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.
Folkestone Collection at the Grand
April 27, 2009 by Parallax · Leave a Comment
The Folkestone Collection exhibition at the Grand Hotel, on the Leas, Folkestone, is an excellent and surprising example of the treasures held by many a provincial town’s art vaults.
We get Victor Pasmore, Peter Blake, Fred Cuming and Carel Weight. A mind altering, transcendental woodcut from Monica Poole, and an early 1970’s view of modern art that is all that modernism should be – hopeful for the future , vibrant, colourful and yet systematic and full of skill and craftsmanship.
The most significant thing we get though is a mighty blow for the print against the painting. Although there are some excellent paintings to be seen, it is the prints which really caught my attention.
Peter Blake’s prints – illustrations of scenes from Alice Through The Looking Glass - are like a distillation of everything good in 1970s England. I was transported into Blake’s world, which sat so beautifully with Lewis Carroll’s. I’m no Blake expert, but these seem his best works.
Weight’s massive painting of The Poet is a thing to behold. It is a game played with perspective, colour and juxtaposition of forms. I wouldn’t be surprised if it overtly refers to the poetry of its subject.
Victor Pasmore’s abstract print is a masterpiece. It has the sureness of composition and colour of his best work.
Everyone will have their favourites from this exhibition. To happen upon it is like rolling back a mossy boulder to reveal caverns of shimmering stalagmites. As someone who believes in the transformative power of art, I can say no more than that I came away inspired, resolving to apply the same levels of care, creativity and intelligence on show at the Grand to my own work.
The pieces might have been exhibited more accessibly. The tea rooms are a nice enough setting, but many of the prints are best appreciated at very close quarters, and not across a dining table.
This exhibition is highly recommended. Hurry, it runs until 5th May, 2009.
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