Summer Salon 2014 catalogue

Summer Salon

2014

July 3 - August 31, 2014

Copyright 2014 View Art Gallery The rights of View Art Gallery as author of the work has been asserted to them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1988 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

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SUMMER SALON 2014

View Art Gallery presents a group show

SUMMER SALON 2014 July 3 - August 31, 2014

View Art Gallery 159-161 Hotwells Road Bristol BS8 4RY United Kingdom for enquiries: +44 (0)5603 116753 info@viewartgallery.co.uk

VIVIENNE BAKER JAMES HOLDSWORTH KIRSTIE MACLEOD ANDREW MUNOZ JIM STAR LEANNE STEPHENS EDWARD TAYLOR ADELE UNDERWOOD CAROLINE WATSON

VIVIENNE BAKER Observing the beautiful original paintings of Vivienne Baker is a dreamlike experience.

Her working methods usually include a build-up of layers of different tonal values and the use of colour contrasts and harmonies in the description of space. Starting points for recent paintings have been memory and the use of tiny low resolution photographs taken on a mobile phone.

Using these low tech photographic resources combined with memory, her work captures the essence of a place or memory without being strictly figurative. Through the use of traditional materials, using untraditional tools such as decorating rollers and spray guns, the image evolves and emerges from a slow multilayering process, creating undefined spaces that the viewer has to work to interpret.

The images and memories that Vivienne works from are all scenes that she has encountered but changed and distorted during the process of painting, to reveal something new. They suggest that there is more to the story and capture moments, like stills from a film or an old home movie.

Ancient woodlands have particular appeal because of their long life span, contrasting with the relatively short life of a human or the fleeting moment of a human passing through.

Cray Fishing 3 oil on canvas 41 x 51 cm ÂŁ660

Wardown Willow oil on canvas 41 x 51 cm ÂŁ660

Cray Fishing 4 oil on canvas 135 x 118 cm ÂŁ2,200

EDWARD TAYLOR Influential to all of Edwards work is the world around him. The places, objects and news stories he hears and see’s everyday absorb and manifest into his surreal collection of drawings.

This collection reflects the nature of the small vignettes coalescing into a larger picture. Edward also combines objects that clash or wouldn’t/couldn’t occur naturally. This style arose from wanting to include all of his interests, experiences and thoughts into a series of works, a formalised doodle that map the thought process.

1. Untitled 2. A Show of Hands 3. Badge of Many Cullers 4. Solid Void Swede 5. Wormhole biro on paper 25 x 25 cm £485 each

Garron Pill mixed media construction 101 x 81 cm ÂŁ1,095

ANDREW MUNOZ The contemplation of works by unconventional artist Andrew Munoz requires an amount of subjectivity. While some people could find his paintings disturbing, some others would say they capture something beautiful. His work could be seen as a game of opposites. Notions such as Good and Evil, the Grotesque and the Beautiful, Tragedy and Comedy are all present.

Taking parks and other green areas within urban environments as starting points, Andrew recreates and reinterprets narratives from cultural history. He also captures his fascination with fear and desire, projected in the imagination of the human. He produces works with psychological depth but also visually interesting and attractive.

His current collection is influenced by the ideas of Benjamin, Nietzsche, the writing of Kafka, and the photography of Arbus and Mikhailov.

The Christening oil on canvas 41 x 41 cm ÂŁ2,400

Little Hut oil on canvas 25 x 33 cm ÂŁ1,300

The Bird Lady oil on board 72 x 60 cm ÂŁ3,300

left: Kiddy Fight oil on canvas 41 x 41 cm £2,640

right: Holiday Snap oil on canvas 66 x 50 cm £2,640

JAMES HOLDSWORTH Controlled chaos, humour and horror are all merged in James Holdsworth’s extraordinary paintings.

Seemingly playful on first appearance, James paints to visually express his understanding about existence in the 21st century and references to the past. His work aims to examine society’s lusts and desire with fortune and fame and, consequentially, to highlight our insecurities.

Recognizable figures from all walks of life are typically paired with iconographic cartoon characters. Through this, James seeks to expose the dark reality behind the glossy facade. The cartoons act as a representation of a consumer-laden dream world behind which lies layers of a more brutal reality.

His painting technique and palette serve to reinforce this message. Through dark, dripping paint covering images of newspaper clippings in his background and bright, pastels filling his cartoon characters, his message is conveyed.

Boom Boom Boom Boom mixed media on canvas 100 x 100 cm £3,600

Its Only Rock’n’Roll mixed media on canvas 92 x 122 cm £3,900

Kabaret mixed media on canvas 70 x 100 cm ÂŁ3,600

15 minutes mixed media on canvas 90 x 90 cm £3,500

Sleeping mixed media on canvas 100 x 100 cm £3,600

ADELE UNDERWOOD Unnerving yet engrossing, Adele Underwood’s eye- catching paintings aim to reveal common truths for all humanity.

Her paintings are essentially narrative and whilst eternally seeking meanings, her conclusions are never forced. Instead she intends for the viewer to draw out their own personal messages from her intriguing works.

The latest body of work engages you with a somewhat sensitive concept: burgeoning sexuality.

She symbolises the difficulty and confusion that many of us contend with, particularly during adolescence, through the inclusion of animal masks and faces within her images.

Whilst on initial appearance Adele’s creations may seem humorous, the longer spent engaging with them, the more unsettling elements slowly become apparent.

