Enchantment in pictorial form - The pastel landscapes of Philip Lee

Joining us for the Cristus Summer Exhibition and the following H G Wells Festival Exhibition is Philip Lee, an experienced professional artist who has worked in many contrasting styles and media. The paintings on display at Cristus are in his preferred medium of pastel, which enable him to ‘capture’ the impression of a scene with fidelity and speed. As he says…

‘The pastel landscapes are a celebration of the living, changing natural world. I want to share with others the same sense of delight that I experience when looking at the world around me. I try to achieve this by giving my subjects a rich surface texture, freely painted, yet true to nature. The themes I use, like water, trees or rocks enable me to explore light and pictorial space. The tapestry of mark making that ensues, and the illusion of realism that I create, are like the world around us - a constantly changing blend of order and chaos.’

Philip began his art education at the Folkestone School of Art, before going on to Christchurch College, Canterbury, and he has great affection for Sandgate. He has also lived and worked in many countries throughout Europe, with his first one-man show being held at Piazza Santa Restituta, Ischia, Italy, followed by regular exhibitions over the last four decades. Needless to say, we are very pleased to have Philip exhibit, and look forward to building our relationship over the coming years.

Philip’s current exhibition can be seen at www.philipart.com/cristus%20gallery.html

‘I am a Stuckist artist’ - Jane Kelly

Soon to exhibit at the Cristus Gallery, Jane Kelly talks about her art, her background and her current projects.

‘I am a Stuckist artist, that is I joined a group of painters, now world wide, who believe that painting is about some skill and a lot of passion, and the ability to use paper, pencil and paint rather than sump oil and dead animals.

In 2000 I exhibited a portrait of Ken Livingstone being tried as a criminal, in the Royal Academy Summer Show, which sold for £1,000. In 2004 I exhibited in The Stuckists Punk Victorian, at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, and sold a painting for several thousand pounds (my best sale yet!) to a commissioner from the EU. It now lives in his home in Luxembourg.
This painting has a dramatic effect on my life; to make it I took a photo from the Daily Mail Weekend Magazine, of a typical Daily Mail family, took out the benevolent Dad and replaced him with Myra Hindley. I wanted to see what she would look like in such a quintessential family group.
I was at the time a staff writer for the Daily Mail and I had been there for fifteen years, drawing a substantial salary. I was promptly fired, and the story, and the painting, made the front page of The Guardian.
Unlike the Mail, which divides people into respectable and monsters, I am fascinated by the nature of evil. I attribute much human catastrophe to problems in early childhood and within families. I like to project my ideas backwards to look at the past and ask: What if?
For instance, the Roman emperors almost all had abusive, chaotic childhoods. Hitler could only feel intimacy and trust with animals, not people. Like Myra they projected their inner torment outward with terrible results. I like to imagine them in different situations with all the monster stripped away.
I am also currently working on some religious paintings, to see if that kind of narrative is possible in this secular age without becoming sentimental or mawkish.
It is almost impossible to paint religious figures convincingly. My painting, ‘In the Juvesence of the year came Christ the tiger, shows christ, as a tiger, being mocked by TV celebs, Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross, and by the pusillanimous Archbishop of Canterbury.
I am also working on some themes from the Lamentations of Jeremiah, linking them to my own life as a lone woman, a woman who still misses the salary and the lifestyle she had on the Daily Mail! On the other hand I am proud to pauper myself and paint.
I also enjoy painting with purely painterly ideas: nudes, still life, landscapes, seascapes. I relish oil paint - nothing can top it.’

Walking the Bristol AAF with Neil Jones

‘Twice round,’ said Neil. ‘First you must get immediate impressions of what you like, then you can return to have a closer look.’ This we did, while chatting about all things art and exhibiting at Cristus.

We’ve known about Neil for some time, emailed but never met, and marvelled at the impossible realism of his creations.

