VANESSA GARDINER Linear Edge
11 - 28 April 2017
The paintings in this exhibition are the outcome of my experiences from three distinct coastal landscapes, each shaped and weathered in common by the Atlantic Ocean. Being variously on the westward shores of Scotland, Ireland and England, all are strongly characterised by their individual and compelling features of grand coastal scenery. The commanding height of Neist Point lies at the most westerly edge of the Isle of Skye, part of a wild terrain facing resolutely out towards the furthest Hebridean islands. The wide path, intriguingly crossing over and around the nearer portion of the headland, describes the contours and seemingly elevates the great flank of land before re-emerging at the lighthouse beyond. Drawn as I have been to this sheer cliff formation that sweeps up dramatically out of the sea, it represents a newly found landscape for me. Relatively familiar, from several residencies across a number of years, the north Mayo coast displays an expansive and scoured landscape, the drama lying rather in its length than its height - a panoramic coastline. It is defined by areas of remote peat-bog that adjoin the more structured triangular shapes created by fields interlocking with one another above the headlands. Here the geological striations run in counterpoint to the lyrical lines of white foam that swell along their base, marking the edge at which the ocean finally makes landfall. In Cornwall, towards the Penwith peninsular, Godrevy Point forms the easterly arm of St Ives Bay and from one side looks across to the distant town of that name. I went there for the first time last year, to discover for myself this darkly slated promontory, ending with a small island bearing a lighthouse. With its deep turquoise inlets and precipitous cliffs, there are certain echoes of the architectural formations that I know so well up the coast at Boscastle, yet excitingly it also offers new configurations of shape and structure. By means of drawing directly from my chosen landscapes, I have been able to elucidate new elements to use in my paintings, paring down the compositions in order to capture the essence of each of these singular coastal places.
Vanessa Gardiner 2017
Banded Coast 1 acrylic on plywood - 30 x 30cm
Banded Coast 2 acrylic on plywood - 30 x 30cm
Banded Coast 3 acrylic on board - 46 x 45cm
Cliff Boundary 1 acrylic on board - 42 x 60cm
Cliff Boundary 2 acrylic on board - 61 x 85cm
Cliff Boundary 3 acrylic on plywood - 20 x 24cm
Cliff Shadow 1 acrylic on plywood - 31 x 30cm
Cliff Shadow 2 acrylic on plywood - 30 x 30cm
Cliff Shadow 3 acrylic on plywood - 30 x 30cm
Cliff Shadow 4 acrylic on plywood - 31 x 30cm
Downpatrick Head acrylic on plywood - 12 x 33cm
Field Edge 26 acrylic on plywood - 62 x 153cm
Godrevy Point 2 acrylic on board - 54 x 118cm
Godrevy Point 3 acrylic on board - 107 x 122cm
Godrevy Point 4 acrylic on board - 62 x 62cm
Godrevy Point 5 acrylic on plywood - 28 x 28cm
Godrevy Point 6 acrylic on board - 37 x 59cm
Godrevy Point 7 acrylic on board - 40 x 61cm
Godrevy Point 10 acrylic on board - 58 x 58cm
Godrevy Point 8 acrylic on board - 9 x 27cm
Godrevy Point 9 acrylic on plywood - 58 x 28cm
Harbour Coast 33 acrylic on plywood - 90 x 122cm
Harbour Entrance 3 acrylic on board - 61 x 61cm
Harbour Entrance 7 acrylic on board - 107 x 122cm
Long Coast 1 diptych acrylic on plywood - 39 x 122cm
Long Coast 2 acrylic on board - 25 x 63cm
Sea Cliff 1 acrylic on board - 15 x 42cm
Sea Cliff 2 acrylic on board - 15 x 42cm
Sea Cliff 3 acrylic on plywood - 48 x 83cm
Sea Cliff 4 acrylic on plywood - 61 x 152cm
Trevalga acrylic on board - 61 x 61cm
Wave Line 2 acrylic on board - 58 x 58cm
Wave Line 3 acrylic on board - 107 x 122cm
Wave Line 4 acrylic on board - 28 x 36cm
Wave Line 5 acrylic on board - 21 x 30cm
Wave Line 6 acrylic on plywood - 17 x 26cm
Wave Line 7 acrylic on board - 26 x 28cm
Wave Line triptych acrylic on board - 30 x 63cm
Winged Coast 1 acrylic on board - 38 x 120cm
Winged Coast 2 acrylic on board - 21 x 56cm
Winged Coast 3 acrylic on plywood - 12 x 41cm
Winged Coast 4 acrylic on plywood - 9 x 43cm
Winged Coast 5 acrylic on plywood - 30 x 39cm
Winged Coast 6 acrylic on board - 13 x 33cm
Winged Coast 7 acrylic on plywood - 26 x 61cm
Boscastle Harbour drawing pencil on paper - 14 x 28cm
Downpatrick Head, Co Mayo acrylic on paper - 15 x 20cm
Islands 2 pencil on paper - 13 x 15cm
Islands 3 pencil on paper - 13 x 29cm
Neist Point, Skye 1 watercolour & pencil on paper - 8 x 24cm
Neist Point, Skye 2 watercolour & pencil on paper - 8 x 24cm
Neist Point, Skye 3 watercolour & pencil on paper - 19 x 57cm
Neist Point, Skye 4 watercolour & pencil on paper - 19 x 57cm
Neist Point, Skye drawing 1 pencil on paper - 15 x 41cm
Neist Point, Skye drawing 2 pencil on paper - 8 x 24cm
Neist Point, Skye drawing 3 pencil on paper - 8 x 24cm
Neist Point, Skye drawing 4 pencil on paper - 21 x 30cm
Wave Line study acrylic on paper - 21 x 25cm