The Nature of Things Small oil and collage on board 50 x 60 cm ÂŁ1,100

The Dalliance oil and charcoal on canvas 90 x 130 cm ÂŁ2,650

You’ve Got to Kiss a Lot of Frogs oil and charcoal on canvas 90 x 120 cm £2,650

A Blonde Dream oil and collage on board 51 cm diameter ÂŁ660

Heaven Is All We Dream Of oil and collage on board 51 cm diameter ÂŁ660

Repair oil on board 51 cm diameter ÂŁ660

Untitled oil and charcoal on canvas 90 x 120 cm ÂŁ2,650

KIRSTIE MACLEOD Exploring issues of identity, the subconscious and the passage of time Kirstie Macleod’s work seeks to articulate specific events and interactions through a kaleidoscopic, emotion led vision.

The works embody dreamlike states, often using hidden codes and mythical symbolism to portray elements of the unconscious mind.

Having trained in both Fine Art and theatrical disciplines, the works form a diverse portfolio comprising photography, film, painting, textile based constructions and large scale - often immersive performance installations.

Pin Tree III Silver dressmakers pins, glass case 59 x 48 cm ÂŁ2,000

Empyrean Headed Dress making Pins, charcoal, glass case 60 x 50 cm ÂŁ2,500

KRISTIAN FLETCHER Kristian Fletcher’s new work is concerned with the diverse nature of structures and public spaces that are in a state of flux or a state of change. For the panoramic viewings, Kristian still uses powerful and well defined drawing traces. However, the element of colour has become equally relevant. The result are works that combine realism with a sense of mysticism and atmosphere.

We believe there will be a lot more recognition to come for Kristian, building on the two Jerwood Drawing Prizes and the purchase for Prince Charle’s royal collection.

The Wrench graphite, pencil, charcoal, pen on paper 120 x 90 cm ÂŁ3,500

Two Figures With Dog charcoal, pastet on paper 54 x 54 cm ÂŁ1,250

Hampstead Bench in the Night charcoal, pastet on paper 54 x 54 cm ÂŁ1,250

CAROLINE WATSON Caroline Watson works from imagination to create her own poetic vision of the world. Over time Caroline has developed a number of themes and characters, largely with origins in childhood, memory and dream imagery. The subject matter reflects her interest in myth, folklore, history and magic and the characters express both the light and darker sides of human nature.

At the root of Caroline’s painting is a fascination with the human condition. “I am particularly drawn to extraordinary people with special gifts and I frequently use archetypes for their powerful symbolism.”

Recent paintings use the world of the puppet as a microcosm of our own, the colourful characters expressing both the best and worst of our natures. “I have become increasingly interested in portraying psychological spaces, using dream logic and creating sets where the puppets can engage. In this way, my practice has naturally branched out into three dimensions and my recent work includes simple puppets and booth type constructions”.

Underlying Caroline’s work is a deeper enquiry into the mysterious and attractive quality of the uncanny.

Sea Horse charcoal on paper 65 x 85 cm £900

Calling charcoal on paper 65 x 85 cm ÂŁ900

Moon charcoal on paper 29 x 39 cm ÂŁ600

Skirts charcoal on paper 65 x 85 cm ÂŁ900

Tread Water charcoal on paper 42 x 54 cm ÂŁ835

LEANNE STEPHENS Leanne Stephens’ work is based on the tradition of landscape painting, taking inspiration from artists like JMW Turner, Frederick Edwin Church and Albert Bierstadt. Painting landscapes that hover between the abstract and the representational, Leanne investigates the boundary between the two.

The work is exploring visual qualities and devices that question the categories and traditions of landscape painting, providing a new working language and a context for a cross over between abstraction and representation. Therefore works by Clare Woods, Nadine Feinson and Orlanda Broom are highly influential to her practice, due to their investigations of formal and conceptual elements of painterly facture and the pictorial.

Central to her practice is the use of scale, light, colour and form. These act as a means of celebrating and romanticising the natural landscape. Each work has two to three layers of paint, which are constructed out of block colours that sit upon or next to each other.

Midnight Snooze oil on wood 30 x 30 cm ÂŁ350

Distant Land oil on wood 30 x 30 cm ÂŁ325

Neon Haze oil on wood 61 x 61 cm ÂŁ500

Maribou State oil on wood 122 x 122 cm ÂŁ1,150

Good Evening oil on wood 30 x 30 cm ÂŁ325

JIM STARR Jim Starr is a painter, printer and illustrator with a unique style. His wide artistic career has been influenced by pop culture and recognisable iconography. Jim has experienced multiple stages of creation, although the stencil has always been present, along with screen prints, collage and his own photography. He is now combining all these methods with paint. His images are printed onto large canvases and reworked and refined using acrylics and spray paint.

The result of this process of destruction, addition and editing is an abstract painting that includes some of his recurrent icons, as well as personal references.

His prints are never the same because he dedicates different time and mood to each one of them.

They can vary from five layers to forty and can take weeks or even months to complete. When facing a piece by Jim Starr, the observer can appreciate the time and affection he has devoted in order to obtain the most impressive result.

Goodu The Chief screen print, spray paint, acrylic on wood 135 x 105 cm ÂŁ2,600

Venice Princess screen print, spray paint, acrylic on canvas 125 x 95 cm ÂŁ2,200

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