“True wisdom comes to each of us when we realise how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us.” (Socrates?) Continue reading “On Painting”
On Painting
Parkland Walk
This is Finsbury Park Cycle Park on Stroud Green Road, London N4. It’s also the gateway to the Parkland Walk, a four and a half mile stretch of former railway line from Finsbury Park to Alexandra Palace and London’s longest local nature reserve. Continue reading “Parkland Walk”
Office Building At Night
A line from one of Raymond Chandler’s thrillers inspired the start of this poem, Shelley’s Ozymandias inspired the end, and time gave me the middle, worked on through the winter and spring of 2014, taking for its model Richard Seifert’s 1972 Brutalist Kings Reach Tower by Blackfriars Bridge, where I worked for a number of years at a west-facing window on the ninth floor in the Programmes Department. The soundtrack includes field recordings from Novi Sad, Posnan, Rue Git de Coeur in Paris, and Soho, and the fire was lit in a pot belly stove sometime in 2007.
Tim Cumming / The Rowley Gallery
PS: Tim is performing in Bournemouth on Friday 27th June at the Vita Nova theatre for the launch of Issue 2 of Boscombe Revolution. Tim’s film will be shown alongside live readings.
Wall Of Light
In 2012, Irish TV viewers were asked to choose their favourite painting. Ardal O’Hanlon chose Sean Scully’s Wall Of Light, Orange Yellow in Dublin City Art Gallery, The Hugh Lane. He got my vote.
Kind Of Red
A quintet of five new paintings by Sean Scully entitled Kind of Red, at the Timothy Taylor Gallery. This is painting as a martial art: prepare, focus, get to work; there’s a no-nonsense approach to these blocks of colour thrown onto huge sheet metal plates, rocking in rhythm across the wall. It’s easy to imagine Scully dancing before them wielding a fat wall-painting brush. And in the exhibition catalogue there’s a wonderful, curious and perceptive essay by Richard Williams. Continue reading “Kind Of Red”
All That Other Mother Jazz
My new exhibition, All That Other Mother Jazz, starts next Tuesday, in the fair city of Portsmouth. Come along if you can. Cheers, Jonny.
Jonny Hannah / The Rowley Gallery
Matisse, Scissors, Paper
We finally got to see Henri Matisse: The Cut Outs, the long awaited exhibition at Tate Modern, though perhaps a wet bank holiday Monday during half-term was not the ideal time to visit. Continue reading “Matisse, Scissors, Paper”
The Bullfinch
The bullfinch is surrounded by fragments of information describing both the natural and man-made world. There is a sense that this information has been sought, viewed and downloaded on a hand held screen. This is indicated by the excellent wireless signal displayed in the top right hand corner.
James Read’s The Bullfinch is included in this year’s Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.
See more by James Read at The Rowley Gallery.
Aftermath
This exhibition at the Art Workers’ Guild in Bloomsbury features work produced during both the Great War and in the uncertain years which followed. Continue reading “Aftermath”
Paul Nash & Swanage
For one of my 65th birthday presents recently I received a superb little book, now something of a collectors piece, called Seaside Surrealism: Paul Nash in Swanage by Pennie Denton. Continue reading “Paul Nash & Swanage”