I love group exhibitions.
I love going along to them and even better I love being a part of them.
There is something to be said about throwing a bunch of artists work all in the same room together. It reminds me about how different we all are, and it fascinates me how creative minds interpret or express an idea in so many different ways.
So it is with this in mind that I reflect upon an exhibition I am taking part in throughout January. The show is titled “Seeing Cycles” and is being held at the Geoffrey Stapleton Gallery in Adelaide from Jan 13th to Feb 5th. I will be joining a great bunch of gifted artists who are also presenting a single piece of art for the exhibition.
Although I’ve taken part in many group shows, this was the first where I have had to produce art that lends itself in some way to a theme. The gallery brief was to reference the world cycling event “The Tour Down Under” which will be commencing literally in the same street as the gallery during this month, in fact a couple of days after the opening.
I gave this theme some thought before eventually settling on presenting a piece that remains self indulgent enough to maintain my own interest, and also to extend my fascination with mixed media – in particular collage and textural oil paint.
During the lead up sketches to my piece, and throughout the eventual collage process of gluing scraps of paper to canvas, I thought about art as a journey.
I reflected upon my own creative pursuit and the realisation that one never really reaches the finish line. For me, like most passionate endeavors, you are never really satisfied and there is always this need to compete against yourself. How each one of us takes a very different path to the next, with equally different reasoning.
I am certainly my own worst critic and probably would end up letting my own tyres down in such a race and for the moment, for the years.. am just enjoying the ride.
Having said that, I also began thinking about some of the artists who have either influenced me or that I have enjoyed investigating their arts practice and their contribution to art history. In short, creative people that in some way changed the direction of art or people’s minds on what art is or could be.
There’s the dreaded cult of personality around Pablo Picasso, Francis Bacon and Andy Warhol that probably doesn’t help them or detracts from their work as far as some people are concerned, but I really only pay attention to my own barometer. I could have chosen three completely different artists to represent what I was trying to do in the piece, but these guys for the most part have come reasonably close to reaching the metaphoric finish line and each is/was unique in their own special way.
The result is “Picasso, Bacon, Warhol. Art Ride No. 1″ an oil and collage on stretched canvas (90 x 70cm). Three paint spattered artists under the scraped words ” for some it is a race, for others a journey.. some the popular road, some the prolific”
The addition of the colour wheel came late in the painting. There is no black or white in the official colour wheel of course, but there is on mine. If you see the painting close up you will get what I mean. As much as I love using paint in thin layers of glaze, I also enjoy throwing a bit of texture into the mix and this particular work has a mix of both.
Collaged words from “The Adventurous World of Paris 1900 -1914″ written by the Gustave Dore biographer Nigel Gosling. In my continuing life of chance, coincidence and serendipity, I came across this apt paragraph which became a subtle addition to the collage underneath several glazes of burnt sienna and alizarin crimson.
Ok, about time I ended this post. Thanks so much for sticking around. I hope it has been of some interest. I’m hoping to improve my blog posts in 2012.. make them more regular. If I can accomplish that along with my other New Year resolution to no longer waste my time re-living the past and instead spend it worrying about the future, I will be a happy man.
If you would like to visit the “Seeing Cycles” exhibition, here are the details:
“Seeing Cycles”
The Geoffrey Stapleton Gallery
Janurary 13th (Opening Night 7pm) through to February 5th
95A Prospect Road, Adelaide (South Australia).
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If you’re reading this before the opening it would be great to see you there on the night. If I haven’t met you before, please introduce yourself and we’ll have a chat about all things art over a glass of wine or bubbly..
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As of Jan 8th 2012 the above work is currently available for sale.
Please contact the gallery if interested:
Gallery Hours: Tues – Sat 11am – 4pm
