Paint Edgy Contemporary British Painting Exhibition

 Paint Edgy Contemporary British Painting Exhibition,

The Ropewalk, Barton upon Humber, North Lincolnshire

September-November, 2022

The Exhibition, overview

I visited the CBP Exhibition "Paint Edgy" open event and artists' talks on 15 October 2022. I took the general photographs of the gallery and the artworks shown below.

Gallery space and curation

The gallery is spacious and airy with good lighting. It was a good showcase for the inventive and innovative works on display. The theme reflects a range of concerns with margins, edges and edginess, to do with painterly edges, the edge of a canvas, and the image itself. 

The exhibition was curated by Judith Tucker (vice-chair of CBP) and Linda Ingham (CBP member and Ropewalk studio holder). I have recently studied the work of Judith Tucker, particularly looking at how she portrays twilight and the atmosphere that it creates amongst the "Fitties" holiday chalets along the Lincolnshire coast.

Judith Tucker, Dark Marsh: winter samphire, oil on linen

Earlier in the year I worked alongside Linda when she organised a "plein air" group to visit the nearby wetlands where we made on-site sketches, water colours and took photographs for working up into paintings later in the studio. Please see my post Sketching En Plein Air, Far Ings Nature Reserve, 17/10/22. Linda sent me the invitation to the BCP open event and artists' talks. 

Linda Ingham, Towards the confluence - august 2022, watercolour, eco-dye and stitch on linen

As well as the talks, the show was very well documented with informative leaflets and an online catalogue. During the afternoon the artists spoke about their works and mingled with the visitors. Refreshments were provided. Information and the online catalogue are available through the following link: 

Paint Edgy : Contemporary British Painting | Ropewalk (the-ropewalk.co.uk)

The afternoon was a good way of encouraging interaction between the viewer and the artists. Visitors mingled and asked questions. I spoke to some of the artists about their work, some of which I illustrate below.

Examples of works

Mandy Payne, Aylesbury boiler house i, spray paint and oil on marble

Mandy Payne's work is interesting in the way that she uses radical techniques, such as spray paint on marble or concrete. I was previously invited by Mandy to the launch of her exhibition Out of Time in Huddersfield in 2019. Please see my post on 18/10/19 Exhibition Launch: Mandy Payne "Out of Time", Huddersfield Art Gallery for a review. I had identified Mandy as an artist who is inspired by urban landscape, Brutalist architecture, social housing and finding beauty in the ordinary/overlooked. Mandy's practice therefore resonates with my own interests. I had earlier interviewed Mandy and a record of our discussion features in my Blog of 23rd August 2019.

Sean Williams, Firebrand, acrylic on paper

Sean Williams's painting was relatively unusual in that it was painted in acrylic onto paper. It was very realistic, and quite like a photographic image. The colours were subdued and atmospheric. 

Iain Andrews, Endor, oil on wood

In contrast, Endor by Iain Andrews was a colourful, abstract extravaganza of paint and movement which drew the viewer in further to explore its powerful presence and intricacies.

Conclusions

The exhibition was thoughtfully planned and curated. Good use was made of the space which was well lit and laid out. There was plenty of information about the theme, the exhibits and the artists. On the day I went artist made themselves available to give talks and to mingle with visitors and answer questions. The event was informative for me both in relation to seeing the works on display and how they had been curated, but also to experience the interactive nature of the event and learn for the future.