John Sims and the art of ‘useless maps’
August 24, 2010 by Quigley · Leave a Comment
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.
Sphere: Related ContentCristus summer show our best ever!
August 24, 2010 by Quigley · Leave a Comment
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.
Cristus Summer Exhibition 2010
August 14, 2010 by Quigley · Leave a Comment
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.
Anna Phelps ~ ‘painting from memory and imagination’
November 10, 2009 by Quigley · Leave a Comment
Cristus gallery is very pleased to welcome Anna Phelps to its winter exhibition. After two exhibitions of ideas’ paintings, we were looking for work that could complement in terms of technique and richness of palette, and we were also keen to leave the known world and all its troubles. Anna’s ‘Bacchus’, with its dark crimson, purple and golden hues, seemed the perfect painting to build the exhibition around. Like all of her work, it is highly stylised, theatrical and captivating.
The figures are calm and still but distracted, staring beyond the viewer as if frozen in a moment. It is as though they have stepped forward from their reality, to be painted. They comply.
Anna’s statement on her website http://www.annaphelps.co.uk explains how she arrived at such a distinctive style, by rejecting the trends of art teaching and production, in order to find a method of painting that comes naturally from within. The result is personal and spare, but never ‘primitive’, as the attention to detail is truly breathtaking. Come and see for yourself, at the winter exhibition.
Sphere: Related ContentVictoria Fontaine-Wolf ~ ‘ideal beauty’
November 10, 2009 by Quigley · Leave a Comment
Victoria, good friend of Cristus, has twice been reviewed on this site and has for some time been available for portrait commissions at the gallery. This is, however, the first time that we have tempted her to exhibit, with two paintings in the winter exhibition. Both feature contemporary pre-Raphaelite subjects of exquisite charm and beauty. I say contemporary, because they are not the lost or fallen mid-Victorian females of the PRB; rather, in their contentment and demeanour, they are more representative of our times. Isabella (and the pot of basil), featured above, even wears Victoria’s own favourite dress, though painted in a style that would no doubt find Ruskin’s approval.
Sumptuous in colour and detail, elaborately framed, they look magnificent!
Philip Lee’s tempestuous ‘Deluge’ paintings
November 10, 2009 by Quigley · Leave a Comment
Two large and dramatic canvases from Philip Lee form part of the Cristus winter exhibition. They come from the artist’s surrealist period, and have been carefully restored and framed at the gallery. Here’s what Philip has to say about his work:
‘The circular theme at the centre was the starting point of Deluge. The monalith and the pyramid have become more substantial, the monalith falling and the pyramid as if seen through broken glass. The bone-like structure in Subterranean has become a skeletal building or ship, and behind and through everything comes the deluge - of water or snow? Turner’s ‘Hannibal crossing the Alps has had an influence here. As with the whole series, Deluge is designed to be ambiguous; understanding the picture is intended to be as fluid as the picture is painted, and personal to the viewer’.
Deluge 2 is a development of the bottom left corner of Deluge. ‘The pyramid and shiplike structures have been combined in the building/ship structure on the left, while the monalith has been somewhat eroded. To its right a cascade of treasure pours from the destruction caused by the deluge of water’.
A time to reflect ~ Cristus winter exhibition - starts 30th October
November 9, 2009 by Quigley · Leave a Comment
Please call the gallery for opening times, or to arrange a special appointment (01303 223005 or 07759 33 77 499)
Deep rich colours feature in our winter exhibition, with raku ceramics from Shaun Hall, digital art by Dan McCarthy and paintings by Anna Phelps (featured above), Philip Lee, Tracey-Anne Pryke, Saffron Eve, Dee Taylor, Sarah Stokes, Marjorie Wilson and Victoria Fontaine-Wolf.
Sphere: Related ContentJessica Stride on why colour is her inspiration
May 11, 2009 by DaveT · Leave a Comment
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.
Sphere: Related ContentPower and intensity - ‘Fire’ by Tracey-anne Pryke
May 1, 2009 by Quigley · Leave a Comment
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.
New Acquisitions - Heather Townshend Prints
April 28, 2009 by Dan · Leave a Comment
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.
