on salthouse 09…
[detail of saltscapes i-xxv at salthouse 09 art exhibition]
over the weekend i gave a brief talk on this piece… initially about ideas and concepts, and then materials and techniques…
i was surprised (and very happy) to hear that it has attracted a lot of interest from visitors, and one of the exhibition’s invigilators said that i had effectively sold it three times during the day (just the once is very nice)…
the next day i was there again to do my own stint of invigilating, which gave me a chance to revisit some of the artworks in the salthouse 09 show…
andy cairns’ salt encrusted construction corroded, crystallised, coalesced is a fascinating piece of coastal assemblage, displaying both resilience and fragility… rory mcshane’s woodcut print salt squares shared some similarities with my work, exploring the geometric formation of salt crystals, echoing the wider pattern of the constructed landscape… ross loveday’s trio of drypoint and carborundum etchings reminded me a little of the urbanscapes of john virtue, as their natural rural counterparts, with rich, dark expressive tones, deeply evocative of the wind-swept vistas of the north norfolk coast……
the celebrated painter maggi hambling displays one of her recent north sea paintings, storm wave, a high-energy, power-packed painting in which its depths persuade you to jump in and yet there is a fear drowning if you stay a little too long… marcela trsova’s piece light vessel, is a beautifully crafted construction of salt crystals and wire, an ethereal boat surrounded by wire fish suspended from the ceiling recalling souls to prayer… both antje ernestus and jane wheeler reference the ritual collection and harvesting of salt in their sculptural ceramic pieces…
david page’s some views of the marsh is a curiously abstract and dream-like painting, as one seemingly floats high above the salt marshes, with a solitary tiny figure just visible heading inland… colin yorke’s the outcasts is a work that is sensitively made, embracing the organic qualities of aged wood, as a group of partially seen carved heads, all the more moving when seen in their final resting place (outside the church wall)… there is also the work of ana maria pacheco, colin self, kabir hussain… too many to mention here as there are fifty artists included in this exhibition, but it is a show that is defintely worth its salt…
salthouse 09 : 2 july to 2 august 2009
and finally… [i saw this and thought of yew...]
