William Bradley's Work

First of all thanks to Dig Yorkshire for the preview of our event. click here to read that.

Next William Bradleys work, last night us Revolving Gallery lot had a drink and a chat with Will. Better still we got to preview some of the new works he has done for the show and they are looking fantastic, we think they will be snapped up with a lot of early interest.



Hmm.. - 40 x 40cm - Oil on Canvas

Hmm.. is not one of the works we got to see last night but it is the one I want to talk about. As with all of Will's work I am drawn in by the space he uses and the large areas of bold colour's but after this first strike that hits you when you see these vibrant works you eventually (after getting trapped in the picture) find the title and here you get a whole new level. 'Hmm..' for one and others like 'Right Behind You' or 'In The Loop' give open ended invites to the view putting them in control of the meaning. The titles act as hints but I don't think we should get fool into believing these give the game away. Will also implants a lot of formal devices which reflect on abstract painting and its development over the last 50-60 years on from Abstract Expressionism. Making Will's works a dangerous combination of striking and clever which explains his ever growing presence in the London Art Scene.

Why I love 'Hmm..' is simple, first the colour that hits you. It's a brave use of such a bold colour and then there seems to be a little play going on, some type of actions that you can't decipher. With the darker lines running off the surface it also hint that this goes on beyond the borders of this work and this is what makes me think Hmm... when I see the work. It makes me want to tilt my head to get a better look and find more out. This is a painting I could happily look at everyday.

Nathan

Laura Alice's Work

I hope to get round talking about some work by all the artists involved in our first event but time is ticking away with less than two weeks to go. We have just been awarded some funding for our strong concept and its ability to contribute to the creative industries within the region, so that has been keeping me busy but it’s nice to have the recognition as doing something positive.

Today I am going to blog a little about Laura Alice is one of our younger artists but already she has a strong aesthetic in her ‘Mushroom Series’ and a definitive style. I have posted two pictures that highlight the clever use of colour in subtle tones but perhaps more importantly is the use of layering that has come over from Laura’s background in textiles. With a clever use of gouache in thin layers, the over lapping of colours gives a strong graphic quality to the work. This is then finished off in this instance with monoprint over the top; with the dark top layer really bringing the work together.



Mushroom Series XVII - 15 x 20cm - Gouache on paper

The pieces themselves work as pure abstraction and I bought one on this merit only to have this reinforced by the fact these works come from a interesting resource material, that of Mushrooms. In Laura’s case these mushrooms are those found in Swedish Forests where she spent her time completing an MA. If you feel like you can’t afford to buy original art, the smaller works by Laura are a good place to start, as really strong abstract pieces that will fit anywhere in the home these works are really affordable and now is a good time to buy.



Mushroom Series XVI - 15 x 20cm - Gouache on paper

Nathan

We're contributing to the art scene in York!

It is encouraging to read letters like Janet Barnes (Chief executive, York Museums Trust) to the Press promoting art in York and feel quite humbled by the fact Revolving Gallery has been mentioned.

With our first event just around the corner, it is fantastic to hear such positive things about our idea and concept and we hope that all who come along to York St. John on 9th December enjoy the event as well.

For a read of Janet's article CLICK HERE

Rowena

Starting to look at the work a bit closer

Well we are now less than 3 weeks from the event and everything is building in excitement. Over the last few weeks we have added more to the website with more images coming from the artists day by day. We have been getting the word out there via the press and hope you all are starting to hear about it. We have been busy on Facebook and twitter so come join or follow us, Facebook has discussion board where things are beginning to happen; starting with a discussion about art and investment so come join in.


Liquid Light - 160 x 160cm - acrylic & oil on canvas by Freya Horsley

At Revolving Gallery we're all about the art so I am going to start talking about the art. Looking through some of the new images I chose the one above to talk about. This really caught my eye, although a bit moody it has a amazing quality of light that is hard to achieve in paint. You can tell from the way Freya paints the passion and respect she has for weather, not only in terms of natural force but emotive force. when you look at this painting you can be transformed to a memory of being out somewhere remote in bad weather, it gives me that feeling you get when you resign yourself to this fact. Yet with that glimmer of light coming through you get hope, with the dark clouds it's a bitter/sweet piece but it's also enlightening. Technically the use of layers and both oil and acrylic give all this atmosphere, with the smooth blends cut into by defined marks adding to this.

Getting back to the Blog

I have been bad and not posted in a while, Twitter has grab my attention away but I must stay focus because this is our way of keeping everyone informed.

So what has been happening in my world of Revolving Gallery, the easiest answer to that is lots. Going back a few weeks we had the Artist studio visit that Tarot has been blogging about so here is my take. I am really proud of us as a Gallery taking the time to do studio visit, they benefit us and the artists and all the information we gain so we can pass it on, I feel it's a dying tradition. This good practice relate to why I see myself more as a Gallerist than a dealer. Gallerist is a relatively recent term coined on the New York art market and relates to people who don't just buy and sell work but really invest in the Artist, supporting there career and at the same time works closely with collectors to equally nurture them. It is a much more holistic approach to working with art in a commercial field and I like to hold these ideals.

