine a strong feature on the second floor. “Sleeper Case” (Sycamore with in laid fused glass) and “Fused Glass Wave Sculpture” (Ash with in laid fused glass) are two excellent examples of the Irvine’s complimentary approach to the unique qualities of glass and wood.

On the ground floor “Autumn Leaves Bowl” by Uredale Glass is a beautiful large piece in swirling green and dominant crimson with a hint of dying yellow.

Consistency in terms of quality and access to a range of diverse practice is extremely important in the context of our developing city, and the work of commercial galleries such as the Castle Gallery highlight the shortcomings of cultural provision in the Inverness area.

The Castle Gallery and Tore Art Gallery will be presenting a collaborative fringe exhibition from 7 September to 30 September to celebrate visual arts in the Highlands and to ensure that there is “a voice for the Visual Arts in the Year of Highland Culture”.

Like the Draft Culture (Scotland) Bill, the official Highland 2007 programme seems to have forgotten who are primary providers of access to art in the region. In the absence of public gallery spaces, private galleries and the activity of artists’ groups fulfil a vital role in the area. Commercial galleries run by local artists’ groups are raising the bar of expectation in the region.

© Georgina Coburn, 2007

Links

• Castle Gallery
• Additional images from the Castle Gallery Summer Mixed Exhibition

Trevor Price, 'A Moment of Calm Among the Chaos'.

FLAIR is the first contemporary art event to take place at St Luke’s, former residence of 19th century artist Sir George Reid, PRSA, and now home to the Gordon Highlanders Museum.

With its beautiful Arts & Crafts architecture and modern extension, the museum was the perfect venue for this two day event celebrating the work of some of Scotland’s best artists and exploring the art of printmaking.

It is a significant development for the Museum, which runs a variety of creative workshops and encourages access for the wider community of all ages. Conceived as “a unique opportunity to purchase high quality affordable art in a historic setting”, the event also included two printmaking workshops for children and teenagers led by Cromarty artist John McNaught.

The Inverness based Castle Gallery curated the exhibition, and Director Denise Collins gave an illustrated talk on ‘Contemporary Art inspired by the Landscape and Culture of the Highlands’ on the opening Friday evening.

‘Flair’ is an example of the important work private galleries do to promote the Highlands and Islands as a creative centre, something that has been missing from the official Highland 2007 programme.

Denise discussed cultural motifs and symbols we take for granted and market to the world as Scottish; bagpipes, tartan, whisky, the clan system, which have their origin in the Highlands and have ironically been legislated against in the past.

Introduced in Gaelic, her discussion of work by Blandine Anderson, Michael Ross, Jonathan Shearer, Tom Mabon, John Nicolson, Arie Vardi, Shazia Mahmood and Dorothy Stirling revealed the way in which landscape and culture in the Highlands inspires a range of techniques and creative responses to our unique environment.

“You don’t have to live in the Highlands to be inspired by it” is a great message to communicate to audiences beyond the region.

Another important aspect of the talk was an introduction to the art of printmaking through discussion of screen printing, relief and intaglio in the work of artists Evelyn Pottie, Angie Lewin and Karolina Larusdottir.

Examining these techniques successfully debunked some of the myths about the art form, promoting an understanding of the integrity of handmade prints and the labour intensive process of creating them.

The difference between handmade original prints and the relatively recent phenomena of the Giclee (inkjet) print (which commercially has adopted some of the conventions of handmade editions through the artist’s signature and numbering) is an important distinction, especially for first time collectors.

Whilst some artists do use Giclee as part of their process the distinction lies with the “artist’s intent” and how an image is conceived.

Highlights of the show were recent additions and developments among the Castle Gallery’s regular exhibiting artists. Etchings such as Bronwen Sleigh’s ‘Petrolia’ (ed1) bear her trademarks of skilled composition and accidental marks that give the work a beauty and delicacy that reinterprets her industrial subject matter.

The actual etching process brings a human hand to bear on a world of machinery. For me, Sleigh’s work reads like a kind of industrial archaeology.

Trevor Price’s intaglio techniques have evolved to include work such as ‘Moment of Calm’ (ed 29), defined by a rich decoratively etched surface binding the two entwined figures together. ‘Constellations’ (ed 16) humorously maps out the relationship between two lovers dangling from a branch against a darkly ground sky. Price’s work always makes me smile. It has a characteristic playfulness and wilful abandon that is positively refreshing in the sometimes dour world of art.

A great discovery is the work of Joseph Davie, a former student of Glasgow School of Art during the 80’s, when testosterone and figurative painting seemed to go hand in hand. What is so different about Davie is the subtlety and ambiguity in a work like ‘Resting Place’ (oil on canvas) not only for its palette but the treatment of the figure which could be either dead or asleep.