Like the whole of Bristol, the AAF is impressive on the day. The building in which it functions is a Great Western delight, gothic and massive, with the expected rubbish hanging pipework and overspilling guttering. Somehow, there is comfort in seeing this abuse of our heritage, a reminder of good old British Rail. Neil, a man of gentle nature and refinement, agrees.

Art fairs are the way forward, they say - a way of connecting the seller of art with the buyer. No need for galleries with their limited choice and intimidating ways. Certainly, the format seems to suit everyone. The galleries know that anyone willing to pay £6 to park and £5 to enter is likely to be bristling with art money. No time-wasters here. While the collector no doubt enjoys the sight of gallerists smiling nervously, fiddling with keyboards and constantly rotating their stock. The occasional outgoing brown-paper parcel is evidence that business is being done.

Neil is kinder than me about the quality of the art. On our second circuit, it all starts to become a picture show, but Neil calms me and gets me to look at the positives, not least the amount of meticulous oils on offer. Painting in oils has returned and replaced the splodgy acrylics and conceptual piles of the last decades. If this is a reaction, then I’m broadly in favour of it. Like the old masters, these artists are declaring ‘I can paint feet and hands in oils. Can you?’ But much of the purpose of art is lost if nothing is being expressed, apart from technical excellence.

This is why Neil’s work is so exciting. His painting of ‘Alfred’ is a display of his mastery, while the expression of the sitter’s character prevents a superficial viewing. Similarly, his sculptures have to be touched; and they are so real, it’s like they’ve just died in your hands.

See Neil’s specially commissioned pieces at the forthcoming Cristus Gallery H. G. Wells Festival Exhibition, which forms part of the H G Wells centenary event. Preparations are also well advanced for a Neil Jones solo show in the autumn.

The Alloway paintings - Loving the art of the near past

Not so long ago, artists lived at the margins. From shabby studios, they produced work that was difficult and abrasive - even brutal. They shunned popularity. For to be popular, one had to conform; and to conform, one had to submit to the general will.

Questions about the nature and purpose of art seldom arose, because art was what they did, come what may. While pandering to the tastes of the mass consumer was unthinkable.

The Alloway paintings, acquired and lovingly restored by Cristus, ‘Nude with Cat’ (1969) and ‘Nude Circle’ (1971), are outstanding examples of this oppositional art. Knocked up on hardboard and skinny laths - themselves an expression of the artist’s condition - they have endured the pangs and scorn of time. Indeed, it is hard to imagine that they have ever been cared for, or displayed with pride. Yet, with the gentle easing of a spirit rag, four decades of filth make way for truths. We are struck by the artist’s thoughts, his fears, his time, his rebellion, and his unquestionable skill; but we also sense that the paintings are as vital as the moment of their conception, and that they are imbued with an integrity that is beyond question.

While other art arrives and is checked for dinks, like any other merchandise, the Alloways interfuse with the viewer. Even during restoration, they were taken from the workroom, hung on walls and examined, discussed and re-examined by us Cristusians.

In these, and in the one other painting we have seen, Alloway describes an urban, modern or near-futuristic vision. Spectral figures appear, writhing in a ring of despair in ‘Circle’, while encased in specimen jars in ‘Cat’. The nude is most present on the crimson sofa, but she too is obscured by the cat and her lower limbs are fading into pools of liquid light. Outside the glare radiates into the spaces and the figures await their fate. The resignation, alienation and loss of faith runs parallel to the themes of absurdist drama. These were the concerns of the artists of the time, and that’s why Alloway painted them. He is part of a rich tradition of British post-war avant-garde artists who have hitherto been much-undervalued. But who is this Dennis Alloway, whom, we are told, attended the Royal Academy School then disappeared from view? Please let us know.

