Tuesday 21 June 2011

Get Rhythm

Hello everyone

Sadly the soggy Scottish summer time is letting us down. However, it's nice and dry and bright and colourful in Union Gallery. It's also free and inspiring to visit, so feel free to drop by anytime.

I promised to shed more light on multi-award winning artist Colin Brown, so here goes:

I first viewed Colin's work in December last year at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow. Not every artist can claim to have had their work shown in such a prestigious setting! The exhibition was titled "The River Runs Through It" and was the brain child and curated by artist Charles Jamieson MFA, PAI, PPAI and journalist and art lover Jan Patience, and I was very keen to see it as the ethos and spirit of the show and artists involved captured my imagination. The aim of "The River Runs Through It" was to generate interest and funding for the Riverside Museum Appeal. I felt it was also a celebration of heritage and culture and an exhibition not just of beauty, but of historical importance. The new transport museum, designed by architect Zaha Hadid, opens today (the longest day) and I will certainly be going for a look at some point.
There were many great artists involved including Ruth A Nicol, Adrian Wiszniewski, Annette Edgar, and of course Colin Brown.
I have to admit that Colin's work hit me right between the eyes. I had never seen anything like it before - or since.
Here is an example:

















"Salon", acrylic and collage on wood panel by Colin Brown.

What hit me most was the outpouring of information. This information overload both excited and captivated me and I thought it very in tune with our modern day living. Yet at the same time, Colin Brown has been developing his wholly unique/distinctive/original style since the 1980's. After the initial excitement and experience of viewing Colin's work, there is no escaping how brilliantly engineered and constructed they are. The 'information overload' all makes perfect sense, the layers of thought are painstakingly cohesive and it's obvious that Colin, who begins making these paintings by experimenting with ideas, leaves nothing to chance once he is in the groove. To me, I liken Colin's work to composing a brilliant piece of music...there is rhythm, colour and texture and, like any outstanding composition, it will remain a classic:

















"Gabriel", acrylic and collage on wood panel by Colin Brown.

You can experience Colin Brown's work in Union Gallery's "Now We Are Two" exhibition alongside Stewart Bremner, Trevor Jones, Olivia Irvine and Jenny Matthews.

Speak soon


No comments:

Post a Comment