Front Cover: Snowfall in Babylon, 2014, 143 X 112 cm Oil on canvas
Derek Balmer
Solo Exhibition September 2014
CATTO GALLERY 100 Heath Street • Hampstead • London NW3 1DP Tel: +44 (0)20 7435 6660 • www.cattogallery.co.uk • art@cattogallery.co.uk Opening times: 10am - 6pm Mon - Sat • 12.30pm - 6pm Sunday • and by appointment 3
DEREK BALMER The studio life of the dedicated painter is akin to that of the religious contemplative. Both spend hours in the pursuance of an objective that more often than not is beyond their understanding. Both the religious contemplative and the painter are tough, single minded and fully committed.They spend much time alone, far from the social exchanges that occupy most people’s lives. The studio and the cell are private places where only the invited enter. In his cell the religious contemplative seeks God; in his studio the painter is god. The only company a painter has is an inner voice that constantly whispers in his ear. It is not a complicit voice; it does not seek friendship or approval. Instead it questions every mark, shape and colour that the painter chooses. The inner voice creates conflict. This is a good thing. Out of conflict comes resolve. Each new painting is a fresh start; an adventure; a journey into the unknown. A graphologist can identify style but should allow for shock and surprise. Once a painter anticipates the outcome of his work something dies. Repetition can lead to recognition and acclaim but also says `brand' or `formula'. This is best avoided. Knowledge of the history of art is valuable to the painter but more important is instinct and intuition and imagination. Yin and Yang are interesting for a painter, suggesting excess degrees of the masculine or feminine in their work. For example, I believe Picasso was essentially a masculine painter whilst Bonnard was mainly feminine. I admire Picasso believing him to be a genius. But I prefer Bonnard. With Bonnard there is harmony. A painting is never finished. You just have to learn to let go. I prefer the shape of an oak leaf to that of an oak tree. I am intrigued by `Spirit of Place'. I always like to see a signpost that points `To the South'. My paintings are about memory; memory of woods and forests, of harvests and snowfall, of ancient places visited and chance encounters. Serendipity plays a part. As does that accidental mark made by a wayward brush or palette knife that can turn a preconceived intention into a new direction. A painting was once a blank empty surface, Leonardo's `Last Supper' or Botticelli's `Birth of Venus' or Picasso's `Guernica.' were once all vacant spaces. I like to dwell on that. Derek Balmer PPRWA July 2014
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SEPTEMBER SONG, 2013 122 X 92 cm Oil on Canvas
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STREET MAP ( FEZ ), 2013 76 X 102 cm Oil on Canvas
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LE MARCHE, 2013 76 X 102 cm Oil on Canvas
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BIRCHWOOD SUMMER, 2012 92 X 71 cm Oil on Canvas
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SNOWFALL, EASTER, 2013 92 X 71 cm Oil on Canvas
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AUTUMN APPROACHES, 2013 143 X 112 cm Oil on Canvas
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WATER MEADOW, 2012 26 X 30 cm Oil on Canvas
SUMMER SNOWFALL, 2013 26 X 30 cm Oil on Canvas
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HIGH SUMMER, 2012 26 X 30 cm Oil on Canvas
WALL FRAGMENT, TUSCANIA, 2013 41 X 51 cm Oil on Canvas 13
DESERT GARDEN, 2013 76 X 102 cm Oil on Canvas
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CHRISTMAS MORNING, 2013 76 X 102 cm Oil on Canvas
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BIRCHWOOD SUMMER (2), 2013 76 X 61 cm Oil on Canvas
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SUMMER'S LEASE, 2013 76 X 61 cm Oil on Canvas
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FOREST RED, OCTOBER, 2013 142 X 112 cm Oil on Canvas
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OLD TETUAN, 2013 61 X 76 cm Oil on Canvas
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STREET MAP, TETUAN, 2013 71 X 92 cm Oil on Canvas
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FLOWERS FOR EASTER, 2013 61 X 51 cm Oil on Canvas
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LAVENDER VALLEY, 2009 122 X 92 cm Oil on Canvas
