Finally getting around to uploading some of the images that I took when I visited The Saatchi Gallery (almost 2 weeks ago). It has taken a while due to art related activities, The Truro Arts Festival and preparing for the Cornwall Open Studios and my Solo Exhibition in August, and of course painting, painting, painting. I hope to get a few words written about the Russian Constructivists exhibition at the Tate Modern in a few days.

Anyway here are a few photo’s of some of the art on display in the current impressive and stimulating exhibition. Unveiled is a show of contemporary art in every sense and it was a complete revelation to me, and being that the exhibition is predominately painting based suited me entirely.

Although from the Middle East, more than half of the 19 artists exhibiting now live and practise their art ‘abroad’ in Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin and New York, likely due to the hostile and repressive environment they had to operate in when in their countries of birth, and several of them attended art schools in London which obviously shaped their approach and outlook, but nonetheless a large body of the work on display is being created from within the heart of the Middle East. One can only wonder at how difficult this might be, so much so that one of the artists would not allow their face to be shown on gallery material and only appeared in balaclava.

Wafa-Hourani – Qalandia

Wafa-Hourani – Qalandia

Whilst some of the art is highly charged politically, much of the work is very accessible and Saatchi have to be applauded for once again putting on a fine exhibition, it was certainly well worth the trip up from Cornwall. Once again I am extremely grateful to Charles Saatchi and his helpful staff for allowing me to take the photographs and also to get so close to the art.

Tala-Madani – Nosefall

Tala-Madani – Tower Reflection

Tala-Madani – Holy Light

Jeffar-Khaldi – Frozen

Rokni=Haerizadeh – Shomal (Beach at the Caspian)

Hayv-Kahraman – Carrying On Shoulder

Hayv-Kahraman – Flaying The Lamb

Diana Al-Hadid – All The Stops

Halim-Al-Karim – Hidden-War-II

Ahmed-Alsoudani – Baghdad

Ahmed-Alsoudani – Untitled

Ahmad-Morshedloo – Untitled

Ahmad-Morshedloo – Untitled

Unveiled runs until May 6th and admission is free.

Gyllyngvase (vi) as featured in the gallery competition in the March 2009 edition of Cornwall Today, the painting can be seen at The Lane Gallery in Cathedral Lane, Truro

Lizard Point has been added to the gallery today and St Michaels Mount Inner Harbour, which was one of my favourites from my Boats & Ropes series, has now sold.

Also I have to mention the latest website that has just been designed by Chris Thornton of Grish Art, a very worthy subject matter, centred on the emotional wellbeing of young people, and a really excellent and user-friendly design:

Emotional First Aid

Levant, recently added to the gallery, is a painting based on The Levant Mine.

Working almost continually and without interruption, in excess of 24,000 tons of tin and 130,000 tons of copper were produced during it’s 110 year life.

Levant’s main mine workings stretched along the coast in the area of St. Just in Penwith, approximately 7 miles north west of Penzance, and it reached 350 fathoms at it’s deepest level and extended way out under the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. Access to the lower levels was achieved by sinking two shafts out under the sea.

In 1919 Levant suffered a tragic mining disaster when the main-rod broke on the man-engine and of the 150 miners being brought up from below at the time more than 30 men and boys were killed and many more were seriously injured.

Levant was operational from 1820 until it’s closure in 1930. It was de-watered in the 1960’s by Geevor and was briefly worked again before passing into the care of The National Trust in 1967. It has steadily undergone a program of renovation and now features a fully working steam operated beam engine which is open to the general public on specific days.

Hell’s Mouth…..

….has recently been added to the gallery, along with Marazion, Mousehole and Ships In The Night – more work will be added this coming week.

I am very pleased to be exhibiting at Truro’s newest gallery, The Lane Gallery which is situated above The Scentstore in Cathedral Lane, Truro.

The gallery has, in fact, taken over from The City Gallery which was opened on a temporary basis last year but sales were so good that the gallery manager, Anne Brooks, took the decision to make it more permanent.

In the New Year Anne and her husband John, assisted by several artists from the gallery, Sue Currie (and her husband Fraser) and Martin Pearman gave the gallery a refit and added extra lighting etc. The result being a bright, fresh gallery space which now showcases a dozen or so local artists, including Anne Brooks, Sue Currie, Martin Perman, Viv Gillard, Sylvia Prisk and myself and my good friend Chris Holloway.

Interestingly the gallery is run on a co-operative basis with each artist paying for space as opposed to paying a gallery owner commission and as a result the work is considerably better value than it would otherwise be in a gallery operating on the more convential business model.

Also, each artist usually works in the gallery once a week, thereby giving members of the public a chance to meet with the artists in person.

