Painters of West Cornwall, a Group Exhibition in London

Online, October 28, 2009 (Newswire.com) - Exhibition Running: 16th-21st November 2009
Private View 18th November 2009, 6pm-8.30pm

Painters of West Cornwall, Group Exhibition.
This exhibition is the inaugural show for the ELEVEN AND A HALF art dealership and features recent work by artists closely associated with West Cornwall: John Emanuel, Paul Lewin, John Piper, Michael Praed, Ken Symonds, Ges Wilson and Vincent Wilson. This group of painters includes some of Cornwall's finest artists, whose work has been exhibited and collected throughout the UK and abroad.

Their work encompasses a broad spectrum of painting styles, from abstract figures and nudes, to both semi-abstract and representational landscapes. All are heavily influenced by the moors, mines, cliffs and coves that characterise Penwith, as well as by the legacy left by the Newlyn and St Ives art communities of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

John Emanuel
John Emanuel was born in Bury, Lancashire in 1930 and moved to Cornwall in 1964. His work has a strong, consistent style - a recurring theme is the figure, often set in a landscape. The contours of the figure combine with those of the land. Blocks of a single colour lead to the simplified but stylised landscapes that typify John's paintings. John began painting in the early 1960s and had his first solo exhibition in 1975. He was commissioned by Tate St Ives to make an etching for the gallery opening in 1993. John is a member of the Penwith Society of Artists and a former Chairman of the Newlyn Society of Artists.

Paul Lewin
Paul Lewin was born in Manchester in 1967. He has become renowned for his representational views of Cornish headlands, down steep granite rock-faces to the crashing waves below. His ability to capture the transient effect of light on water is much admired and his paintings accurately convey the extreme weather conditions of the Atlantic coast. Paul has had solo shows across the country and as far afield as Boston, USA.

John Piper
John Piper was born in Salisbury in 1946 and moved to Cornwall while still at school. Strongly influenced by the countryside of West Cornwall, John is well known for his paintings of the moors, carns, headlands and cliffs that characterise this landscape. He applies paint in several layers, often with deeply etched lines allowing contrasting colours to show through. Looming skies or large expanses of moorland create a dramatic, often stark effect. His paintings have been shown across Europe and North America and are widely collected. John is a member of the Penwith Society of Artists and a former Chairman of the Newlyn Society of Artists.

Michael Praed
Michael Praed was born in Cornwall in 1941 and studied art locally, at the Penzance and Falmouth Schools of Art. His paintings of the Cornish coastline, ports and fishing boats have a distinctive personal style and are instantly recognisable. The strong, near vertical lines often that often pervade the work evoke those that are omnipresent in the granite cliffs and harbours of Penwith. Michael has held solo shows in London and across continental Europe. He is a member of the Penwith Society of Artists and a former Chairman of the Newlyn Society of Artists.

Ken Symonds
Ken Symonds studied art in London in the 1950s and travelled widely, undertaking drawing commissions in Africa before moving to Cornwall in 1960. Coastal scenes, lighthouses, cliffs, moors, hamlets and tin mines often feature in Ken's work but it is the light and tonality that define his style. In addition to his landscapes, Ken is also a well known painter of nudes. Ken has painted and exhibited across the UK, Europe, America, Africa and Asia. He is a member of the Penwith Society of Artists, a former Chairman of the Newlyn Society of Artists and was invited to become a member of the Pastel Society in 1990.

Ges Wilson
Ges Wilson studied at Loughborough and Exeter Colleges of Art before moving to Cornwall in the mid-1980s to teach painting at a Penzance school. Ges paints semi-abstract landscapes, inspired by the coastal scenes of Penwith. However, it is for her figurative works that she is perhaps best known. These arise from life drawings, simplified so as to describe an experience or memory rather than a detailed observation of the subject matter. Ges has exhibited widely in the West Country and further afield. She has held 'Artist in Residence' positions in studios in the UK and France. Ges is a member of the St Ives Society of Artists and a Professional Freelance Artist for Tate St Ives.

Vincent Wilson
Vincent Wilson was born in Mold, north Wales, and studied painting and printmaking at Chester and Liverpool Schools of Art. His work was first exhibited in 1954. Vincent's work captures the atmosphere and openness of the Cornish landscape, particularly the moorland. His paintings consist of layers of torn fragments of paper, arranged and re-arranged until the composition is complete. Vincent has exhibited his work widely, including at the Royal Academy. He is a member of the Penwith Society of Artists, the Royal Cambrian Academy and was elected to the Devon Guild of Craftsmen in 1995.

ELEVEN AND A HALF is a recently established art dealership based in London and specialising in artists from West Cornwall:
The Exhibition will be held at: The Colomb Art Gallery, 52a George Street, Marylebone, London. W1U 7EA. 020 7487 5118. www.colombart.co.uk

Baker Street or Bond Street Underground Stations
Free Entry

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