George Shaw
By Victoria Woollett
George Shaw, Scenes from the Passion: Late, 2002
George Shaw George Shaw is a British artist who gained recognition for his paintings of the estate he grew up in the 1970s, in the Tile Hill suburb of Coventry. Shaw is noted for his photo-realistic and naturalistic approach and English suburban subject matter. His favoured medium is Humbrol enamel paints, which give his work its unique appearance. What drew my attention to his work is the way he captures a strong atmosphere in seemingly mundane scenes. The lighting/tone and colours in his pieces help produce a sense of melancholy. His paintings -to me- give off an aura of quiet loneliness. But what attracted me the most was the nostalgic element they possess which resonates with me. As someone who was born in Coventry, and grew up in a village on the border with similar urban architecture and scenery, I couldn’t help but be brought back to my younger days, when I would be out with friends, causing mischief and looking for something to do.
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Visual Analysis of George Shaw’s Work
George Shaw, Scenes from the Passion: Late, 2002
This piece was made using Humbrol Airfix enamel paint in a range of seven colours. Manufactured for the use of hobbyists and model-makers, this paint has a glossy, reflective surface. It is suitable for rendering intricate detail and ‘realistic’ depictions. What I like about this painting is the real sense of desolation and abandonment. The decrepit, decaying row of what looks like garage units, adds a starking contrast with the trees and foliage behind it. It reminds me of how man-made structures require human intervention to prevent them from eroding away, unlike nature, that is capable of renewing itself. In this picture, however, the trees look almost barren and lifeless due to their lack of leaves and colour. Their brown hues signify that it was autumn in this piece, and their bare branches show that it’s nearing winter.
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George Shaw, The Time Machine, 2010
When I look at this piece my eyes gravitate to the phone box first due to its colour. The red stands out due to the complementary greens of the grass, and the dull blue grey of the sky. Like its surroundings, the red phone box appears to have been neglected for a long time. Despite its contrasting colour (in comparison with its surroundings), we tend not to pay much mind to them, or really most of our environment as we go about our busy lives. It reminds me of urban decay can become so familiar to us that it almost becomes invisible. Like a lot of his paintings, there’s a real sense of abandonment. If you look at the corner of the metal fence, underneath you’ll see brickwork that’s crumbling away. The worn, patchy grass and the fading, skinny path in the foreground demonstrate how forgotten and ignored this scene is.
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George Shaw, Ash Wednesday, 8.30am, 2004-2005
My favourite aspect of this painting is the shards of yellow light bleeding through the mundane fence onto a dark sea of road. The silhouetted spindly tree stands tall against the long stretch fence and captures the viewer’s attention. The bright yellow sky contrasts with the shadowy foreground to make a striking scene. The use of complimentary colours (yellow sky, blue hues in the road) help make an eye-catching colour scheme too. The composition also draws the viewer’s attention by employing the rule-of-thirds. There’s also slightly ominous feel to this piece. One thing I admire about his work is how he manages to create a variety of colours and tones from only seven paint colours. Every painting possesses a colour palette that fits well with its subject.
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George Shaw, The Living and The Dead, 2015-2016
George Shaw has not only explored the urban landscape, but has also ventured into the more natural world. In his collection, ‘My Back to Nature’, he alludes to the theme of wood-lands and nature that boarders our man-made world. This collection resonates with Shaw’s own experience of walking in the forest near his home town as a teenager, with the feeling that “something out of the ordinary could happen at any time there, away from the supervision of adults”. ‘My Back to Nature’ is a culmination of his two-year studio residency at the National Gallery and a response to his previous collection since Autumn 2014. National Gallery Director Dr Gabriele Finaldi, says: “George Shaw’s paintings tap into popular British culture and the tradition of the great masters. The result is by turns witty, moving, and irreverent.”
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George Shaw, The School of Love, 2015-2016
In an interview with Time Out London Art, Shaw explains. "The brief was to respond in some way to the collection. I found myself drawn to the paintings of nymph and satyrs, bathing by pools and messing around. They’re about transgression. And I started to think about the woods near where I lived in the ’70s, where people would drink, smoke, lose their virginity. My first experience of the nude in the landscape wasn’t Titian’s Diana – it was finding pornography there." "There’s lots in the collection that’s masquerading as high art, but is really just titillation. The collection’s about the two great themes of life: sex and death. And what I’m doing with these paintings is creating my own mythology, piling the woods with stories. That’s what art is: a way of re-enchanting the world."
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Work Inspired By George Shaw
Power Lines 2017 by Victoria Woollett
Here is a collection of photos I have taken of where I grew up. My aim was to capture the seemingly mundane and missable scenery that to me holds a lot of nostalgia and memories. I have edited my photos to have a colour palette and tone similar to that of Shaw’s work to add an atmospheric touch. While I have fond memories of these places, there is something melancholy about re-visiting them. As a result I have tried to capture a sombre appearance. I also avoided photographing people as I wanted these places to feel lonely to reflect how I felt to be there again after years of being away.
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Victoria Woollett, Bridge, 2017
Victoria Woollett, Cement Works, 2017
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Victoria Woollett, Bus Stop, 2017
Victoria Woollett, Red Phone Box, 2017
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Victoria Woollett, Graffiti, 2017
Victoria Woollett, Phone Box, 2017
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George Shaw Zine By Victoria Woollett Most of the research I have made can be found on my blog: https://vwartistresearch.wordpress. com