Group 7 Exhibition Review By Artist Rod Hague

L’Artishe Gallery run by Sharon James, an experienced knowledgeable artist herself, is a well run professional gallery  showing a regular programme of high quality exhibitions.

The current exhibition by Group 7 running until November 9^th brings together extremely interesting work by this group of well established artists, all with their intrinsic merits. In my opinion of particular note is two monoprints   by  Martyn Brewster ,  ‘Heartsong’ No. 550 and  ‘Heartsong’No. 551,  with their use of vibrant colour giving a sense of grand space on a small scale. ‘Red Barn’ by Ursula Leach, an oil on canvas, utilises red, yellow and green to their full potential and Fran Donovan’s ‘Freezing Hill 1’ ,oil on canvas, is a fine example of her lively approach to abstract painting. ‘Red Tree’, a mixed media picture with its centralised image by Peter Symons is I feel successful due to the unity of colour. All the artists involved, ‘the magnificent seven’, have put together an exciting exhibition which should be viewed and enjoyed.

Rod Hague                   

About Bonnie Brown - A Member of Group 7

Bonnie Brown

With a definition of poetry as “emotion recollected in tranquillity”, then the paintings are the written poem turned into a visual form. The motifs, colours, textures, sense and manipulation of space taking the form of the words, pulled together into a carefully considered composition where rhythms and balances are constantly reviewed until nothing more can be added or removed to achieve the desired transformation and translation of ideas.

“My intention is to create a luminous composition made up of the consonance of several colours to form a possible space for the spirit. The paintings are lyrical evocations of time and place, combining inner and outer worlds in a rich fabric of colour and spatial manipulations.”

The ideas are triggered by something seen, felt, touched, observed, a memory often on the edge of recognition. All familiar and individual, these often unrelated images are formed together into a new visual relationship on the canvas.

The paintings are mixed media and oils on canvas or paper. Working from sketchbooks and drawings the paintings are developed through a series of layered images in paint, colour, texture, frottage and monoprint. They are often explored through small series of varying scales following a particular concept or idea which may have originated from observational research, and take many months to resolve allowing for the continual reassessment of the surfaces and the source of the idea.

E bonniebrown68@hotmail.com

W www.bonniebrown.co.uk

About Brian Bishop - A Member of Group 7

Brian Bishop

“Art is that thing having to do only with itself”

My work is an attempt to explore images by removing the pictorial narrative and moving wholly into pictorial space, an area visited by, not only the painter but also the architect, sculptor, composer and dance choreographer.

These images are works that demonstrate the breadth of engagement with colour and structure that has occupied me for many years.

They are works of a non-figurative nature, they do not inform with text or images drawn from the world about us, so allow your imagination to explore and make a fresh interpretation in order to discover a world of colour and structure in the same way that you would listen to a piece of music.

Leaving any preconceptions behind, endeavour to approach these works with an open mind.

Brian Bishop A.R.C.A.

“Colours must have a mystical capacity for spiritual expression, without being tied to objects” – Johannes Itten.

E brianbishop68@hotmail.com

W www.brianbishop.info

In Memory of Stan Davis

Stan Davis

I know that I have been giving over the image part of the blog over to group 7 in recent days to help promote their exhibition. Today the honour goes to Stan Davis, sadly Stan passed away this week. He was a really great guy who was also one of my biggest fans. (I mean the gallery really). He was a regular to every exhibition I put on and we would often wax lyrical about art and other art related topics.

He was so modest about his own work but he truly was a gifted painter. I was fortunate enough to have him show a piece in my 'Abstract Open' a few years ago.
If you are unfamiliar with his work then please do take a look at his website, I have included the link to make it easier.

http://www.standavis.info/gallery.htm

It was a pleasure to have known him and I will miss our discussions.

My thoughts are with his family and friends.

Group 7 Exhibition Starts On Saturday!

