A visit to a local gallery.
Having lived in London for about 20 years, I was used to having museums, galleries, theatres and other cultural facilities on my doorstep, which I enjoyed taking advantage of at every opportunity.
So, after an accident that affected my mobility tremendously in 2003, it was with trepidation that I looked outside of London for somewhere new to live, that had a downstairs bedroom and facilities.
I had always enjoyed 'days out' at Southend, especially during the hot summer months, when London could be unbearably hot at times.
BUT, when it came to moving there, I did wonder if it would satisfy my cravings, especially for the theatre and the arts.
It was therefore with great surprise that I found out that the town had THREE theatres when I first arrived. This is regrettably now down to two, as the one in Alexandra Street has since closed.
I also soon found the Focal Point Gallery at Southend Library and the Beecroft Gallery just across the road from the Cliffs Theatre. To be honest, these alone didn't provide me with the constant changing choice that had I been used to, but at the time I thought, heah, they're a start. As it turns out, with them being so close to where I live, I visit them frequently.
Luckily I soon found out about lots of other galleries in Leigh and other local areas. Then there are the various Art Trails held around the local areas each year, including Rochford's and Leigh on Sea's, BOTH of which I've attended over the last few years now. Both of these showcase various local artists work, done in various techniques from painting to printing to photography and beyond.
When I found out on my BA Photography University course at Essex University that I had to do a review of something that I enjoyed going to, I DIDN'T think of dashing up to London to review some major show. No! I thought to myself, I will support local artists and see what was on at the local galleries at the time of writing.
So, what did I go to see?
Well, a quick surf of the internet to see what was on this weekend, in the middle of a cold January, I was glad to see an exhibition of the work of Gary Lawrence, someone that exhibited one piece at the 2012 Beecroft Open Exhibition last summer. His original piece was quite large and was given single prominence in the entrance to the gallery if I remember correctly but I think it would have stood out to me where ever it had been put. I think it was about A2 in size, and framed in a simple thin white frame, but with the brain beginning to resemble a cauliflower in more than just shape of late, I could be totally wrong.As I passed the above mentioned picture, it IMMEDIATELY pulled me in to look at it closer to see how it was produced.
It turned out to be scrawly and loosely drawn, but finely detailed and a well executed picture (regrettably I can't remember what of) that was drawn with JUST a red Biro pen. This one, like the majority of his pictures, took about a year to complete. The technique (although maybe not the colour) suited the picture somehow and it was my FIRST choice when I voted for the public's overall winner. Regrettably it didn't win, so not everyone else enjoyed it as much as I did.
The exhibition is called Gary Lawrence – One man and his biro and is at the Beecroft Gallery from12 January to 30 March 2013.Gary, who is a regular entrant in the Essex Open Exhibition, is quoted on the Beecroft Gallery's website as saying, “It’s a bit like knitting, you have to stick at it for a long time to get the results”. As it turns out, Gary was also the winner in 2011 of the Jerwood Drawing Prize.
The Essex Open regular exhibits his first SOLO show at the Beecroft. These intricate large scale works take nearly a year to complete and are all executed in economy Biro.
Following on from this, a quick internet search, shows that there are many other artists out there who produce some amazing work, JUST with a simple everyday Biro. As I say AMAZING! For starters, check THIS link out for some more work like this picture to the right. Anyway, enough of my pre-ramblings. I haven't even gone to the current exhibition yet!!! Right, shoes on and off I go. I will give my thoughts when I return very soon...
WELL, I ended up spending a full TWO hours at the museum yesterday, looking at and taking notes for this review. More than I would normally do for a small exhibition of about 20 pieces of work in three smallish rooms, so there must have been something there to keep me interested... wasn't there..?
The simple answer is YES and NO.
I really admire Gary's work, as well as everyone else that can produce such amazing work using JUST a Biro pen but in my opinion this exhibition was a bit of a 'mixed bag.'
As it was such a cold day outside, it was good to enter a heated space. I was then cheerfully welcomed by a lady member of staff, who welcomed me with a smile and told me all about the work that was currently on show. Most of this I had already seen and as I was here to specifically see the 'Biro man's' work, I told her this. She pointed out the three rooms with Gary's work in, which were all downstairs. This was GOOD for me, as I have mobility problems and the only way to the other floors is by using some stairs, which would have been awkward for me.
