Rowley Gallery Blog
In this bleak midwinter please excuse me while I indulge in a few holiday photos. Here’s a glass of light to brighten these dark days and to toast 2014. It’s from Rue Des Roues – the heat of Provence and the din of the ever present cicadas, like constant car alarms hidden in the trees. In France the cicada is called cigale and so is the local beer. Cicadas are difficult to see but after a few glasses of Bière des Cigales they’re easily spotted. Continue reading “Cicada”
My first full day in California was a little inclement, in fact it poured with rain morning to evening only allowing a little light relief to get this shot of the iconic bridge. However it’s hard to be despondent in one of the most beautiful and stunningly situated cities on Earth. The following day the sun came out and didn’t stop blazing down for the following three weeks, as further pictures will testify. Continue reading “California Dreaming”
Message: I have a painting which I was in the middle of re-framing, and noticed it had the artist’s name `Annabel Keatley` on the back. Would it be possible to let me know the title of this piece of work, and when she did it. I can email a photo of it. Kind regards. Continue reading “Sketches In Lhasa”
I recently received an irresistible request for Christopher Corr:
Hi Chris, further to our conversation this morning I was wondering if you could pass on the following to Christopher Corr. Continue reading “Kidepo, Uganda”
This is the Street of Wheels in L’Isle sur la Sorgue, Provence, France. The town once had seventy waterwheels, all powered by the Sorgue river, driving mills for grinding grain, making paper and weaving silk. Nowadays the river turns fourteen vestigial wheels driving the tourist circuit around the town. We came here on holiday and stayed in the house on the right by the street lamp. Continue reading “Rue Des Roues”
The 16th Gnawa Festival in Essaouira on Morocco’s Atlantic coast is a largely free four-day celebration of the music of the Gnawa, what is perhaps the oldest trance music in the world, the root note of inner transportation and sufi trance that attracts hundreds of thousands of Moroccans and intrepid international visitors to Essaouira each June, over the weekend of the full moon. Continue reading “Gnawa Studies”
Last Christmas I was given two books that I found inspirational in different ways: Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi’s Jerusalem and Simon Sebag Montefiore’s Jerusalem the Biography.
To summarise briefly, the first book has become my cooking bible, and is a testament to inspirational cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians, and the second book reveals the city’s complex history and the sources of controversy that have plagued her continuously. Continue reading “Jerusalem, Topography & Typography”
This is a short film by Sarah Thomas. It was made in Iceland, the music improvised in an empty fish oil tank at an abandoned herring factory. It is the winner of the Penguin Books Wayfarer competition. As a result, Sarah will spend the next two months travelling around Britain, recording her experiences for A Journey On Foot. She has also written Journeys In Between, both blogs worth a look, both distinguished by captivating photos and enthralling stories.
If I could take off for 24 hours I think I’d like to walk on Alderney, stepping from stone to stone of Andy Goldsworthy’s recent installation of rammed earth boulders positioned around the island. I read about it at The Island Review; please take a look, it’s a great website, and also see Alderney Stones on Andy Goldsworthy’s own website, and Sticks & Stones by Kevin Rushby at The Guardian. Further information can be found at Art & Islands Foundation. And what a perfect cow photo this is!
Last time we visited Lottie in Toledo she showed us this sculpture by Eduardo Chillida, hidden away beneath the city walls and previously overlooked. It’s called Lugar de Encuentros V (Meeting Place V); it’s like an open hand, positioned low to the ground, immediately inviting, waiting to hold you. I instinctively wanted to climb inside but I had to wait my turn, others were already in its embrace. Continue reading “Signs Of Chillida”