Vernon Bradley’s Exhibition…..From Kilmorack Gallery….
by Bernie Bell - 09:42 on 19 May 2024
Vernon Bradley’s Exhibition…..
Last Autumn I happened on Vernon Bradley’s Facebook page. Vernon had been painting and producing images that are …..individual, extra-ordinary, compulsive - as in - a compulsion to step/dive into them.
Here’s Vernon’s Facebook page – see for yourself….
https://www.facebook.com/vernon.bradley.397
Strong stuff – stirs you up - makes you sit up and take notice. Rage – caged rage – uncaged rage – often including a blood-red sun-spot….the blood-red Aten which looks to me like a drop of blood on the canvas.
I don’t know if this was Vernon’s intention – but it’s what it presented to me.
Interpretation of and reaction to art is very personal, and the red dot links with blood, life and sun in my mind. Though it has to be said, my mind is a strange place – always has been.
Blood holds so much of life, and the sun produces so much of the basics of life.
In winter, in Orkney, we get a lot of vivid sun-rises and sun-sets – blood red. And Vernon spent last winter in a shed In Westray – painting.
He’s now holding an exhibition of his work in Northlight Gallery, Stromness, from the 17th of May to the 4th of June.
If you go to see the exhibition – be prepared to be shaken. Be prepared for light in dark corners, a werewolf wood….be prepared – it’s strong stuff…..
Werewolf Wood? – there’s a film called ’The Company of Wolves’….
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Company_of_Wolves
It’s described in Wikipedia as being a ‘horror film’. I don’t see it as such. The tale centres around the story of Red Riding Hood, whose Grandma – a sour so-and-so - repeatedly warns Red not to stray from the path. Red disobeys – and meets with a bit of alright who turns out to be a Werewolf.
Is it best to stay on the path and be safe – or stray and LIVE? I‘ve said that Vernon’s images are such that you feel drawn to go into them– the Werewolf Wood is not a safe place, but an interesting one. Vernon’s work isn’t safe – but – is safe always what we’d choose?
He also produces what he refers to as ‘pretty pictures’ – his works being a contrast of deep layers of paint scored by angry lines - and dainty flowers - laid down gently.
Amidst the anger and pain – let there be light…
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From Kilmorack Gallery….
“Next week is the last chance to see Beth Robertson Fiddes' stunning exhibition Water and Light. This ends on Saturday 25th May and a visit is recommended for those who love rockpools and waves, and Robertson Fiddes’ boldly experimental use of paint. We have a 3d walkthrough, a question-and-answer and an introductory video to accompany this exhibition.
We also have new work by illona Morrice. It is impossible to predict what will arrive when illona Morrice appears and this time it is a turtle, an octopus, a wave and a torso. Morrice is an artist who combines an eye that spots wonder with years of practice.
After this, in June, we have exhibitions by Becs Boyd, Mark Edwards, Tansy Lee Moir, Maggie New and others. Please contact the gallery if you would like to know about these first.
BETH ROBERTSON FIDDES
"The conditions were everything I could hope for. Perfect low light. Huge swell and waves crashing almost over my head. The lack of wind made the water almost hover in the air as it dispersed over the rocks, creating arches and curls and a real sense of structure albeit a very temporary one. I always think of these kinds of waves as Cathedral Waves.”
iLLONA MORRICE
illona Morrice spent many years travelling before she settled in Morayshire. Sometimes her inspiration is from the sea and the rocky coast in front of her studio, but these latest works have been inspired by other places - Aboriginal cultures, Etruscan pottery and the beauty of an unfurling fern.
Kilmorack Gallery, by Beauly, Inverness-shire IV4 7AL
+44 (0) 1463 783 230
Always open by appointment. Full opening times online.
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