Magic Mushroom (Oil on canvas, 28 31 ins)
Passing a Palazzo (Oil on canvas, 36 x 36 ins)
Train with Prickly Pear (Soller) (Oil on canvas, 24 x 24 ins)
I'm beginning to put together some pictures for a new Figure8 show in Bishop Auckland Town Hall. There won't be any new paintings from me in the show, but I'm trying out some combinations of old and new ones to see what resonances they might draw from one another. I rather like the old Hoppings paintings (the two at the top) with the more recent vaporetto, car and train images.
The Hoppings paintings date from 2004 and show that even then I was intrigued by the idea of "people in containers".
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4 comments:
Harry,
I think they work well together.
Kev
Thanks, Kev. I wish there was likely to be a big audience at Bishop Auckland.
You're right that these work well together. "Madonna of the Toboggan" combines the vibrant color and motion of an amusement park with a Hopperesque sense of isolation. "Magic Mushroom", with its moody prussian blue and prism violet in the background complementing the booth, has another imprisoned watcher. Very painterly handling of paint. "Palazzo" works too. Empty windows and passengers alike, although grouped together, are isolated. Also, I like paintings set on ferries and busses, and paint interiors of both myself, being from Seattle. "Central Hotel with Cars" has an absrtact quality, with those curves and reflections and varied blues with red patches. "Prickly Pear" is the one that got me thinking of Hopper. It's almost a triptych of isolated people, the prickly pear in the foreground a metaphor for tightly-grouped people who are actually disconnected from each other in a public space. You've got a handle on modern life. Excellent work.
Ben -- I'm really sorry to have left your comment unanswered for so long. I can only blame recovery from the hard drive crash. I very much appreciate the time you've taken to make such a thoughtful and appreciative comment on my work.
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