John Sims and the art of ‘useless maps’

Maps are deadly serious things, the painstaking product of the cartographer’s scrutiny. Not so, for John Sims. He challenges their status as functional, documentary or even decorative artefacts. Why do so many people put them on their walls? Why, looking out to sea, does Sandgate seem more of a bay than the map suggests? What would a place look like if you fell on it from the sky? Well, John’s maps could provide the answers, or none at all. After all, they are ‘useless’.

As John says: ‘I love the way that at first glance they appear to be real maps, look closer and longer and you see that they are more or less abstract paintings… just marks, colours and lines…’

John’s inspiration for his map-making came from the time that he was Artist-in-Residence at the Cyprus College of Art. Working with archeologists, he would make oil-pastel reproductions of ancient finds from memory, adding to them until they took on new abstract forms.

‘Useless maps’ of Folkestone (featured above), Dover, Whitstable and Sandgate are currently on display at the Cristus Summer Exhibition, but if you would like a map of anywhere, John is ready to take commissions, at a fixed price of £150, framed. Please contact Deborah@cristus-gallery.com to place an order, or visit the exhibition.

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Cristus summer show our best ever!

A last look at the sea - gentle waves, turquiose and purple-grey, then back to the gallery for the final checks. Everyone expects everything to be right; and on this special evening it is. Then, it begins. Artists, clients, fellow business-owners, arts’ people, and dear friends - all relaxed and having fun. Deborah, the girl who makes it happen, the link that unites everyone. Perfect. And there are sales too! Red stickers that tell us that it’s all worthwhile, and the next show will be even better.
Thanks everyone.

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Cristus Summer Exhibition 2010

Cristus Gallery’s summer show begins with a private view on Saturday 21st August and runs until 18th September. On display will be new works from our established artists: Dee Taylor, Farid Aouni, Paul Bergin (featured above), John Sims, Tracey-Anne Pryke, Ian David Baker and Sarah Stokes.

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New artist ‘Bergy’ and the shadowy effects of light

Cristus welcomes Paul Bergin to its summer season. The style is unashamedly impressionistic, with Cezanne cited as Paul’s main influence, but with clear references to Monet and Sisley evident too. The paintings are vibrant and immediate, but the opaqueness of Paul’s style gives the sense of landscapes that are transient, obscured by glare or fading in the evening light. The effect is romantic and evocative, rather than documentary, oweing much to Paul’s love of Turner’s big skies.

Paul Bergin (’Bergy’) will be exhibiting at the gallery throughout the summer.

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Summer Exhibition 2009

50 yards from the Sea: Contemporary Art Summer Exhibition To Launch in Sandgate, Kent

The Cristus Gallery summer exhibition of contemporary art will open to the public from Thursday June 4th 2009. Deborah O’Grady, the show’s curator emphasised the feelgood, optimistic nature of the artworks.

“The thinking behind the summer exhibition is very straightforward” said O’Grady. “It’s about the quality of summer light, the freshness of summer breezes, the hope and energy that a great summer can represent. It celebrates a certain lightness of being, and breaking free from whichever new global crisis we are in the middle of when people come to visit the gallery!”

Cristus Gallery, situated just 50 yards from the seaside promenade in Sandgate, is the ideal place for a Summer Exhibition.

“The quality of the light here in Sandgate is remarkable” said Dan McCarthy, one of the exhibiting artists. “On a clear day you can see France across the channel, the light sparkles on the water, and the sea is a Caribbean turquoise. On a stormy day, the sky and English Channel seem to threaten to burst the sea defences. I spend a lot of my time trying to capture these mood changes, and the ancient, troublesome relationship that man has with the sea in this place”.

We wanted artists who can match their seriousness of purpose with beautiful, colourful works that are optimistic and full of light. Featured artworks include paintings by Sarah Stokes, Jessica Stride and Tracey-anne Pryke; Ceramics by Shaun Hall; digital art by Dan McCarthy.

Summer exhibition opening times are now: Fri & Sat 11 - 7.30, plus the first Sunday of every month. These will be extended during the peak season and will be announced here.

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Jessica Stride on why colour is her inspiration

As far back as I can remember, I’ve had a love of colour and when I paint, this is always my first inspiration. The images are unplanned but evolve through balance and instinct and using colours that lift my spirit with their beauty. This series of paintings was influenced by my frequent visits to Devon and reflects the vibrant blues of the coastal area. My process is one of making continual decisions, some conscious, some intuitive which affect the final outcome. I aim to produce imagery that is ambiguous, with many layers, that reveals itself slowly and gradually to the viewer.
[Jessica Stride, May 2009]

See Jessica’s striking abstract and figurative paintings, including ‘Headland’ featured above, at the Cristus Gallery Summer Exhibition, from June 4th 2009.

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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.

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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.

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New Acquisitions - Heather Townshend Prints

Cristus has acquired a stunning collection of Heather Townshend prints. They cover a range of subjects from compositions with pure light (’Daybreak’, ‘Sunset’ and ‘Dark Light’) to abstracted natural and industrial landscapes. The collage shows the first tranche of prints. We will post a second tranche later as well as more detail on each of the prints. Over the next two weeks or so we will be posting them for sale our UK Shop site. See Heather Townshend Abstracts.

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David Townsend - Segments 1

Segments1 is the first in a four-part series of abstract paintings featuring geometric shapes. Although each composition works independently, viewed as a series the paintings suggest movement of the shapes across the surface of the paper. David used gouache on watercolour paper for all the of the Segments series.

The artist: David Townsend is a Kent (UK) based artist who paints abstract and figurative works. David is currently exhibiting with the Cristus Gallery, Sandgate.

How to buy: Click on the image for more information. You can purchase the original directly from the gallery, or buy online if you would like a high quality reproduction on archival quality papers, canvas or stretched box canvas. A huge range of mounts and framing options is available.

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