A delicate camouflage ground of blues, greens and browns, the uprooted trees, which could also read as worms, creates a stillness which is deeply unnerving. Instead of immediate shock value the image gently creeps up on you. It is edgy, dreamlike and compelling in its organic softness.

A smaller watercolour, ‘The Quiet Evangelical’, is lyrical and enigmatic, the figure formed from the small fallen leaves that litter the ground. Carrying a cross with a light bulb the material which defines him is again painted as camouflage, with the military and overtly masculine associations diminished.

There is something very natural and human about his procession, again a result of the chosen palette and the way the figure is reduced in scale. It isn’t often that I return to watercolours but this small figurative piece had exactly that effect. Satisfyingly, it raised more questions than it answered.

‘Flair’ sets a great precedent for Highlands and Islands inspired work to find a wider audience and for contemporary works of art to be seen in an unusual setting. I hope that organisations such as the Gordon Highlanders Museum will continue to explore and develop St Luke’s artistic heritage through engagement with contemporary art and craft, and current Curator Sarah Malone is to be congratulated for her vision.

There is great potential throughout our region for partnerships between Visual Arts and Heritage to be developed and it is encouraging to see these links being actively pursued by the Gordon Highlanders Museum in Aberdeen and the Castle Gallery Inverness.

© Georgina Coburn, 2007

Links

• Gordon Highlanders Museum
• Castle Gallery

'Heavenly Bodies Moonstruck' by Brenda Hartill and Mychael Barratt.

THE CASTLE GALLERY’S latest exhibition celebrates the individuality, innovation and collaboration of four of the UK’s finest printmakers, Trevor Price, Brenda Hartill, Anita Klein and Mychael Barratt.

‘Under the Influence’ is a superb introduction to the range of work possible through the art of printmaking. Often mistakenly regarded as an art of reproduction, this show successfully debunks this idea.

True to form each work is a handcrafted original, the result of highly skilled individual or collaborative work. The resulting blend of styles and techniques is a real revelation. The variety of marks that can be achieved is testimony to the artists’ chosen method of expression and the joy of experimentation.

Regular visitors to the Castle Gallery will be familiar with the distinct styles of Trevor Price, Anita Klein and Mychael Barratt predominantly in drypoint, etching and aquatint. This is the first time that the work of collagraph artist Brenda Harthill has been shown in Inverness. The influence of each artist’s signature technique is explored in the show, together with works created by two, three or all four members of the group.

Though I enjoyed all of the individual works on display it was the collaborative work that held the most fascination for me

We so often think of creativity as a solitary activity. With many years of experience between them as established artists, it is wonderful to see on film the exploration of each other’s technical strengths. This willingness to step outside signature styles to see where the exploration of different and sometimes unfamiliar techniques will take them is a real strength in any artist’s professional practice.

Experimentation is central to the printmaking process as Anita Klein described during the post film discussion and keeps working in the medium fresh “no matter how long you have been doing it”.

The film footage reveals a real sense of anticipation, excitement and surprise as the paper is slowly peeled back on the press to reveal a hand crafted original work of art.

An element of the unexpected is at the heart of the process and although each artist has a preferred method in drypoint, etching or collagraph printing, works where these methods merge are some of the highlights of the exhibition. There is much to be gained from experienced artists working together in this way, the proof of this is revealed consistently throughout the show.

Klein (President of the Royal Society of Painter- Printmakers) described the way in which different printmaking techniques create a substantial “mark making vocabulary”.

The process of working on copper plate covered in wax ground, scraping an image onto the wax surface and then allowing the metal to be incised by the action of an acid bath characterises “fluid” technique of etching.

The physical process of drypoint, scratching onto a metal plate and fighting against the surface produces a metal burr which catches ink and creates a certain fuzziness in the line the artist has created. “Perseverance” and the element of “surprise” come together in this method.

Though producing the image is controlled by the artist’s knowledge of technique, each print of the edition will be slightly different. During the discussion Trevor Price described his method of using a soldering iron on Perspex to create strongly defined figurative work, his own unique kind of drypoint.

Price’s ‘Making Rainbows’ (Hand coloured drypoint) is typical of his strong sculptural approach to the figure merged with the whimsical depiction of rain coming from their hands. The staccato like treatment of raindrops in the print are beautifully realised and animated. Playful and sensuous, Price’s figurative works such as ‘Showering’ find joy in the everyday intimacies of life.

This is a quality that is shared (though visually in a completely different way) by fellow artist Anita Klein, who fills the whole picture plane with the figure defined simply in black and white. Domestic scenes from her everyday family life are her trademark, and she also displays a playful sense of humour towards her subject.

