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PAINTING OPEN

18/09/21 - 04/10/21

The
OUTPUT Open is a regular part of our gallery programming - an
opportunity to present an overview of creativity in the region through
the practices of a group of emerging artists. This year, our selected
artists have focused on work in the mediums of painting and video, so
we have split the exhibition in two accordingly.

The OUTPUT Painting Open presents the work of Chris Oliver, Zahra, Harry Garner, Sian Cooper & Rob Davies.

These
artists, who are all at different stages in their career, will showcase
the breadth of skill and invention that our region’s art scene can
provide in both traditional and new media. The bold, engaging works -
mostly painted in 2021 - which make up the Painting Open show a range
of styles and approaches spanning figuration, abstraction and the space
in-between. While these artists were not selected with any theme in
mind, their practices have a lot in common: a thread of narrative runs
throughout the exhibition, and a desire for audiences to find their own
meaning in the work.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

The
largest work in the show is Chris Oliver’s “Memories of St. Ives”, an
abstracted exploration of the artist’s recollections of a trip to the
Cornish town. The bold colours and repeating patterns bring a
psychedelic energy to the landscape, which is dotted with forms, shapes
and colours loosely inspired by memories of the trip - abstracted
Oasthouses and giant pasties. While rich in personal significance,
Chris is keen that viewers should bring their own experiences and
interpretations to the work, finding their own solutions to its various
mysteries.

Instagram @chrisoliver_art
Website chrisoliver-art.co.uk


A
lifelong painter, Sian Cooper’s current work consists of physical
outcomes for her research practice, exploring how mythology and folk
tales can aid in
understanding the self. Each is inspired by a
particular feeling or moment in the artist’s life, using a visual model
of storytelling to create a feeling of intimacy with the audience.

Instagram @siancooperart


The
objects and scenes in the carefully-observed oil paintings of Harry
Garner hint at a narrative occurring just outside the frame. The artist
explains; “Painting
should never be straightforward or communicate
in full sentences. I am interested in ambiguity, my hope is to provoke
the viewer to become more than a passive
consumer, but to have a very active part in the painting.”

Instagram @garner.harry


Three
paintings by Zahra explore the culture of storytelling, and how
verbally-exchanged anecdotes can become distorted through multiple
tellings. The artist uses acrylic paint to capture and edit imagery
from stories and memories. Striking, brightly coloured figures emerge
from and recede into hazy backgrounds, as memories.

Instagram @zxhrartt


Rob
Davies has been a practicing artist since 1993, and in that time has
exhibited widely around the UK. He creates semi-imaginary landscapes
and environments he describes as ‘reflections of the mind,’ where
fantasy intrudes upon reality. The sublime emotional character of these
pieces is enhanced by the visual contrasts of
gestural marks against bright white backgrounds in both watercolour and oil paint.

Instagram @robddaviesfineart
Website robdaviesfineart.com