There's More Than Meets The Eyes to Kim Kim

Hello everyone,

In my last blog, I promised to introduce you more closely to some of our 'special guests' in award-winning artist Norrie Harman's solo exhibition, 'Way Out West'.

We have to start with this:

'Kim Kim', Watercolour and Indian Ink, by Norrie Harman.

I was smitten the first time I saw 'Kim Kim'.  This mysterious and attractive young woman in an almost Goddess-like pose, with her protector at her feet, captivated me immediately.
Initially I was bowled over by 'Kim Kim' simply as an exceptional example of drawing and painting, yet even at first sight I knew that there was more to her than meets the eye.  It's interesting that, on first impression, viewers of Norrie's work cannot escape his hard-hitting and powerful imagery.  Strong and confident images, of course, but also beautiful and sensitive, definitely menacing, but ultimately real and meaningful.

'Kim Kim', detail, by Norrie Harman.

You see, at the risk of taking away all the magic and mystery, 'Kim Kim' is a fragment of Norrie's childhood memories.  Kim, as she was usually known, was the daughter of the first Japanese family ever to move into the Wester Hailes area, where Norrie grew up in the 1980's.  She and her family obviously attracted a great deal of attention and interest from the other residents of the tight-knit and sometimes suspicious community.  Kim may have been exotic, but she was also different and something of an unknown.  Her life, and that of her family, was pretty difficult and so they enlisted the support of a Doberman dog - traditionally an attack dog - to offer some support, security and perhaps even friendship.  Coincidentally, the Harman family also had a Doberman at that time, a bitch called Kim, whose role was also to offer security and companionship.

It took a while for the penny to drop, for me to understand the significance of the blindfold in the portrayal of 'Kim Kim', but now it's so obvious it's painful.  In the privacy of her own space and with her best and perhaps only friend at her side, Kim attempts the futile gesture of disguising the fact that she is different.

I could be wrong, but if this painting doesn't demonstrate a deep-rooted sensitivity, and an empathy with the subject matter, then I'm not sure what does.

Hurry back soon, and if you're lucky we will take a more intimate look at one of Norrie Harman's more controversial works, 'Methadone Love III'.

Speak soon.

Son of a Butcher

Hello everyone
I've been thinking a lot about all you wonderful and fascinating people who visit UG every month.
This month sees the arrival of a whole host of new visitors I've had the pleasure of meeting and I'm enjoying every minute of it.
All of you have been lured here by a very unique and raw new talent in town. That talent belongs to award-winning artist Norrie Harman.

Hilary with her maker.
'Hilary's for Tea', oil on panel by Norrie Harman.

Some of you may not yet have read the first review of his exhilarating exhibition, 'Way Out West'. If you have will you indulge me and stick this in your browser again?

http://www.broughtonspurtle.org.uk/news/heart-and-horror-norrie-harmans-way-out-west

Over the next few weeks we have much to share with you about Norrie Harman and his work, and we will revel in introducing you to some of his creations, like Roxy, Linda and Kim Kim, and of course that 'famous' Hyena and the infamous Hilary.
But first, by way of an introduction, I'm simply going to tell you a wee story that goes back to the 1990's. Yes folks, all that time ago when I had all my own teeth and real hair!
I was a student at Edinburgh College of Art and nearing the end of my 'stretch' in the drawing and painting department. Like many art students, I was feeling extremely deflated and disillusioned by the whole experience. In an attempt to cheer myself up, or perhaps remind myself of what it was all about, I sought inspiration from my contemporaries and so embarked on a secret snoop round the other student's studio spaces. I naturally started with the final year students as, nearing the end of the process, there was bound to be something spectacular from which to learn everything. Alas, nothing springs to mind.
And so, and this is the important bit as it may have been the most significant move I ever made at Art College, I decided to look at the work of the younger students....the next generation.
After a spell of searching and searching, I found what I was looking for, and it was the most eye opening work I had seen in the whole four years I'd been at ECA. This work was by a Norrie Harman of who I knew nothing about and didn't need to. I just new his work was the 'real deal' and the images I saw that day and the name stuck with me.
Now, some fourteen years later (and long-time over-due) his first solo exhibition in Edinburgh the aptly titled 'Way Out West', is now on display at the gallery.
In the lead up to this outstanding exhibition of drawing and painting, we have learned much about Norrie Harman and his 'story' which, like his work is wholly compelling.
But for now, all I'd like to say is that this son of a butcher has more than earned his stripes.

Speak soon.

We wait with bated breath.....

Edinburgh's own, Norrie Harman, takes to the walls.

Sleeping Under the Stars

Hello everyone,

In the last blog, we had a look at a particularly special painting by Jenny Matthews in our current exhibition.  This time we are having a look at UG's 'curators choice' from Janet Melrose RSW's side of the show, and I have to say that I am slightly nervous about doing so - I am not sure I will have the right words to do the work justice.  What I am confident about, however, is that Janet's work will speak for itself and will easily hold its own.  I will take a leaf out of Janet Melrose's book and take a 'less is more' approach to discussing her work - of which these are a master class:

'Meeting of Ideas', mixed media, by Janet Melrose RSW.
What I will say is that as a general rule with paintings, the more perfect and effortless they appear, the more difficult and demanding they were to arrive at.  In Janet's canvasses in particular there is evidence, or rather clues, as to the history of the painting.  There are signs of the layers of history or story-telling that lie behind the paintings, which enhances their overall beauty.