‘Nige in the Moonlight’ and ‘Without my Nightie’ are two such examples, the two figures beautifully entwined in unselfconscious intimacy. The broad strong lines of the body, fineness of hair and washed areas in ‘Nige in the Moonlight’ are at once bold and tender. The chosen marks are wonderfully evocative of the subject.

Etching and aquatint are Mychael Barratt’s preferred methods. A fine dusting of resin is applied to the metal plate and then immersed in acid. Tone is created by the acid eating around each particle. The finely shaded effects in Barratt’s etchings are created by “stopping out successive parts of the plate after each bite in the acid” bath.

Finely textured with literary and art historical references, it strikes me as the perfect way of depicting his chosen subject matter. In this way the artist’s inspiration finds perfect counterpoint in his technique. ‘Life Imitating Art’ and ‘Once in a Lifetime’ are two such examples.

Brenda Hartill’s collagraph process is sculptural in its conception and her understanding of spatial relationships and the effects of light are strongly influenced by her experience as a theatre designer.

The technique relates directly to collage, relief sculpture and mixed media. Thin layers of found objects and modelling material are used to gradually build the printed image to stunning effect.

‘Autumnal Elements’ (collagraph, carborundum with copper and gold leaf) displays a sensitive application of layering, seeping green into gold and brown like the action of the elements on stone. ‘Alchemy IV’ (collagraph, carborundum and copper leaf) also contains striking delicacy with abstract form to great effect.

‘Golden Magic Trees’ reveals a finely textured treatment of the surface with a monumentality of form most often seen in ancient stone sculpture. Hartill has the ability to light the surface from within. ‘Blue Fire II’ (collagraph, carborundum and silver leaf) creates intensity through the coolness of blue and the fine texture of hair thin spun silver.

Years of exploring these techniques in the studio have enabled these artists to find “the best way of saying what [they] want to say”, engaging fully not in reproduction but expression.

Though I enjoyed all of the individual works on display it was the collaborative work that held the most fascination for me. ‘Guernica’ (etching and collograph), a work by all four artists, deconstructs the image and explores the abstract shapes of cubism.

It does not attempt to comment on the horror of war, but rather the affect of Picasso’s image on the viewer in terms of technique and subject. It is a strikingly integrated and beautiful work bound together by the earthy filtered browns applied using the collagraph method. While the hand of each individual artist can be seen in the group of eight square panels, it is a strongly unified.

The ‘Heavenly Bodies’ series of works seemed to stretch all of the artists in a new and interesting way. In this series of prints each artist collaborated with Hartill to produce large works influenced by the moon and infinity.

‘Heavenly Bodies Moondance’ (collagraph, etching, carborundum with silver leaf) by both Hartill and Price contains a group of abstracted figures by Price in a timeless spiral of movement. The elemental nature of Hartill’s inspiration and technique combines with the human nature of Price’s figurative work.

‘Heavenly Bodies Angel’, using the same media but in collaboration with Klein, incorporates the artists characteristic treatment of the female form with an expansive sense of space outside a world of domesticity. The angel’s wings are reminiscent of a dragonfly’s with refractions of iridescent colour and light on an infinite background.

‘Heavenly Bodies Moonstruck’ incorporates Barratt’s floating lovers in the manner of Chagall under the influence of Hartill’s moon, her finely textured treatment of the foreground and the same sense of timelessness stretching into the background.

I was left with the impression from this set of works and from other collaborative prints on display that the artists were drawn out of themselves while still “playing to [their] strengths.”

To compliment the exhibition workshops in the techniques of screenprinting (13 May), Drypoint (20 May), etching (27 May) and woodcut (3 June) are being offered by Highland Print Studio. This is a great opportunity to explore different techniques on a practical level and be inspired by some fantastic examples of the printmaker’s art through the exhibition.

© Georgina Coburn, 2006

Link

• Castle Gallery

Loch Eishort by Shazia Mahmood. © Shazia Mahmood

THIS LATEST exhibition at the Castle Gallery breathes new life into the art of landscape. It is as much about the actual process of painting as it is about capturing the unique landscape of Skye and the Northwest of Scotland.

Driven by an intense ten year exploration of mixed media technique, Shazia Mahmood has developed a style based on chromatography and on her keen observation of the Scottish landscape. This technique involves the reaction of one medium to another (pva and ink), a practice as fluid in nature as the movement of air and water across a west coast scene.

Layers of oil paint are then applied with sponges, builder’s tools and palette knives to create a richly textured image that is as forceful as it is delicate. The mixing of ink and pva is especially effective in the depiction of the subtlety and ever-changing nature of the Scottish light.

Colour and luminescence emerge from behind downpours of rain, underneath the horizon and from behind dark and immovable headland. This play of texture and media cleverly guide the eye into the picture, creating depth and a sense of space that is truly expansive.

Central to Mahmood’s work is a passion for painting, experimentation and for the west coast itself.

