Rowley Gallery Blog
Susie Freeman brought us a few more pieces of work, just in time for Christmas. This one is already gift wrapped. Is the yellow ribbon significant? Is it part of the artwork? Not really. Susie opened the frame to swap its contents then couldn’t close it securely, so she tied it together. I like it. Maybe we should adopt this method of framing. Continue reading “Gift Wrapped”
This is another of Evelyn Hallewell‘s books. It’s a celebration of vernacular art, published in 1945. It was an attempt to rehabilitate a popular culture which was seen to be endangered by classical taste and mechanical reproduction. Continue reading “Popular English Art”
James Read brought five new paintings for display in the gallery, and then sent us a few words…
Blending In. The chameleon is presented larger than life and partially visible through layers of torn paper. Inspiration came from a bill posting site near my home in Oxford. Each new poster stands out for a day or two before blending rather beautifully into the soup of fragmented images. Continue reading “Blending In”
Onze Helden Zijn Terug! (Our Heroes Are Back!) is the title of this flashmob video made to celebrate the return of Rembrandt’s Night Watch to the Rijksmuseum in April 2013. It heralded the museum’s grand reopening after a ten year restoration project. Rembrandt’s masterpiece is now back in place in the Gallery of Honour but pretty much everything else has been rearranged. Continue reading “Our Heroes Are Back!”
Howard Phipps‘s wood engravings are included in the exhibition Awake Through Years: Four South West Wood Engravers at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter from 7 December. Howard will be showing 25 works including working drawings plus book illustrations. The other artists are Harry Brockway, Hilary Paynter and Pam Pebworth. More information here – Awake Through Years.
Andrew Walton kicked it off: Dear Chris, I thought you might like this palette. I came across it in my shed. I had half cleaned it some time ago and left it as it looked so nice. I have always liked the working stuff which artists use. Turner’s paint box etc. I might think of a blog posting on this, what do you think? Each of your Rowley artists could send in a photo of their paint boxes and palettes! Continue reading “Palettes”
Imagine this song by Ivor Cutler as the musical accompaniment for a group of New York’s finest morris-dancers choreographed by the greatest living creative artist in any art form. Put it together with thirteen more of his songs (including the ever popular Beautiful Cosmos), with dancers dressed as children (Ivor Cutler always seemed a child dressed as an adult) in madcap square dances, shape-shifting and pattern-weaving around the playground, and you’ve got one of the four spectacularly life-enhancing performances by the Mark Morris Dance Group last night at Sadlers Wells. All that was needed for a perfect St Andrew’s day was a curtain call with Mr Morris dressed in a kilt.
Dear Chris, I thought I would let you know that my painting Pencaer has been selected for the New English Art Club Annual Open Exhibition which takes place from 29 November at the Mall Galleries. Continue reading “New English Art Club”
After repeated requests and months of waiting we finally received some new work from Susan Ashworth. Good things are worth waiting for. These are rare, slow-grown paintings. I like the way their beautifully painted surfaces contrast with the crude wooden boards they’re painted on. They seem like rescued fragments of old wall paintings. Continue reading “Echeveria Etc”
A few years ago Lizzie planted an apple tree in the yard at The Rowley Gallery. She would never pick the apples too soon, but always waited patiently until they fell into her open palm. This year, since our tree-of-heaven has gone, the apple tree has come out of the shadows and been quicker to offer its fruits. They’re crisp and juicy with a flavour of melon and raw potato. But what they lack in taste they make up for in appearance and now Karen has captured all their beauty in this delicious watercolour.