Ground Work

blue hedge

An exhibition of paintings by Andrew Walton and poems by David Attwooll, presented by Jenny Blyth Fine Art at Art Jericho, 6 King Street, Oxford, OX2 6DF from 23 January until 23 February 2014.

GROUND WORK is the product of twelve monthly walks through the course of a year on Port Meadow and Wolvercote Common, an area of uncultivated floodplain that lies between the city of Oxford and the Thames. Continue reading “Ground Work”

Frames of reference

Movements And Their Images

This is good. I was looking for a film about Victor Skipp. I’d read that Candida Richardson had made a film about his home, which I wrote about in my previous post. But instead I found this. A beautifully simple essay on Linda Karshan’s drawings. I discovered her work 10 years ago in Notting Hill Books where I found a catalogue of her 2002 exhibition at Institut Valencià d’Art Modern. It’s a book that I treasure for many reasons. Now there’s a very good film to accompany it.

Frames of reference

Victor Skipp

skipp-01

Kettle’s Yard are presently hosting – A Lasting Legacy: The House and Collection of Victor Skipp. When he died in 2010 Victor Skipp left his estate to Kettle’s Yard. He was a writer and historian with a passion for art and philosophy. This exhibition reflects his many interests, with displays of modernist and minimalist art side by side with tribal rugs, African sculpture, Indian miniatures, folk art and vernacular architecture: a perfect complement to the existing Kettle’s Yard collection. Continue reading “Victor Skipp”

Frames of reference

Arbres

001

This beautifully balanced oak tree, poised like a signpost to everywhere, stands beside the D15 road from Gordes just before the village of Murs in the Vaucluse region of Provence. We discovered it last summer as a result of an earlier trip to Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Continue reading “Arbres”

Frames of reference

A Network Of Trees

This short film opens up a different understanding of forests and the interactions between trees facilitated by fungi – inspiring stuff reinforcing the importance of respecting the complexity of forests across both species diversity and age diversity. Professor Suzanne Simard of the University of British Columbia highlights the importance of Mother or Granny Trees in these networks.

PS: You might also like to see another blogpost – Tree Of Life.

Frames of reference

Forêt Des Cèdres

001

One day last August, looking to escape the heat of Provence, we found some welcome shade in the Cedar Forest on the Petit Luberon ridge above Bonnieux. The forest was planted in the 19th century to rehabilitate an area damaged by intensive grazing. I’m reminded of The Man Who Planted Trees though I’m sure this forest was not sown by just one man alone. Continue reading “Forêt Des Cèdres”

Frames of reference

Cicada

cigales

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”

Frames of reference