The weight of the landmass is felt in the handling of paint, light and colour coming from underneath those layers, fighting its way through. It is a painting which combines the energy of experimentation and change with a great sense of control, both over the palette and the rendering of a scene.

Colour is used consistently to great effect, not in a riot of contrast, but in an assured way consistent with many hours of sketching in the field and even more hours spent in the studio perfecting the accident of one reactive medium to another.

Shazia Mahmood: “There are no chance elements at the moment because I want to be specific in the marks I make and my colours I use are intentional. Although, it is key that the marks look fast and quick so it looks free and more related to the landscape…Challenging myself with the use of marks and technique keeps the work moving and evolving.”

“Loch Eishort” a long rectangular panoramic canvas is a good example of subject and technique working in counterpoint. Layers of media mimic layers of natural light. The effect of poured rain captures the mood and feeling of the scene while the black permanence of land anchors the picture. Exploration of a range of marks without brushwork enables the artist to depict a landscape saturated in the effects of nature’s elements, air, water, and the fire of light.

“Rubha Suisnish” (mixed media on canvas) depicts the moment of a rain shower veiled in pva. Dominant colours of blues, greys, ochre and a flash of cadmium yellow illuminate the scene. Like many of the works in the exhibition it conveys the immediacy of a moment with depth and subtlety.

Similarly “Kilmarie From Strathmore” (mixed media on canvas) has a life in the depth of paint and its handling. This painting ranges from the texture of canvas in the sky to layers of paint moving like waves against the shoreline.

Central to Mahmood’s work is a passion for painting, experimentation and for the west coast itself.

Shazia Mahmood: “…the drama between the mountains and sea is spectacular, also because of the gulf stream the weather changes the scene you are looking at very quickly. This rapid movement across the scene is key. With such massive space around you being moved with colour is so powerful that it sticks to you like nothing I have ever witnessed before.”

It is refreshing to see an artist so engaged with the actual process of painting, challenging both herself and her audience to see a popular subject in a new way. There are many painters of landscape in Scotland’s north but few so engaged with seeing where their medium will lead them.

© Georgina Coburn, 2006

Link

Castle Gallery website

Unbound Love, Leonie Gibbs. © Kilmorack Gallery

WITH CHRISTMAS FAST approaching and the cold weather upon us, Kilmorack and Castle Galleries provide a great excuse to head indoors to view and purchase some exceptional work.

Kilmorack Gallery is true to form in its representation of its regular artists and the introduction of striking new work. Included in the Gallery’s Christmas show are works by Allan MacDonald, Lotte Glob, James Hawkins, Michael Forbes, James MacCallum, Leonie Gibbs, Eugene Vronskya, Peter White, Ronald Rae, Shona Leitch, Angus Clyne and Helen Denerley

Denerley as always displays amazing ingenuity and skill in her transformation of reclaimed mechanical parts into sculpted animal forms. ‘Douglas’, a lemur sculpted from motorbike and industrial parts, is no exception and is the form and essence of this animal brought to life.

Glenfinnan artist Angus Clyne’s large ‘Elm Vessel’ is a stunning piece with a sandblasted surface that has all the timeless form and presence of an ancient ceramic dug from the earth. There is something very elemental about the way this artist works with the natural shape and grain of his hardwood materials.
‘Maple Bowl’ is another example. The pale coloured wood contrasts with the blackened rim reminiscent in shape of a mountain range encircling the bowl. There is a sense of the monumental in this work that is seldom seen in the art of woodturning.

Eugene Vronskaya’s solo show next summer at Kilmorack promises to be one of the most exciting exhibitions scheduled for next year.

Leonie Gibbs has a number of works on display including oil on canvas, bronze sculpture and mixed media on paper. The poetic and idealised ‘Unbounded Love’ and ‘Chased’ are two sculptures in bronze that are deeply romantic in sentiment but no less affecting.

‘Chased’ depicts one figure turned from the other with the plinth on which they stand stretched out between them in an evocation of yearning, while ‘Unbounded Love’ fuses two figures together in the line of their mutual vision, one winged, the other human.

Both the oil on canvas ‘Oh My Ass’ and series of mixed media works ‘Highland Line’ 1,2,3,4,5 and 6 are reminiscent in style of ‘The Blue Rider’ group of German Expressionists, both in colour and loose handling of brushwork. After a successful show in London I hope we may see more of Gibbs’ painting exhibited in the Highlands.

The oil paintings of Eugene Vronskaya in this exhibition have a quiet but intense psychological impact that is achieved not primarily with colour but in the grey focus on everyday familiar objects. Vronskaya seems to merge the familiar with a shadow of violence and the macabre, then just as quickly diffuses this sinister quality with the humour in her painting titles.