She handed me an extensive copy of the artist's CV, on which I immediately noticed that although he was born and studied in Braintree, Essex, followed by Portsmouth for his BA in Fine Art, he then went to the University of Southern Illinois in the US, to get both his MA (Master of Arts) and then a MFA (Master of Fine Arts) in Painting and Drawing. After this his CV lists a continuous line of exhibitions and awards that he has had or received. She also gave me an A5 colour leaflet to promote the exhibition.
So, let me walk you through what I saw yesterday.
The first picture you see, is directly in front of you as you enter the building. It's about five feet high by about 4 feet wide, in a thin black frame. This size seems to be average for a lot of his larger work. On closer inspection, a lot of his larger work is made up of smaller pieces of paper joined together. The surface of the larger pieces are also crumpled slightly, which will be explained later on.
The first picture is drawn with a mauvey blue coloured Biro pen and is a close up of the top of a palm tree, with a bird perching in it; with the town at the bottom part of the picture and the sea in the background.
It is a very dark in tone picture, which has very little paper that hasn't been touched by the artist's Biro. It is very arresting and because of it's placement in a small corridor area, one really has to retreat into another room to see it in full and at a good viewing distance. It is a shame about the lighting throughout the exhibition, which in this case, consisted of a standard fluorescent tube, but one could still admire the skill involved in producing this picture with as we must remember, JUST a Biro pen.
Moving in close to this picture, one can see the tight swirly texture that the artist uses throughout the majority of his work, to create the various tones. Crinkles in the paper help to pronounce the initial blue and red finely sketched Biro lines that were done when starting on the picture. Looking up close we can also see familiar doodling lines that we all do when our minds drift. The real difference is that Gary takes these doodles further than the rest of us and with much more skill.
Going into the first room, there is a mixture of similarly produced work, although of varying sizes. This is reflected in the price of his work, averaging £1000 for a larger piece, with an occasional piece being priced at £2000. Again the bigger pieces of work are produced on a scrunched surfaced paper, giving the impression that the artist is not too bothered about keeping everything pristine. This is not reflected in the lines on the pictures though, as there is no messy bits of scribbling out of any kind, this time giving the impression that he works slowly and meticulously.
As well as the standard one colour Biro only pen technique used on the majority of his work, there are a few pieces of 'mixed media', usually gel pen and acrylic, but even in these the colour palette is usually limited to two or three at most and even then in only small areas.
The third and last room, I found to be the one I liked the least. Here there were TWO A4 digital inkjet prints, framed and both for sale. The first, an OUT OF FOCUS print of a close up of what I think is a Bougainvillea plant for £200(!) The second, is no more than a VERY AVERAGE holiday snap, of what I presume to be a holiday home, tucked away on a hillside amongst some shrubbery. It is framed but it appears to be printed on ordinary photocopier paper. There is also banding on the print, due to blocked print-head nozzles. A bargain at £150(!), someone at the gallery obviously thinks.
The last bit was a real shame, for what is an interesting exhibition. Would I buy one? If I had the money and the space, then maybe I might consider the purchase of either one of Gary's pieces or one of the many other people out there doing very similar pictures. For that is where the problem lies I think. Gary is VERY good at what he does BUT that is it, so are a lot of other people. If you like his work and want to support a local artist then go for Gary, otherwise there is a lot more similar work out there.
When I first saw Gary's entry at the Essex Open last year, in 2012, I liked the initial piece because it WAS very well done and it was good to see it again in this exhibition. But this time around, after very little research, I feel a little deflated realising that his work is not so individual after all. Knowing that he has a talent and many qualifications and exhibitions behind him now, I would love to see some of his work done in a different style other than the Biro pen one. Something done in 'Gary's' style shall we say. He's proved that he CAN draw to a good level and I'm sure that there is something further waiting to be seen, so it would be great if the Beecroft would show it to us.Further details about the gallery itself:
Address:
Station Road, Westcliff-on-Sea, SS0 7RA
It's right opposite the Cliffs Pavillion Theatre, so it can't be missed!
Telephone:
Times of opening:Tuesday to Saturday 10.00am - 1.00pm
AND then 2.00pm - 5.00pm
Closed Bank Holidays
Access:
There is a few stairs at the front but there is also a disabled ramp and access door at the side of the building, although there is no lift to the other floors.Final comment:
It is a small, local gallery that offers various changing works through out the year, that is well worth a visit on a regular basis. It's just a shame about the lack of access to the upper floors for people with disabilities.
FULL details about the museum can be seen at this LINK.
