Needhams
Restaurant & Art Gallery presents an exhibition of
original paintings, sketches and photography, on the
theme of 'special places', by a small group of
exceptional British Artists and Photographers from the
Ovenden Contemporary portfolio:
Richard Friend BA
(Hons)
Jo Tamarro
Enzo Marra MA
Jeremy Mayes
Mark Woods BA (Hons)
Peter McCarthy
Needhams Restaurant & Art
Gallery
186 Main Street, Witchford,
Ely, Cambs CB6 2HT
25th
January to 27th March 2008
At first glance, the graceful landscapes of the accomplished Suffolk Artist Peter McCarthy, appear to be a response to the vast flat vistas of the nearby Fenlands, where McCarthy spent some periods of his life. Further consideration of these simple, but beautiful paintings, however, leads us to wonder about the solitude of these scenes. There are many places in the Fens where you could imagine that you are the only person for a thousand miles in any direction and the endless skies can make a person feel very insignificant.
McCarthy's landscapes, however richly painted, somehow capture this sense of isolation and his trees, even when grouped, are still alone. If you delve a little deeper into the portfolio of this sought after Artist you will find this sense of solitude almost overpowering his paintings, particularly 'House In The Woods' or 'The Bare Tree', as if he is using certain objects in order to paint loneliness.
Mark Woods is a qualified and highly experienced Graphic Designer and Illustrator, with a glittering career that would be the envy of most in his field. Having lived in London & New York, whilst working for many high profile and prestigious companies, and then with his own design agency under his belt, it is still the humble sketchbook that lies at his root. He has, over the years, found some spectacular places to sit with a large sketchbook, some pencils and a whole day to combine.
Woods tends to represent the present time as though it has already passed, adding nostalgia and a hint of longing to otherwise familiar scenes. It's as if he is sketching, recording our world for a future generation, rather than us.
The enigmatic work of the prolific Jeremy Mayes is instantly welcoming and positive. He cites his influences as Cezanne, Modigliani and Chagall and there is certainly a warm familiarity in his expressionist paintings that gently draw the viewer in. He makes you feel as though you are wandering through a beautiful garden, or punting along a quiet river, or sipping espresso outside a boulevard cafe on a lazy Sunday afternoon, as a gentle summer breeze passes you by.
And that's the vital ingredient in Mayes' work. He manages to capture and perfectly represent that comfortable moment in time when we all feel good, the precise instant that we dare to believe things are going to be alright. When you view one of his paintings you are taken to a better place, for just a moment. You can almost feel the summer breeze through your hair, smell the hot coffee, hear the birdsong emanating from his lollipop trees.
Enzo Marra is based in the vibrant city of Brighton on the south coast of England. He is well-known for his voyeuristic portraiture and figurative work but, more recently, produces vibrant, abstract and often evocative landscapes that rely on the skill of un-laboured mark-making as much as his well-defined sense of colour.
Marra generally uses undiluted oils to create his work, using a contemporary blend of influences from german expressionism and the London school. Inevitably, this gives his images an ambiguity that allows the viewer to participate in his art.
The images created by the East-Kent based Photographer, Jo Tammaro, pay homage to the often rugged beauty of the coastlines that can be found on three sides of her hometown. The sea plays an important role in her work and is often her subject- the sheer force of it as it crashes against harbour wall, or bay, or break-water, is a power Tammaro is keen to capture. The fact that she does capture its, so eloquently, is testament to her skill as an image-maker.
Interestingly, Tammaro sees another side to her favourite subject, a gentleness- the serenity of a calm sea, once inside the sanctity of The Royal Harbour at Ramsgate, as it nestles beneath the majestic yachts, shows a striking contrast with other images that portray an angry, passionate sea. This apparent dichotomy is enhanced by Tammaro's admiration of her subject, no matter what it's mood may be.
Richard Friend paints and sketches an imaginary landscape inspired by memories and longings of a childhood spent in Kent, the ‘Garden of England’. His paintings are almost postcards from places that he’d like to visit........if they existed.
His understanding and appreciation of colour is confident, impressive and definitely appealing. He revels in these bold, vibrant colours and a powerful sense of the narrative of the countryside such as local history and folklore. Churches also appear in many of the paintings, references perhaps to the unseen powers surrounding us. This narrative quality often reveals it’s self only in the closing stages of the making of a painting.
