The idea that there is nothing more deceptive than certainty, is not new. These three artists prove the point using their considerable skills to make accomplished works of art that vacillate between initial appearance and more covert qualities that become evident upon further inquiry.
Meet The Artists | Saturday 18 May | 2-4pm
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Sculptor, James Evans has been navigating variants in his ceramic forms for several decades now. He uses surface textures, glazes, and firing techniques like Saggar to bring incident to folds and hollows in his sculpture. At first glance they could be interpreted as flint, tendon, bone, cast iron, or soft tissue. And yet they are none of these materials. The eye sometimes moves quickly, unhindered by rational thought. He has developed transfers applied with such delicacy to the surface of a trunk or torso shape that they read as tattooed skin or a bruised limb. These cadaverous remnants appear frozen in time.
Painter Susan Gunn works within a modernist tradition of the monochrome established by Kazimir Malevich early in the twentieth century turned into a surprisingly rich range of outcomes in art, graphic design, and architecture. The union between the physical canvas and its single colour requires a rigour from the artist, that goes beyond pursuing an austere aesthetic or orthodoxy for the sake of it. Using a variety of techniques that include gesso, and mineral pigments that lay down their surfaces laced with delicate hairline breaks across an otherwise immaculate plain, their apparent fragility creates an emotional resonance for the viewer. The tension Susan creates between the precise control of her painted surfaces with these moments of vulnerability, set them apart. Her contribution to the lineage of monochromatic painting is assured.
Photographer Tassie Russell's works in Double Take are striking large black and white interiors and accompanying smaller colour prints and are slightly disconcerting. There is something amiss in how they read. The architectural space that fills each frame, does not quite make sense. Unobservant viewers could easily dismiss these beautifully composed images depicting the trappings of an English country house for exactly what they seem. Each room is a time capsule of what was ‘of the moment’ in English interiors during the late eighteenth century, reproduced in large black and white prints and smaller, colour prints. The undertow of doubt undermines their veracity only on closer inspection to reveal exactly where these images were taken.
You can see more about each artist and view their works for sale at our exhibition "Double Take" by visiting their pages on our website.You can also visit in person at The Crypt Gallery Norwich.
Open until Friday 24 May 2024
The Crypt Gallery, Cathedral Close, Norwich NR1 4DD
Daily 11am to 5pm (closed Sundays)
“While set on their own distinctive paths, their work encourages us to take a second look, overcome our assumptions, and explore the familiar as locations for ambiguity"
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About the author
Paul Vater
PAUL VATER
Paul conducts studio visits to maintain strong relationships with artists, designers and craftspeople who show their work with us. He manages the main C&C website and has developed the online shop where selected works are presented for sale.
Paul established his design company, Sugarfree, in 1990 and quickly gained a reputation for delivering fresh, effective marketing campaigns and brand identities for clients including Save the Children Fund, United Nations Association and UNHCR. Over the years those added to the roster include IPC Magazines, Arts Council England, The Roundhouse, Barbican Centre, Arts Marketing Association, Look Ahead Housing and Care, Paddington Waterside, BBC Worldwide, Commonwealth Foundation, Prestel, City of London Corporation, Baker Street Quarter, Victoria BID and the University of East Anglia.