This quality comes to the fore in a work like ‘Morning Massacre, a black glove slung over the taps of a familiar kitchen sink, an eerie shadow cast by the toy soldiers on the table, and the only real colour in this grey world the bright green of the washing up liquid and a bloody suggestion in paint on a dead bird’s neck.

‘The Baron’s Flying Machine’ (oil on board) and ‘Preparing For Take Off’ have a child-like playfulness which is somehow denied by the artist’s palette. Similarly, ‘First Snow’, a window ledge still life of black gloves, a grotesque mask and child’s toys, has a chill in it that has nothing to do with the weather depicted outside as the first flakes of snow begin to fall.

Her work has great strength as well as ambiguity and her solo show next summer at Kilmorack promises to be one of the most exciting exhibitions scheduled for next year.

Ronald Rae, an artist normally associated with his large scale sculptural works in granite, has three mixed media works exhibited at Kilmorack that evoke the primitive both in style and in their reference to indigenous and ancient cave art.

These are powerful drawings that for me relate to a timeless desire to create which is an intrinsic and defining part of human nature. I hope too to see more of this artist’s work in future exhibitions.

THE CASTLE GALLERY’S latest show is an Aladdin’s cave for anyone looking for a unique gift for someone special.

In addition to regular artists such as Blandine Anderson, Ian McWhinnie, Karolina Larusdottir, Trevor Price, Eoghan Bridge and Alilsa Hyslop, there are new surprises and a well chosen selection of seasonally themed pieces on show.

Glass decorations by Sioban Johns, metal gold and red decorations by Sharon McSwiney and small angel glass panels and bowls by Julie Langan are examples of festive adornment for the home at its best.

Lyn Antley’s finely engraved earring designs of mermaids, climbing tigers, and hares and stars meld folklore into copper and silver.

There are many smaller affordable pieces in this exhibition that dispel the myth that handmade equals outrageous expense. A wide range of media are represented in the exhibition including textiles, prints, glass, woodwork, jewellery, prints, paintings, ceramics and sculpture, and amongst this work there are many unique and beautiful works, both functional and aesthetic.

Kate Allsop’s small bowls and porcelain spoons with simply drawn decoration are appealing both for their fineness and naïve simplicity. They have a nostalgic, childlike quality to them that is quite beautiful.

Fife artist Hilke MacIntyre’s unusual ceramic reliefs such as ‘Cat and Bird ed 3’ and ‘Castle and Garden ed 14’ reminded me of the various stages of a linocut retained and fused together in a new medium. These small plaques are intriguing new pieces and I look forward to seeing more of this artist’s work in print and ceramic.

Jewellery is a particular strength in this show with each artist displaying a distinct style. Elegant contemporary silver spoons and earrings by Anne Lindsay, Anna DeVille’s whimsical ‘Spotted Bird’ brooch and necklace, or the mythic designs of Lyn Antley are all excellent examples of fine craftsmanship and strikingly original design.

Antley’s finely engraved earring designs of mermaids, climbing tigers, and hares and stars meld folklore into copper and silver. Edinburgh artist Colin Duncan uses cross sections of scrap metal to create unique pieces of jewellery from the unlikeliest of source materials to great effect.

Another highlight of this exhibition for me is the work of Scott Irvine, which brilliantly combines fused glass and wood in bowls and abstract sculptural forms. His ‘Arc Sculpture – Abstract Purple’ is a superb example in fused glass and sycamore wood. The vivid luminous colour and shape of the glass is successfully integrated into the dominant curved design in wood.

The surfaces of glass and wood are extremely tactile and the unlikely combination of them together greatly enhances the unique sensuous qualities of each material.

David Carson Shaw’s vibrant acrylic paintings ‘A Message From Syracuse’, with its vibrating dreamlike layers of colour, and ‘Flight in September’ in vibrant purple are small scale delicate works with great presence.

Castle Gallery will present mixed exhibitions in January and February of the new year, and their first solo show of 2006, The Art of Shazia Mahmood, opens in March.

Both Castle Gallery and Kilmorack are part of the Scottish Arts Council’s ‘Own Art’ scheme.

© Georgina Coburn, 2005

Links

• Castle Gallery website
• Kilmorack Gallery website

Lochan by Ian McWhinnie. © Ian McWhinnie

IAN MCWHINNIE has made an exciting transition from ceramic art to oil painting in a significant solo exhibition at the Castle Gallery. A former painting student at the Glasgow School of Art and an accomplished ceramic artist, McWhinnie has woven together techniques from these two disciplines to stunning effect.

Through experimentation with different painting surfaces and techniques – and sheer persistence – he has created an exceptional body of work characterised by his own individual style. Like hard ceramic surfaces, oil on board allows the artist a crispness of image and delicacy of texture that is truly unique.