So as a collector (or potential collector) we welcome you to come talk to us, so we can get to know you and hopefully help you build a collection that you love and can be proud of. The studio visit plays a vital role in this.

Here is an article with more information on the term: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/24/arts/20051224gallerist.html?_r=1

York Press Article

We are getting noticed! Today we had an article in the York Press:
Revolving Gallery Inaugural show

Patrick Smith studio visit

Yesterday we visited Patrick in his studio which completes the studio visits we have organised prior to our upcoming show in december. This studio was the only visit we have made as all four of us. Four of us plus Patrick in his studio made for quite a cosy visit but we managed fine.

For me at least it was a very educational experience. I didn't know much about printing procedures and Patrick was very patient at explaining both general printing principles and more importantly his own techniques.

We discussed at length the issue of giclee print runs which are either unlimited or runs which are very large. We were all in agreement that such practices were not something that we approved of and we wouldn't be doing anything like this with Revolving Gallery. We take great care in the art we select and as such one of our main aims is that art we sell should be a good investment - for this to be true the artwork should be original/ original print (not Giclee Print). Anyhow we agreed that for the upcoming exhibition we would stick to 'one off' original pieces of art. If that happens to be a print it should also be a 'one off'. This happily coincides with one of our core aims that any art we sell should also be a good investment.

Patrick explained that a way he often works is to start creating a series of prints. In each one he employs slightly different printing techniques, this could be a different pressure or a different amount of ink used. As different layers are built up, you will see the layers are an important aspect of Patricks work, the differences between the different prints becomes larger. He will eventually select one of these prints and the others are destroyed. I feel a little sad for the unused prints that end up in the bin but I guess they are sacrificed for the greater good of art.

Patrick is not only a print artist but also a painter. The works he has already submitted for our upcoming exhibition are all prints but he is hoping to also provide some paintings to show as well. I am looking forward to seeing these.

Finally I know there are probably many people who like me are not very knowledgeable about print. Patrick will be present at our first exhibition and I am sure will help to educate anyone who is interested.

Tarot

Laura Alice studio visit

Last week the Revolving Gallery crew were again on the road visiting artists. We visited Laura Alice in Saltaire, Bradford on the same day that we visited Paul Stone in Sheffield. If gave us quite a long round trip but it was definitely worth it. The only problem was the Bradford weather but you can't have everything. I must say that I feel incredibly lucky to be able to visit all the artists studios.


Laura's art was a real contrast to the grey day outside, promise I won't mention the weather again. This in itself is an interesting point as a lot of her work represents nature, in particular mushrooms. For most people Mushrooms, meaning wild mushrooms and not the white ones in the supermarket, are associated with dark forests, autumn and wet weather. Hopefully you are nodding in agreement - this is what comes to mind when I think of wild mushrooms anyway. Laura's art anyhow is in contrast to these autumnal colours. From what I have seen of Laura's art it usually is using bright, fresh colours. Laura did explain that she is influenced by fabrics and textiles, indeed some of her art is made with textiles. I think that this is the influence for some of the colours. Certainly the influence of textiles appears to be present in the layering that is a feature of her work.

Having said all of this it maybe that some of the colours in Laura's Mushroom paintings are realistic colours. I know that mushrooms do come in some very bright and unexpected colours so maybe the colours are based on nature. I guess if you want to know the answer to this question and others then you can ask her in person at our opening exhibition on 09/12/09 at St John University.

Paul Stone studio visit

Last weekend the revolving gallery team went to visit Paul Stone in his studio just outside Sheffield. We initially had agreed that we should make studio visits to all of the artists that we feature in our exhibitions. There were many reasons why we thought this would be useful. Firstly we just want to meet the artists in person. We also thought that visiting their studios would give us a further insight into their work.

From our first studio visit it seems that our commitment to meeting the artists in their studio was a good idea. We talked with Paul in great depth about the kind of processes he goes through to produce his art. Also we learned a great deal about his passions and artistic influences. I was particularly interested to hear about the importance of light and reflection in his works and got to compare quite a range of his painting with drawings that he has done and found exactly the same trade mark attention to detail in light and reflection that can be found in his paintings
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I had previously only viewed Paul Stone's work on the internet and I must say that when his works are viewed in person they really come alive. It's difficult to explain, at least for me anyway, but there is definitely an added dimension that you get viewing his paintings in person. Having said this I really liked them viewed on a website even before I got to see them in person. I now definitely want to purchase some of his works for myself in the future.

I really hope anyone who hasn't yet viewed his work will be able to come and view his paintings on display at our exhibition on 12/12/09 at York St Johns University.


Tarot