Thursday, March 30, 2017

London Now: Alan Cristea Gallery - Gillian Ayres: Paintings and Woodcuts Exhibition






 “A good painting is a number of colored marks, made by hand, brush or roller, across a at surface, so that later a viewer can absorb emotional and intellectual energy from it. A good, or great, painter is simply a hard-working individual who has, over a period of time, produced many good paintings. By this reckoning, Gillian Ayres has to be one of our nest.”
Andrew Marr - 2016
London Now: Alan Cristea Gallery - Gillian Ayres: Paintings and Woodcuts Exhibition. At the Alan Cristea Gallery in  Pall Mall the exhibition Gillian Ayres: Paintings and Woodcuts, until April 22. Gillian Ayres RA CBE is one of Britain’s most respected and best-loved post-war artists and a pioneer of abstract painting. Unconventional in life and in work, Ayres, who turned eighty-seven in February, continues to forge her own individual path regardless of fashion or opinion.  Never before seen early paintings are shown alongside the monumental painting (above), Untitled (Cerise), 1972, displayed for the first time since being made, it is a rare example of a surviving painting from this period. Ayres pinned the canvas to the wall of her attic, which stretched the length of her house in South London. Thick acrylic was laid on top of the canvas and swept down, to end in runs and dribbles. Gestural work on such a vast scale was reminiscent of European Tachiste painting and American Abstract Expressionism.  To coincide with the exhibition, Art/ Books, in conjunction with the Alan Cristea Gallery published the definitive monograph on Ayres, written by Martin Gayford and David Cleaton-Roberts of the Alan Cristea Gallery, with a foreword by Andrew Marr, spanning six decades of the artists career.




Gillian Ayres: Paintings and Woodcuts

Not wishing to conform or to be categorized in anyway, Ayres has adopted a variety of styles and techniques throughout her career. These early works are shown alongside new paintings, dating from 2016, which use thick applied oil paint to create clear and defined edges and shapes, and a recently completed body of woodcut prints, works produced by an artist at the height of her powers and that are exuberant, vigorous and full of color and energy.

  Photo credit FXP Photography, London

Gillian Ayres – Exhibitions 2017

Gillian Ayres - National Museum Cardiff  - Wales

8 April - 3 September
The largest exhibition of Gillian Ayres’ works to date presents paintings and works on paper from 1950s to 1980s, offering a unique insight into the untold story of the influence of Wales on Ayres’ life and work.
Gillian Ayres - Tremenheere Sculpture Garden - Penzance
1 April – 7 May
A solo exhibition of new prints and sculpture curated by David Cleaton-Roberts and Helen Waters of the Alan Cristea Gallery.
Royal Academy Arts - London
London Original Print Fair - Gillian Ayres
4 - 7 May 2017
The Alan Cristea Gallery will dedicate their booth to new prints by Gillian Ayres and Cornelia Parker.


  Photo credit FXP Photography, London

Gillian Ayres: Paintings and Woodcuts





 


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