Below are a few representative photo’s:

The window space at ground floor level in Cathedral Lane

A couple of my paintings and the recently sold Waha, wrapped and ready to be collected

A nice selection of Sue Currie’s work

While I was in London to see the Rothko exhibition I made a second visit to The Saatchi Gallery to take in The Revolution Continues one more time before the exhibition ended.

Below are a few more photo’s which I took, the first are of the work by Zhang Dali of 15 life-size figures cast in resin and suspended upside down from the ceiling of one of the gallery rooms. They represent immigrant workers from the rural areas of China that have come to work in the construction industry in the cities., each one of the figures is tattooed with the signature of the artist and the title Chinese Offspring. A very strange yet effective spectacle.

Chinese Offspring – Zhang Dali

I also had to get a second look at the paintings of Zhang Xiaogang. These are portraits on an immense scale and feature characters with oversized, ever so slightly out of focus photographic like heads with peculiar mechanized expressions that stare out at the viewer with a chilling detachment. Mesmerising works.

Untitled 2008 – Zhang Xiaogang

A Big Family 1995 – Zhang Xiaogang

And one from Yue Minjun

Untitled 2005 – Yue Minjun

Once again my thanks to Charles Saatchi and his staff at The Saatchi Gallery for allowing me to take the above photgraphs.

Now I can’t wait to return for the new exhibition, which promises to be very exciting indeed, Unveiled: New Art From The Middle East opens this week and runs until the 6th May 2009.

Mark Rothko – West 53rd Street Studio – photo by Henry Elkan, c. 1953

Well, I made it to the Rothko exhibition at The Tate Modern last week and I am really glad that I did. As it was not possible to photograph any of the works I have included a couple of images courtesy of The Tate.

Rothko’s words confront the continual stream of visitors in the area adjoininng the exhibition – `if people want sacred experiences they will find them here. If they want profane experience they’ll find them too. I take no sides.’ – and the beauty of this exhibition is that whatever ones view of Rothko’s work, as one enters The Rothko Room there is no escaping the sheer power and energy of the paintings on display.

In part because of the immediate challenge to the senses that these immense canvases provoke, but also because the maroons, dark reds, oranges and blacks shimmer in the dimness of the mysterious glow of the almost supernatural low lighting used in the room…..and the deathly stillness as many stood, silently, staring, deeply immersed in their own thoughts merely contributed to the already other worldly feel.

I could not fail to be moved and I would certainly class this Rothko exhibition as “a must see” if ever there was one, and if you haven’t seen it yet but you get the chance there are still two weeks of it left, it runs until February 1st 2009.

Four Darks in Red 1958
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York Purchase, with funds from the Friends of the Whitney Museum of American Art, Mr. and Mrs. Eugene M. Schwartz, Mrs. Samuel A. Seaver and Charles Simon © Kate Rothko Prizel and Christopher Rothko/DACS 1998

Black on Maroon 1958
Tate. Presented by the artist through the American Federation of Arts 1969
© Kate Rothko Prizel and Christopher Rothko/DACS 1998

As we enter the second week of 2009 here are a few of my personal moments which, and in addition to my artistic and cultural experiences of 2008, formed some of my highlights of the year with some of my artist friends.

Some press coverage in The Cornishman

and some creative photography of Linda, myself and Chris, with Lucie and Val looking on during the exhibition hanging – taken, of course, by Paul.

and another shot of some of us at the beach in Marazion during the summer, pictured here are Linda Bowen, Lucie Bond, Chris Holloway and myself

and one that I took of Paul Chapman at Penzance Harbour, with Warlord in the background, later to feature in one of my paintings

and here we are, my special and lovely friends and myself (Sue, Jean, Me, Paul, Linda and Lucie) in Paul’s garden with Paul showing off his newly acquired “Billington”

Finally I would like to thank everybody who has supported, encouraged and/or purchased any of my work during 2008, especially the artists Diane Ibbotson, Alison Cameron, Jackie East and Dawn Walker, as well as the American sculptor Larry Steele and the art historian John A Walker, and in particular my good friend, inspiration and mentor throughout the year, Cecil Riley and his lovely wife, the artist, Joan Riley.

Below is a picture of me and Cecil at Newlyn which was taken during the summer months only moments after he had given an entertaining opening speach for an exhibition. Cecil, of course, was on BBC Spotlight TV later in the year which was great to see.

and here is a snapshot of the current painting in progress in my studio

which, apart from filling up with work, is getting untidy again

And finally a thank you to my website designer Chris Thornton for providing a friendly, courteous, good value service where nothing is too much trouble. For artists seeking a website design service Grish Art should be high on your list, most of my communication with Chris is by email and the service works flawlessly.

A few photographs of the Christmas Exhibition at The City Gallery, Cathedral Lane, Truro.

Anne Brooks, the gallery manager, talking watercolours.

The gallery is bright and spacious and there is a wide variety of work on display.