John O'Carroll Book Presentations

By thepicklebot -

New Book by Contemporary British Artist John O’Carroll.
Title: ‘John O’Carroll Art Works 1998 - 2008’

‘John O’Carroll has parallel careers as an archaeological illustrator with the Dakhleh Oasis Project, Western Desert, Egypt (an archaeological and environmental study) and in the Valley of the Kings, Luxor, as a contemporary artist working in the desert and by the Cornish coast. This book brings together a body of work united by an interest in time and place in landscape and the elements that shape it. It reveals a preoccupation with processes of change and interchange, illuminating a correlation between micro and macro systems. Although ostensibly impressionistic, the works are often rich in metaphoric potential. Through their treatment of the abstract and transient, they pursue what is essential and universal.

A key constituent of this is the sourcing of natural pigments, resins and waxes for use in the work. Followed by their meticulous, almost alchemical, preparation and subsequent application through ancient processes, such as Encaustic and Graffito. This labour and precision, paradoxically, lays the foundation for highly poetic, ethereal impressions. What emerges, however is a technical and conceptual sympathy, a dialogue between making and meaning. The employment of natural pigments and processes links the works physically, as well as philosophically, to their subject. So the work is not just about the landscape, but part of it. Not just representing light, but absorbing it, changing it. And rather than simply describing processes of change - wind, erosion, abrasion - within the subject, employing those processes to describe the subject.

The chronological structure of the book, ordered according to key exhibitions, offers a history of a fascinating practice that engages with landscape on a poetic, metaphysical and even anthropological level.

A notable and revealing inclusion is a Sufi poem (by Rumi, 13th century), that allegorically contrasts a richly decorated Chinese room, brimming with symbols depicting the full gamut of human experience, with a Greek room that achieves the same thing by polishing everything white! It is the latter approach that is celebrated in this work, rejecting representation in favour of something effortlessly more comprehensive, adaptable and democratic.’

Joseph Bouzaglo
Art Historian

Book Presentations
Saturday December 6th 2 - 4pm Book signing & reception at Padstow Contemporary Gallery, 3a Parnell Court, Padstow, during Padstow Christmas Festival, O’Carroll’s work will be on exhibition here through to January 15th 2009.

Tuesday 11th December 7pm at art@dl13 Galerie Roger Katwijk, Amsterdam.

Tuesday December 16th 6 - 8pm Book Launch & signing at Royal Cornwall Museum, River Street, Truro - with introductory talk by Rosa Fry, a renowned Egyptologist and John O’Carroll. O’Carroll’s work will be on exhibition in the foyer, and the new River Street Cafe, in the museum.

Comments

  1. Anonymous18 December 2008 at 09:11

    Do you know if John will be exhibiting anywhere in 2009 please?

    ReplyDelete
  2. thepicklebot18 December 2008 at 10:12

    Yes, he does have some planned, there is a solo stand at Art Amsterdam 2009 taking place at the International Art Centre the RAI, from May 13th to 17th 2009. Represented by Galerie Roger Katwijk, Amsterdam. Also he will have work permanently on at the Padstow Contemporary Art Gallery.

    If he has any further exhibitions on, I will add them to the blog. Did you see his new book? Here is a preview:

    www.designincornwall.blogspot.com/2008/12/john-ocarrolls-book.html

    It will be available to buy online when his new website goes live.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rick Stein's Big Fish Supper

By thepicklebot -
Image
On Friday 10th July Stein’s Fish & Chip shop in Padstow will be holding their Big Fish Supper in aid of the Fishermen’s Mission and have pledged to donate 3% of its total income on the day to the charity. This is an annual event at Stein’s and all monies donated will help the Mission provide emergency welfare support to fishermen and their families 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. On average 25 UK vessels are lost each year around the coast often resulting in tragic consequences. The Mission has for over 130 year been a lifeline to the fishing communities around the UK. "Working as a fisherman is a dangerous and lonely job that very few people comprehend. The Fishermen's Mission makes sure it knows the hardship fishermen and their families face and therefore exactly how to help them," - Rick Stein, Mission Vice-Patron and restaurateur.
Read more

Mark Preston at the Lighthouse Gallery

By -
Image
Painter Mark Preston has been drawn to the rugged, dramatic coastline between St Ives and Lands End since he was a fine art student in the 1990s. For the past year, Mark’s work has focused on capturing the beauty of the land and sea of West Cornwall throughout the four seasons. This exhibition of forty works, showing from the 6th to 21st September 2013, explores the Duchy in all its glory; sun, rain, storms, spring flowers, winter seas, enticing beaches and wild landscapes. Although based in Derbyshire, Preston is a devoted painter of the Cornish land, coast and sea, fascinated by the way in which the changing seasons affect these spectacular places. Inspired to become a landscape painter through many painting trips to the Peak District, Cornwall and Scotland with his artist father, Rex Preston, Mark paints outdoors using acrylics, with relatively little time spent in the studio. Direct contact with the landscape and natural elements are essential for his painting. Working wi
Read more

Marazion

By -
Image
We are of slowly emerging out of winter, March is here, but for this month's blog post I wanted to revisit a special weekend last November at Marazion. It has to be one of the most magical places in Cornwall, an adorable village with a famous view that is ever changing as well as being ancient and immovable. A dear friend took me off to the lovely Godolphin Hotel for a weekend treat, and it really was perfect. The beauty of the colder months in Cornwall is the quietness, and it was just that, still, poignant and memorable. As you arrive in this little village, all attention centres on the island castle across the bay, and rightly so. The hotel itself is little but stylish, has a laid back charm and a playful feel. The kindest of people, they upgraded our room to one with a balcony and that fabulous view. The restaurant area was the perfect place to have a pre dinner cocktail and watch the sun sink into the horizon. I chatted with a chilled dad, who had snuck away while his kids we
Read more