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BIRCHWOOD SNOWFALL, 2013 122 X 92 cm Oil on Canvas
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SNOW MAP, 2013 122 X 92 cm Oil on Canvas
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GUALDALQUIVER, 2011 92 X 122 cm Oil on Canvas
FLOWERS FOR CHRISTMAS, 2013 51 X 61 cm Oil on Canvas 26
CATALAN SUMMER, 2013 122 X 92 cm Oil on Canvas
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AUTUMN, 2013 122 X 92 cm Oil on Canvas
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HILL TOWN, SPAIN, 2011-12 41 X 51 cm Oil on Canvas
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TETUAN, 2012 76 X 102 cm Oil on Canvas
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FRAGMENT, POMPEII, 2014 61 X 51 cm Oil on Canvas
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WALL FRAGMENT POMPEII, 2013 92 X 71 cm Oil on Canvas
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BEYOND CARMONA, 2012-13 76 X 102 cm Oil on Canvas
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DESERT ORCHID V, 2014 71 X 92 cm Oil on Canvas
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RED OCTOBER, 2013 122 X 92 cm Oil on Canvas
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HARVEST EDGE, 2012-13 102 X 76 cm Oil on Canvas
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FIREWALL, 2013 142 X 112 cm Oil on Canvas
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DEREK BALMER CV PRINCIPAL EXHIBITIONS • COLLECTIONS • FURTHER RESOURCES SOLO EXHIBITIONS
GROUP EXHIBITIONS CONTINUED
1960 Fimbarrus Gallery, Bath 1968-70 Artists of Fame and Promise, Leicester Galleries, London 1968 Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol 1982 Arnolfini Open – 12 Artists 1976 Bristol Museum and Art Gallery 1986 Beaux Arts, Bath 1980 Royal West of England Academy (Sharples Gallery) 1986-87 New Art Centre, London 1992-94 Anthony Hepworth Fine Art, Bath 1993 Courtauld Institute of Art, London; Louise Hallet Gallery, London 1993-97-2004 Gisela van Beers Gallery, London 1995 Glyndebourne Gallery 1994-2001 Anthony Hepworth Fine Art, London 2003 Royal West of England Academy, New Gallery 1995 Montpelier Sandelson, London 2004 Six Chapel Row, Bath 1996-98-2000 Smelik and Stokking Gallery, The Hague, Holland 2004 ‘Western Approaches’ Campden Gallery, Chipping Campden 2002 Smelik and Stokking Gallery, Amsterdam, Holland 2005-10 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2005 Six Chapel Row, Bath with Anthony Hepworth Fine Art 2006 Cube Gallery, Bristol 2005 Campden Gallery, Chipping Campden 2006 ‘Discerning Eye’ Mall Galleries, London. Invited Artist (Nicholas Usherwood) 2007 ‘Presidents Eye’ major retrospective, Royal West of England Academy 2010 Browse and Darby, London, Critic’s choice (Andrew Lambirth, The Spectator) 2008 Campden Gallery, Chipping Campden 2010 Browse and Darby, London, Summer Show 2010 Catto Gallery, London 2011 Campden Gallery, Chipping Campden
2014 Hilton Fine Art, Bath Campden Gallery, Chipping Campden Annually since 1956 Royal West of England Academy, Bristol
2012 Catto Gallery, London 2014 Catto Gallery London
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE COLLECTIONS Derek Balmer is represented in collections in the UK, Canada, USA, Holland, Germany, France and Switzerland.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS 1958 Fimbarrus Gallery, Bath Derek Balmer, Geoff Keeling, Brian Mace, Neil Murison and Ernest Pascoe
FURTHER RESOURCES
1958-63 Numerous exhibitions throughout the UK including Woodstock Gallery, London; Bear Lane Gallery, Oxford; Laing Gallery, Newcastle; The Victoria Art Gallery, Bath; The City Gallery, Bristol and the London Group
University of the West of England http://info.uwe.ac.uk/news/uwenews/news. aspx?id=165
1963-64 Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol open national competition finalist
Royal West of England Academy www.rwa.org.uk/rwa-artists/academicianslistings/ b/blamer-derek/
1965 Prix d’Natalie, Provence. Winner 1966 Arnolfini Gallery Bristol, with Geoff Keeling
Dictionary of Artists in Britain since 1945
Who's Who in Art Who's Who
Back Cover: Mykonos, 2012-2013, 92 X 122 cm Oil on canvas
CATTO GALLERY 100 Heath Street • Hampstead • London NW3 1DP Tel: +44 (0)20 7435 6660 • www.cattogallery.co.uk • art@cattogallery.co.uk Opening times: 10am - 6pm Mon - Sat • 12.30pm - 6pm Sunday • and by appointment
EXHIBITION DATES: 11-30 September 2014