Brian Bishop

I spent a few hours at the gallery assessing my handiwork and overall I was happy with what I had done. A few little tweaks and it is now done. I hope that you get the chance to see it.
I was supposed to get a few days of this week and as it has turned out I have been at work even more than normal.

I mentioned yesterday that I would be stocking artist books at the gallery. That's just one of the new additions for 2014. I will also a have a selection of Stephen Bishops new works on permanent display at the gallery. They will be in the studio, and will be changed quarterly as and when Stephen produces some new works.

There will also be a new purpose built browser in the gallery space which will stock a selection of original works by some well known artists and printmakers, myself included. I am hoping to do this in a clever sculptural way that will not encroach on the gallery space at all. It will add another feature along the lines of the glass stand.

I have an important meeting in the morning to look at the Charity Exhibition that I will be holding in February in aid of the John Flowers Bursary. I am hoping that we can get lots more young people on board and help them to achieve their creative goals.

A Whole Lot of Hanging Going On!

Martyn Brewster

I knew it was going to be a challenge and it was. I am hoping that Group 7 agree with my decisions. I am always keen to get it right and my plan is to sleep on it. I can visualise perfectly what I did in my head. It is very reassuring to be able to call to mind the gallery space in my head. I also think that if I had to I could probably tell you whose work is where.

I don't have a photographic memory I am just good at remembering. It is really helpful that I can do that   as I can go to sleep thinking of it and make a decision to change anything if necessary.

I am still thinking about what I can do next year to bring another angle to the gallery. I have decided that I am going to stock books that have been published by artists. They seem to be popular and it would seem that more artists are getting them produced. The other point to note is that no one in Swanage is doing it.

You know how I hate to have dirty windows well, as people like to drive on the pavement outside the gallery it has now become a regular occurrence. I arrived at the gallery today to find it liberally splashed with lovely muddy puddle water. The fact that I spent an absolute age getting them clean yesterday was a total waste of time. Oh well, you also know that I quite enjoy cleaning. Is it worth a strongly worded letter to the council or a general moan in the local rag?

Tomorrow I just have the price list and the numbering to get done and then I can make a start on the million and one other things that also need my attention. It's funny I envisaged a few days off this week and the truth is that I won't have any. Including my normal day off. Being your own boss has it's rewards but the downsides are also a bit annoying.

Group 7 Have Landed!

I have been doing an Autumn Clean, this is the longest time between shows that I have had since June. I have been living with the most awful stained carpet and none to special everywhere else. Not anymore it is very clean and fresh.

Just in time for the delivery of Group 7's work. It is going to be a challenging hang as it means really thinking about the contrasting and complimentary styles. Just as well I have a few days to consider what I am doing?

If you like a nice diverse mix of art styles then you know that you should definitely make it along to this exhibition.
I will be posting all kinds of interesting things about this group via the blog so keep checking back.

There isn't much gallery news as I have been focussed on doing the chores. But as I have an ear to the ground via gallery friends. You should check out this Grayson Perry Lecture. Here's the details.

In the first of four lectures, recorded in front of an audience at Tate Modern in London, the artist Grayson Perry reflects on the idea of quality and examines who and what defines what we see and value as art. He argues that there is no empirical way to judge quality in art. Instead the validation of quality rests in the hands of a tightknit group of people at the heart of the art world including curators, dealers, collectors and critics who decide in the end what ends up in galleries and museums. Often the last to have a say are the public. Perry examines the words and language that have developed around art critique, including what he sees as the growing tendency to over-intellectualise the response to art. He analyses the art market and quotes - with some irony - an insider who says that certain colours sell better than others. He queries whether familiarity makes us like certain artworks more, and encourages the public to learn to appreciate different forms of art through exploration and open-mindedness. Perry was awarded the Turner Prize in 2003, and is known for his ceramic works, printmaking, drawing, sculpture and tapestry as well as for his cross-dressing and alter-ego, Claire. The Reith lectures are presented and chaired by Sue Lawley. Producer: Jim Frank.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b03969vt/

Have a listen and let me know what you think. Right I've got work to do. Until tomorrow.