Slippin, sliding…

I imagine every generation adopts the same attitude to the old, ignoring the absurdity of the idea that time slips away faster as you get older. But of course perception matters…and the first month of 2023 got away from me in moments!  

An Empathetic Revolution; Autumn, summer, spring and winter…don’t forget to colour in between the lines, darling; A Permeable Existence, all acrylic, oil and oil pastels on canvas, 2022 Jadé Fadojutimi at The Hepworth

I doubt Jadé Fadojutimi perceives time in the same way, just thirty her career is likely going stellar.  She is currently showing in one of The Hepworth’s superb galleries and it was a joy to see a really full throttle painterly performance for quite a few reasons.  Of course the first being a UK painter working with abstraction, on a grand scale and showing a confidence with colour and handling, with gesture and form, with light and space in a manner that broadly speaking one hasn’t seen since this century.  I’m not saying it isn’t being made (I imagine there are some terrific older generation painters still doing it, and perhaps other younger ones?) but it’s rarely seen in any of our grander institutions.  Her energy and exuberance is joyous – it is only to be hoped that the facility she has doesn’t run unchecked by her initial acuity of vision and the demands of the market (she’s signed up with Gagosian). But for now these are supercharged and top quality.  A must see – though be quick it runs till 19th March.  Sooner than you think especially if you’re (like me) getting on a bit!

I missed the title for this huge work that dominated the end wall!

You might argue that if I wasn’t enjoying a day at one of our best venues (certainly outside London) I’d have more time for making work – true but getting a good fix in front of good painting encourages one to think more about the work you are wrestling with.  And, unlike majorly successful artists, obscurity has the advantages of less pressure on production so I’m taking more time this year.  Two of my ongoing series making oblique reference to time…Weatherland is a series of twelve, one titled after each month, and taking a seasonal quotation drawn from Alexandra Harris’s book of the same name.  So – I am keeping each one to hand until the month in question passes and am putting it here only then.  Besides that there is another group A Week Of A Day that comprises seven, no prizes for guessing their titles.  And an additional series of 24 small (A3) works – The Mystery Of Cornish Matter.  I have another series in my head but I suspect it will be another year before they get properly going.  Oh to be young again!

January (Weatherland), 84 x 114 cm. Mixed media on Paper, 2023