His work in ceramics has enabled him to return to painting with a strength of design and composition that derives directly from working within the confines of specific shape and form. His painting on ceramic plates, bowls or other vessels, though it has a decorative aspect, has (to my mind) always been so much more than just decoration due to its figurative or human content.

This is explored still further in his paintings which are completely fascinating, mysterious and elegantly seductive. Although his style is consistently formal in many respects, every piece stands alone in its own right and holds the viewer’s interest.

‘Circus’ (oil on board) is a fine example of a painting which is based on design principles derived from ceramic forms. Seen alongside the ceramic content of the exhibition we can see how the 3D forms such as these have influenced and strengthened the composition of his paintings.

As so often in McWhinnie’s work the narrative suggested by the painting’s title is defied by the characters in it

‘Musician’ (oil on board) is a great example of rhythm made visually tangible through the subtle repetition of curves. The form of the guitar held by the male figure in the centre of the painting is echoed in the curvature of the window and the flow of the woman’s hair running parallel to the strings of the instrument. Each form compliments the other whilst remaining separate. The two figures’ eyes’ never meet, the relationship between them is a suggestion, a compelling mystery that characterises most of McWhinnie’s work with the human figure.

The ceramic piece ‘Circus Family’ also contains an abstracted relationship between its figures. A relationship is suggested by the title but within the confines of the circular bowl each figure is alone.

‘The Meeting Place’ seems to take this idea a step further. The two figures are highly stylised, even sculptural in form. The man’s arms embrace the woman in an act of intimacy but their eyes stare past each other in a way that is psychologically intense but completely detached.

As so often in McWhinnie’s work the narrative suggested by the painting’s title is defied by the characters in it – perhaps it may be more of an observation about human behaviour than a story being told here. Again the shape of the arm in the foreground is mirrored in the form of the stones and hills in the background helping to create a strong unified image.

‘Serenade’ (oil on board) is, as the title suggests, a kind of dialogue defied by the cool sensuousness of eyes that never meet. The curve of a shoulder, a curtain, and the colonnade in the background seduce the eye and mind into the picture.

Although he alludes to the art of the past, McWhinnie has created a visual language all of his own that seems to be very modern in its sensibility.

‘Serenade’ seems to contain a mysterious concealment of emotion that only intensifies the experience of looking at each work in this group of paintings.

The fineness of texture and stylisation of the figure in ‘Blue Dress’ reminded me very much of Botticelli’s vision of Venus. The influence of Italy and Italian Renaissance Art can also be seen in many of McWhinnie’s backgrounds where architecture and countryside provide depth, perspective and a framework for human activity.

The warm flavour of ochres, Venetian reds and the delicate practice of painting onto an ungiving surface bring a human touch to what is a highly developed and formalised style. Although he alludes to the art of the past, McWhinnie has created a visual language all of his own that seems to be very modern in its sensibility.

Seductive, mysterious and strangely poetic ‘Lochan’ (oil on board) with its overlapping moonlit trees and figures is almost surreal and dreamlike in feeling. I kept returning to look at this painting, it had a lyrical quality that was extremely engaging.

‘The Mime Florence’ (oil on board) is the darkest of the paintings, and extremely ambiguous in meaning. The central performer and his audience are detached, staring past each other in all directions within a darkened blue interior. A curved archway frames the central figure and behind him is a sunlit piazza-like space. The shadows in this painting, which seemed to me to be both literal and metaphoric, made me think of Surrealist artist De Chirico and the menace of his deserted plazas.

Though this space is populated there is a dark feeling of isolation in this piece which is very strong. The malevolent Mime seems to hold the world of the painting and its inhabitants in his hand.

‘Jardin du Luxemborg’ provides an interesting contrast as it reads more traditionally like a head and shoulders portrait. The stillness of this piece holds the viewer’s attention, along with its polished execution.

Seductive, mysterious and beautifully beguiling, McWhinnie’s paintings are the work of an artist that has “come full circle”. I look forward to seeing his next solo show.

© Georgina Coburn, 2005

Link

• Castle Gallery website

DENISE COLLINS describes the benefits of the Scottish Arts Council’s Own Art scheme.

THE CASTLE GALLERY in Inverness was one of the first galleries in Scotland to promote the Scottish Arts Council’s ‘Own Art’ scheme. The pilot scheme last year proved so successful that it has now been rolled out to other approved galleries in Scotland.

The basic principles are simple. The gallery, through the SAC, offers 10 months interest-free credit for the purchase of original works of art, up to a value of £2,000. Once the paperwork is completed and approved the customer can take home their painting, sculpture, hand-made print or craft work.