To be honest, there is not a single painting in Janet's new body of work that I wouldn't love to have on my wall, but here is my curators choice:

'Sleeping Under the Stars', mixed media, by Janet Melrose.
I will confess that, on viewing 'Sleeping Under the Stars' for the first time, I shed a little tear.  Recently, I lost my best and irreplaceable friend, UG hound Tommy:

I guess my heart was feeling rather heavy at the time, and that in part explains why I had such an emotional response to this painting.  Janet's paintings have the enviable ability to touch your heart, to create strong emotional responses.  It has been fascinating over the last month to witness people's joy firstly at seeing the work, and then at the appreciation of the talent needed to paint with such subtlety.  This painting, and indeed the exhibition as a whole, has certainly helped lift my spirits and those of many visitors to the gallery - I will be very sorry to see it end on Monday.

I have always admired Janet's brave approach to painting.  It takes real guts and conviction to pare everything right back to the bare flesh and bones of what makes a great painting - colour, composition, application of paint and, in this body of work, a subtle and sensitive narrative that is meaningful and appeals on so many different levels.

Thank you to artists Jenny Matthews and Janet Melrose RSW for creating a truly sublime exhibition, which you can still be moved by until Monday 4th June.

Speak soon.

Airborne Creatures

Hello everyone

I hope you have been applying the factor 50 lately!

In our last blog post we presented you with a challenge of finding all the little sandals thoughtfully painted into Janet Melrose's new body of work.
Our challenge for you this, the final week of the Janet Melrose RSW and Jenny Matthews exhibition, is to spot some butterflies.
Now, there's a lot of them! Including Scotch Angus, Small Heath and Small White as observed in this exquisite watercolour:

'Insects from Summer 2011', watercolour by Jenny Matthews.

This painting was secured by a lovely gallery visitor who was keen to buy a special work of art in memory of her mother who sadly passed away last year. 'Insects from Summer 2011', I feel, is a very sensitive and fitting memorial.
However, there is another, solitary 'airborne creature' in the exhibition which, on seeing for the first time, I immediately feel in love with:

'View from my Studio', acrylic and watercolour by Jenny Matthews.
I am sure, given a little time, you will find the tiny 'airborne creature' fluttering around on his (or her) lonesome voyage.
For me, the subtle insect is the icing on the cake of what is a truly beautiful work of art.
The more and more I study Jenny Matthews' work, the more I consider her to be an engineer as well as a brilliant painter - and this painting is a perfect example. I think the drawing work here speaks for itself - how she's captured the heavy rain with her confident and bold mark making requires no words from me. The energetic strokes work superbly with the subtle, yet precise collage work on the bottom and on the left of the work.
Yes, I think it's fair to say that from the Jenny Matthews side of this really special exhibition, 'View from my Studio' is a curator's choice.

Please come back to find out what UG's curators choice is for the Janet Melrose RSW side of the exhibition.....I might need some tissues!

Speak soon x

The Wanderer

Hello everyone,

Those of you who have viewed the current exhibition, new paintings by Jenny Matthews and Janet Melrose RSW, will know that there is a recurring theme of a journey running through Janet Melrose's work.  With titles such as 'Crossing the Desert', 'Making Camp' and 'Following Signs', you can find many symbols related to this journey in these exquisite paintings - such as the lone red-robed figure and, shown below, his sandals:

'Temple Shrine', detail, mixed media, by Janet Melrose.

Now these lovely, simple sandals appear in a number of the paintings, but as is the way with Janet's  subtle, less-is-more style, not all are immediately obvious to the viewer.

So, as a bit of fun, we are offering a bottle of something fine to the first person who comes to the gallery and can find all of the sandals in the paintings.  There will be no help from us, and no clues!

Happy hunting....

Imperial Yellow

Hello everyone,

Some of you will already have seen it, but for those that haven't, there is a particularly beautiful and intriguingly titled painting by Jenny Matthews in the gallery at the moment, as part of her two person exhibition with Janet Melrose.

And here is is:

 













'Imperial Yellow', acrylic on paper, by Jenny Matthews.

So where does this title come from?  In China, yellow has been a highly significant colour for centuries.  Yellow is seen as the colour of earth, the most important of the five elements of wood, fire, earth, metal and water and, as an emperor rules the earth, it is the colour of Imperial power.  Emperor's decorated their palaces with yellow glazed tiles, and dressed in robes made from a special 'imperial' tint of yellow silk.  This colourful display of power was the exclusive domain of the emperor, so if anyone else dared to wear it or decorate their home with it, they risked execution for such an insult.  Of course,it is entirely reasonable to assume that the emperor's decorated their vases in the same way.....


Luckily for us, this practice never reached the shores of Scotland, and have in all probability become obsolete on China too.  So there is no punishment for gazing upon the 'sacred' 'Imperial Yellow' that we are lucky enough to have in the gallery at the moment.  In fact, there is only reward for doing so, and we recommend that you find the time to come in and have a look for yourself.

Speak soon.