CULTURE
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if, like me, you’re a fan of Bruno’s darker works don’t worry - you’ll still find much to love in ‘Dare the Moon’ which is on at the Isle Gallery until 29 July. Meanwhile, at the Hodgson Loom Gallery in Laxey, curator Julia Ashby Smyth has pulled off something of a coup – an exhibition of watercolours from Isle of Man ‘exile’ David Swinton. Now retired, this celebrated artist, wood carver and sculptor left the Island some years ago to work as an artist in residence around the South East of England, but not before carving the falcon plaque at the Isle of Man Bank on Athol Street, creating and casting the bronze Marina at the Villa, several sets of postage stamps for Isle of Man Post Office, and an illuminated map of Kerrowgarrow Farm which has been accepted into the Manx Museum collection and which will go on show there shortly.
“I’ve long been influenced by the work of German romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich for whom mood was paramount,” says Bruno, “and although landscapes play a huge part in his work, and mine, I don’t see myself as a traditional landscape painter. All my work comes from within and in ‘Dare the Moon’ I feel that I’m really connecting with my true nature with a return to my childhood tendency to be lost in my own thoughts, or as the French say ‘être dans la lune’ - being ‘in the moon’.” You could spend years investigating the symbolism of the moon in various religious and philosophical texts, but many interpretations see it as intrinsically female. Followers of Bruno’s art will know that in his earlier paintings, the figures are exclusively male but now in some of his works for ‘Dare the Moon’ Bruno has painted female figures, caught in the moon’s light or its shadows, and although there are still some male figures, it’s the women who are taking centre stage. But
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‘The Eyes of the House and other pictures’ opens at the Hodgson Loom Gallery on 16 July and continues until mid-August, and is an exhibition of David’s latest body of work – watercolours which he says he’s “enjoyed painting more than any other recent works”. ‘The Eyes of the House…’ includes paintings David has worked on over the last eighteen years, of subjects found close to his home in Peterborough, in the Isle of Man and in Crete and Spain and although his paintings are usually broader in scale, these are full of rich detail and are worthy of close examination. Also included in the exhibition is a panel showing David’s watercolour techniques which will be of interest to any art student or painter as well as those who simply want to see how he moves from initial tonal sketches to the finished work. So there you have it: for art lovers everywhere, July really is ‘Culture Month’ – and these three exhibitions are part of that celebration. Whether you want to see original art from artists you never get see, watercolours from a master or want a peak into a local artist’s exploration of his own soul, ‘25’, ‘The Eyes of the House…’ and ‘Dare the Moon’ are not to be missed. ISLE OF MAN PREMIER MAGAZINE