Customers at the Castle Gallery were initially a little hesitant at using the scheme but now it is in full swing with at 3 or 4 applications each month. Art purchasers have found the scheme to be particularly useful for purchasing higher priced paintings at exhibition previews. In many instances they have managed to afford a painting that prior to the introduction of interest-free credit was unobtainable.

This is good news for the customer, the artist and the gallery. Customers can seize the moment and make an impulse purchase to buy a unique work of art that might not otherwise be there the next time they visit the gallery.

Own Art is intended to promote the sales of original art rather than reproduction prints and posters. It enables many potential art collectors to purchase works of art to enrich their lives, without spending a fortune. Hand-made etchings, screenprints, lithographs, ceramics, hand-blown glass and other quality pieces can be purchased for as little as £100 under this scheme.

Own Art takes some of the snobbery out of buying art

However, the scheme can be of financial benefit to most people interested in art because money will remain in their personal accounts for another 10 months, gaining interest, whilst the Own Art interest-free loan is gradually repaid. It makes financial sense.

Own Art takes some of the snobbery out of buying art and by opening up the art market makes original art available to many more people.
 
If you would like to take advantage of this scheme, don’t hesitate to visit the Castle Gallery or any of the participating galleries and ask for further information, or visit the Scottish Arts Council’s web site (below).

© Denise Collins, 2005

Link

• Own Art website

INSPIRED BY Gaelic proverbs, Blandine Anderson’s solo show at the Castle Street Gallery in stoneware, porcelain and oils invites further investigation of its source.

I was glad to see that events including clay workshops for children led by the artist and talks on Gaelic proverbs by Ruairidh Macllleathain have been organised to coincide with the exhibition, broadening public involvement with the show.

Bòrd na Gàidhlig, Comunn na Gàidhlig and Fòram Gàidhlig Inbhir Nis have given financial support to these events, and it is wonderful to see Anderson’s body of work in a literary and cultural context in this way. It reveals how the Gaelic language continues to be a source of inspiration for artists.

In Anderson’s work her observation and stylistic interpretation of nature is very much at home with the wisdom and humour of the proverbs themselves.

Anderson is a highly skilled ceramic artist. All work is hand built without the use of moulds. Painted slips and oxides are added before the first firing and then enamels before the final part of the firing process.

The results are works that are intricately textured and coloured with a warm and naturalistic palette.

Anderson’s animal portraits in oils convey a great understanding of the creatures they depict but it is in her clay modelling that this rhythm of movement really comes into its own.

No 30 “As an dris anns a droigheann” (Out of the briars into the thorns) is a beautiful example of her distinct style. It depicts in stoneware a group of three hares in flight straddling in midair two abstracted fields that form a strongly curved base.

No 58 “Is math an sgàthan sùil caraide” (A friend’s eye is a good looking glass) with two hares facing each other on an abstract plinth is a superb example of her modelling of animal forms that are true to the creature they represent but also uniquely stylised by the artist.

Many of Anderson’s creatures are caught in the moment, perched precariously on the larger abstracted forms that are their stage. This abstraction is always derived from nature, suggested by the natural form of leaves, crashing waves or drops of water.

Tales, myth and folklore feature strongly in Anderson’s work and her travels in Scotland and Ireland, the influence of landscape and the Elements in this body of work are all strongly evident.

The proverbs contain wisdom and humour which is realised in smaller works such as No 43 “Cha shoirbh triubhas a chur air cat” (It is not easy to put trews on a cat), No 55 “Gach madadh air a’ mhadadh choimheach” (Every dog sets upon a stranger dog) and No 16 “Am fear a bhios air dheireadh, beiridh a’ bhiast air” (Him that’s last the beast will catch), featuring a group of hares, the last one glancing nervously over his shoulder.

These smaller works are both affordable and accessible for the element of humour that governs the grouped figures in action.

Tales, myth and folklore feature strongly in Anderson’s work and her travels in Scotland and Ireland, the influence of landscape and the Elements in this body of work are all strongly evident.

Of the oil paintings, No 6 Cha mhisd’ a’ ghealach na coin a bhith comhartaich rithe” (The moon is none the worse for the dogs barking at her), is for me the most captivating of the exhibition. It is a beautifully luminous work with the emblematic hare caught in the cool blues of the moon and really captures the imagination in a way which animal portraits on their own are not able to.

Blandine Anderson’s work successfully creates curiosity in the source of her inspiration and engages the viewer with its evocation of nature.

I hope that future exhibitions will follow this lead and include talks and workshops, especially for children where appropriate. This is so important as it promotes local interest in the arts and develops an audience for visual arts in the area.

Contact with an exhibiting artist also helps to promote the idea of art not only as a as a creative pursuit but as a profession. The involvement of different artistic disciplines and groups within the community with what is in this case a commercial gallery helps support the work of artists, integral to our cultural identity.

