Art Focus Wonders Untold

ART FOCUS

WONDERS UNTOLD’ is another of Yew Tree Gallery’s exhibitions to focus on the world’s diminishing wildlife – albeit in works of beauty and even playfulness. In its position on the north-west coast of Penwith, the gallery is surrounded by gardens, fields, and moors - with the sea just a short walk away - an apt setting for reflecting on nature.

An artist whose exhibitions are always eagerly awaited is Mark Hearld. Mark’s Master’s Degree in Wildlife Illustration at the Royal College of Art brought him in touch with the wonders of London’s museums, where he fell under the spell of those early 20th Century artist and designers John Piper, Eric Ravilious and Edward Bawden to name a few, who all worked from nature and the landscape and stimulated his love of pattern. Since leaving college, Mark has created images in many ways, constantly experimenting. Recently he was commissioned to decorate platters and plates at the Leach Pottery, a new experience for him and one he greatly enjoyed. However, the medium for which he is most recognised is collage. The fluid brushstrokes of his paintings are echoed with equal dexterity in his use of torn or cut paper. In ‘WONDERS UNTOLD’, Mark’s fertile imagination brings glimpses of wild creatures he sees in the Cornish landscape into colourful collages through his deft snipping of painted paper and card.

Accompanying Mark’s collages in the gallery’s larger space is the mixed media work of Alex Malcolmson. Brought up on the Shetland Isles, the sea, and its creatures as well as maritime history are part of his lifeblood. He honed his artistic skills at Edinburgh College of Art and has had exhibitions at several Edinburgh art galleries over the years. Wandering the estuaries where shorebirds abound is one of his favourite pastimes. His empathetic carvings and paintings of these birds convey their true essence. His ‘boxworks’ display a different strand of his art and are often a combination of drawing, maps and found objects.

Another artist from the North whose work has a humorous twist is Terry Shone. Now in his maturity, he has developed a unique style after a lifelong interest in traditional slip-wares and in the lively images found in 19th Century Staffordshire ceramic figurines and flatbacks. Initially trained in ceramics and sculpture at Leeds College of Art and Goldsmith’s, London, he was awarded a Rockefeller research fellowship to the Metropolitan Museum in New York, further expanding his knowledge and interest. Wild and domestic birds and animals in a contemporary interpretation are conceived through thrown, slab-built and modelled forms, decorated with coloured slips and glazes, often reworked over several firings with enamels and lustres. These historic techniques, used in new ways, lead to the freshness and immediacy of Terry’s work.

Other delights (woven rugs, jewellery, ceramics, garden sculpture) are on display in this joyful exhibition, which runs from 7th September until 30th October.

As with all Yew Tree exhibitions, a percentage of sales will be given to Charity. ‘WONDERS UNTOLD’ is supporting ‘Penwith Welcomes Refugees’ – an admirable initiative by four local young women who, under the auspices of the government’s Community Sponsorship scheme, are raising funds to support a refugee family here in Penwith.

Gilly Wyatt Smith, who curates the show, is hoping to be open to the public (bearing Covid still in mind!) from Tuesdays to Saturdays. l The exhibition will also be visible at www.yewtreegallery.com.

The gallery is situated on the B3306 coast road at Keigwin, near Morvah, west Cornwall TR19 7TS. 01736 786425