Victoria Art Gallery – Karen Wallis: Views and Observations
Karen Wallis: Views & Observations
Victoria Art Gallery, 12 February – 3 April
2011
Bath and North East Somerset Council’s Victoria Art
Gallery will be hosting the first solo exhibition by Bath artist
Karen Wallis from 12 February to 3 April.
Karen Wallis’ exhibition, Views and Observations,
looks at the everyday experience of things observed, which are
often overlooked but have their own beauty. Pieces on display
include recent oil paintings and charcoal drawings, consisting of
landscapes, still life and interiors with people, plus a few of her
latest portraits.
Manager of the Council run Victoria Art Gallery,
Jon Bennington said:
“Karen Wallis’s paintings combine technical
perfection with an ability to jerk us out of our safe zones and see
the world in a new light – the beauty of a discarded pickled onion
on an ashtray, the remnants of a fish supper, or ‘planes sitting on
a runway. She makes us consider anew what we deem worthy of our
attention and what we choose to ignore.”
People eat, drink and talk on mobile phones; dirty
plates or electrical cables suggest abstract paintings; and clouds
loom over suburban garages or pebble beaches. All are
portrayed in a traditional figurative manner influenced by
Rembrandt and Edward Hopper - with the occasional reference to
certain paintings by Hogarth and Manet. The works are all for
sale, with the exception of the portraits - for which commission
enquiries are welcome.
Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Cabinet
Member for Tourism and Leisure, Councillor Terry Gazzard said:
“Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Victoria
Art Gallery is incredibly popular with visitors and residents alike
and it’s fantastic to be able to showcase some local talent with
this new exhibition by Karen Wallis.”
Throughout the exhibition visitors to the gallery
will be encouraged to contribute their own drawings of things they
have seen in everyday life. These will all appear in an
online exhibition on Karen’s web site at http://www.karenwallis.co.uk/.
A special table of materials will be available, including a postbox
for the drawings, which will all be returned to their creators
after being scanned for the exhibition.
Entry to the Victoria Art Gallery is free to all.
More information about the gallery can be found at http://www.victoriagal.org.uk/
.
For images, please contact Sue Lucy by email
sue_lucy@bathnes.gov.uk
.