© Georgina Coburn, 2005

Related Links:

• Castle Gallery website

It is always a pleasant surprise to discover a gallery outside the central belt dealing with quality works of art.  The Castle Gallery in Inverness is one such establishment.

Many new commercial galleries have opened in recent years and these ‘galleries’ have taken many guises including gift shops and tourist traps masquerading as galleries.  However, the Castle Gallery rises above this mediocrity.  Working to high standards, the gallery challenges the erroneous perception that you need to go to Glasgow or Edinburgh to view or buy contemporary art of any merit.  The Castle Gallery is successfully building a reputation to rival the best of the central belt galleries.

The gallery opened in April 2001 to great acclaim.  Over 250 people came to the inaugural  celebrations which were a huge success.  The reaction to the design and layout of the space and to the works of art on display was overwhelmingly positive.

In the Scotsman the gallery received a mention as a ‘new and excellent art gallery’.

It is a serious contemporary art gallery mounting exhibitions and selling work by some of the finest artists in Scotland and throughout Britain.  The owner and director, Denise Collins, has over 17 years experience running commercial art galleries.  She also owns, and still directs, Cambridge Contemporary Art, a highly regarded gallery which has shown at the Glasgow Art Fair for the past four years.  The philosophy of both galleries is to show contemporary art based on originality and aesthetic merit.

The 550 mile move north from Cambridge to Inverness was easy to make as many of the outstanding artists showing at Cambridge Contemporary Art were based in Scotland.   Denise chose Inverness as the location for her new gallery because of a mix of personal and business decisions.  Her family came from North East Scotland and as the capital of the Highlands, Inverness was expanding fast and becoming far more cosmopolitan.  The time was right to open a reputable gallery able to contribute significantly to the cultural development of the Highlands.

During the first year of opening the gallery:-

• Won the Inverness Tourism Award for Visitor Marketing.
• Was accepted, against stiff competition, for the prestigious Glasgow Art Fair.
• Welcomed the Rt. Hon. Charles Kennedy M.P. to the gallery.
• Was selected for the Craft Council’s ‘National List of Selected Galleries’.
• Made a presentation at the Hi Arts ‘Visual Arts Day’ in Dingwall.
• Has been warmly welcomed by local artists, one stating ‘What has amazed me about this gallery is that it is so professional.  It is like going up another level.’Artworks, July 2001

The Gallery exhibits a diverse mix of artists, media and styles from all over the U.K., with a large representation of Scottish artists such as Dorothy Stirling, Michael Ross, Aliisa Hyslop, Jonathan Shearer, Andrew Walker and June Carey.  The gallery is keen to promote such quality painters as well as sculptors and craft makers.   Indeed, the excellent craft selection has been recognised by the Crafts Council with the inclusion of the gallery in the ‘National List of Selected Galleries’ (one of only eight listed galleries in Scotland).

Artists from the Highlands are also supported, however, not on the basis that they are local, but because the standard of work is comparable to the best in Scotland.  Such artists include Jim Neville, Joanne Kaar, Liz and Michael O’Donnell, Michael Forbes, Tom Mabon, Gillian Jones and John McNaught.

Inverness and the Highlands are major destinations for cultural tourism in Scotland.  Quality standards here need to be driven up to match the expectations of increasingly discerning visitors.  The Castle Gallery is playing its part in these developments in helping to erase the old perception of Inverness as being a bit of a cultural backwater in terms of contemporary art.  The gallery has been very successful in attracting visitors to the gallery via a range of clever marketing initiatives, a widely distributed gallery leaflet and a smart new website at www.castlegallery.co.uk.

However, the owner, Denise Collins is keen to stress that the gallery is not a ‘tourist gallery’ but one intended to serve the needs of the people of the Highlands and Islands by introducing new and vibrant art.

The gallery is situated in the lee of the castle, in the centre of Inverness.  The building dates from the early C18th.  During extensive renovations, which took ten months, wattle and daub and the original fireplace were exposed.  The premises now provide three separate gallery spaces on two floors in a welcoming and friendly setting.

The key staff have degrees in fine art and art history from Leeds University, Grays School of Art in Aberdeen, Edinburgh College of Art and St Andrews University.  In addition, Denise also has an MA in Museum and Gallery Administration from City University in London.  These well informed staff are there not only to sell work but to provide information on the various techniques and biographical information on the artists.  This highly professional yet approachable environment , makes the Castle Gallery an ideal place to browse, enjoy and buy the best in contemporary art.

To mark the opening of their Christmas exhibition the gallery is hosting a day of mulled wine and warm mincemeat pies on Saturday 29 November.  This open invitation to come along and view the superb and distinctive works of art on display should not be missed!

Castle Gallery, 43 Castle Street, Inverness is open Monday to Saturday 09.00-17.00 telephone 01463 729512.