Power and intensity - ‘Fire’ by Tracey-anne Pryke

Joining our list of new artists for the Cristus Summer Exhibition is Hythe-based Tracey-Anne Pryke. Though she paints mainly figurative works, this abstract departure is an example of her extensive range. It is not a painting to be avoided. There is a physical presence here, as if the surface of the painting itself has been set ablaze. Chromatic oils burn and shimmer over the blackness. The sense of immediacy reminds me of Willem de Kooning and the ‘Action painters’ of the 1950s and 60s, as though the painter has just stepped back from the canvas, bespattered and breathless - and the painting continues to burn. It is a great contrast to Tracey-Anne’s meticulous portraits and seascapes, though all possess the same rich pallette and expressionistic verve. See them for yourself, online and at the gallery from June 4th.
* Tracey-Anne has just agreed to demonstrate her skills by painting at the gallery. Date to be confirmed.

‘Every moment is a metamorphosis’ Sarah Stokes at the Cristus Summer Exhibition

Seeking the essence of the English seaside for our forthcoming Summer Exhibition, we found ourselves in the Whitstable studio of Sarah Stokes, a self-taught artist of infectious enthusiasm and natural talent. Inside the creative space, her art adorns every wall. It’s clear at once that her style is unique and yet present in all her paintings. The colours are those of the sea: pale greens, greys and blues with vibrant darts and impasto swirls. Abstract imaginings from the artist, yet from our shared world.

All around, the surfaces are covered in the stuff of painting: pots and canvas and items specific to the individual artist, like a favourite sponge or stick or bubble-wrap daub. While outside, just yards from the shingle beach, is the inspiration behind the work: the North Sea. As muses go, this capricious stretch of coastline is not for everyone. Cold mostly, and briny, and inspite of its recent gentrification into a gallery town, still retaining its honest nautical air.

For Sarah, the ever-changing light and scene are key to her art:  ‘Every moment is a metamorphosis!’ she declares… ‘The paintings seem to form storytelling ’scapes so each viewer can form their own unique connection’.  So, no in-depth analysis required from this reviewer. Come judge for yourself at the Cristus Gallery Summer Exhibition, from June 4th.

The Cristus Summer Exhibition

The 2009 Summer Exhibition opens on Thursday, June 4th, 2009. We are featuring several artists who are new to the gallery including Sarah Stokes, Jessica Stride and Tracey Pryke.

There is a Private Viewing for Newsletter subscribers and other friends(Invitation Only) on Saturday May 30th, 2009. If you would like to join us in appreciating great art and a glass of wine, we are issuing invitations to the next 50 people who join our mailing list. Join the mailing list here.

Folkestone Art Co-operative at The Grand

There could scarcely be a better place to view an exhibition of art than within the Palm Court of the genteel Grand Hotel, especially on a day when France revealed herself across the sparkling waters of the Channel. Such splendour, such gaiety, such temptation to take tea on the Leas, surely still the most elegant seaside promenade in the world.

Of Fontaine-Wolf’s paintings, ‘Tuscan Garden’ and ‘Sarah Reading’, the latter was the one that captivated. Until then, I confess that it was the architecture that held my attention, but the portrait of the young girl engrossed in fiction seemed both to stand out and belong. Yes, that’s it, it stood out because it belonged - stuck - defiantly - in that middle part of the twentieth century, between the Bloomsbury artists and Suez, or between the domestic servant and the hostess trolley. The world has changed, but The Grand, ‘Sarah Reading’ and Fontaine-Wolf it seems have not.

But despite this unease, I so admire the refinement of the painting. I am drawn into the intensity of the subject. Sarah is reading, and we are observing her. It is her space, all chintzy informality, beautifully observed in soft greys and apricots. Her cat elongates across the back of the chair, but she is rapt in concentration; and the immediate sense of calm repose is replaced by tension. It is the universal experience of the reader when the book takes hold. Yes, it’s been done many times before - and I especially recall Vanessa Bell’s ‘Interior with Artist’s Daughter’, but in The Grand’s imperial setting, I loved it.

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