Contemporary Painting in Cornwall
This exhibition showcases the work of artists who use paint to present realities and
perceptions in new and developed ways.
These works do not conform to traditional ideas of painting in Cornwall, which are rooted in
the histories of Newlyn, the modernism of St. Ives, and illusory romanticism.
In the 21st century, what is the role of the artist who uses paint and pigment? What is the
continuing significance of painting in an apparently restless and uncertain world?
Modernism cast it's utopian wisdom worldwide, but has become the haunting ghost of
regularity and formula. In the wake of conceptual art and the postmodernist death and
rebirth of painting, terms such as 'abstract', 'figurative' and 'landscape' have become
irrelevant categories. These works draw from the multiple visual languages of painterly
possibility and show the diversity and engagement that artists have with modern life. They
acknowledge the histories of art and the influences of media, and invoke a subtle
The use of pigment is a millennia old method of communication and play. These artists use
the essential qualities of drawing and mark-making with materials to ascertain that there is
more to be drawn out and unleashed through the hand than has already been shown.
Using observation, interpretation, symbolism or sense the artists show painting as a mode
of questioning and analysis, healing, hope and humour.
The works explore alternative visions and deeply-grounded realities. They illustrate the
ways we connect to place, consciousness, ourselves or each other. The potential
algorithms of image and form within restless complex states, are revealed and defined
through the hands and bodies of the makers.
