Open Exhibition for Liverpool’s Finest

Madalainartz Gallery, Clayton Square
14th - 31st October 2010

Reviewed by Sebastian Gahan

They say that art is everywhere if we only seek it out.

Whoever it is that actually uttered these memorable words, now veiled in the anonymous plurality of “they” is, needless to say, correct. This very quote echoed occurred to me as I entered the Madalainartz Gallery’s latest exhibition entitled simply 'Open Exhibition for Liverpool’s Finest.' There was much variety present in the pieces on offer and it was a joy to bump into familiar faces from the local art scene, make some new acquaintances and above all look at some fine pieces of work, of which there are far too many to mention individually so I will pick the pieces that jumped out at me and made me think about “Liverpool’s Finest.”

Those pieces included Jina Wallwork’s painting inspired by the statue of David, an almost surreal depiction of the face of David with a fish on one side whose gills represent an eye, a wedding ring inside the gills in a neat juxtaposition of the famous saying invoking that there are always more fish in the sea and a generally interesting look about the piece that made me meet it's eyes from across the room and like it instantly. Jina said of her piece ‘When I paint it is intuitive and free flowing. I see visions of objects placed on the canvas. It is a partial view and the paint allows them to fully form. The painting began by studying Michelangelo's David. That object exists as a part of my visual language. This language is constantly present and each image leads to another. The connections between them reveal something new as they merge to form a single image. It is an expression of my thoughts and feelings, yet it is revealed through a personal language, specific to me.”

Another piece that caught my eye is Anton Dolders’ sketch of St Lukes from Renshaw Street that is refreshingly devoid of people, instead giving the architecture and character of the building the chance to shine. I spoke to Anton about the piece and he was “immensely proud” of it, and with good reason to this reviewers mind! Tracy Jones’ piece, Champions of Europe 2005 takes the exhibitions name literally and shows a man kissing a sports trophy with happiness, evidently a champion and one of Liverpool’s Finest. Its two tone colour scheme of red and black adds a dimension of darkness that is at odds with the title yet beautiful at the same time. Another piece that caught my attention is Patrick Maguire’s Slimfalls, in which a series of slim figures are falling into a space in various ways. It’s so simple, yet so much detail is there if you look at it for longer than you would normally a picture in a gallery.

Visually speaking, there is a very traditional vibe to the pieces of ‘Liverpool’s Finest and yet there is so much more than just what you see in the many pictures, photographs etc that grace the walls here. There is personality, wit, shows of creative strength and above all commitment to bringing out the best in Liverpool’s ever growing arts scene. The very fact that this is an Open Exhibition from Liverpool’s Finest is reason enough to head down to the very convenient location of Clayton Square and have look as soon as you possibly can.

Recommended to all!

Printer friendly page

Sorry Comments Closed