Art attack

Leeds Art Gallery was featuring an Open Exhibition with some very contemporary works - paintings, sculptures, installations -  by local artists. Most of them did little to touch me and some seemed downright weird to me! I enjoyed far more the pieces on display from the permanent collection. It's interesting to see what leaps out and 'attacks' you when simply browsing a gallery. 

My absolute favourite was the tranquil scene above, which seemed to glow with a soft light. Oil on canvas, it was painted in the 1920s by C.R.W Nevinson, entitled 'Silver Estuary' - and silver it seemed, almost shimmery in its effect. I decided it was a photographer's painting, very much the kind of scene I'd try to capture with my camera.  (Nevinson is better known as a war artist.) 

 

The gallery has a selection of paintings by  John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-1893), a Leeds-born Victorian artist, influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites. His moody, detailed landscapes capture skilful lighting effects, as in 'Reflections on the Aire - on strike' (above), which the gallery managed to acquire for its collection only last year. In contrast, some of his slightly earlier work featured fashionable young women like his wife Fanny, pictured below in their garden at Knostrup Hall.  

This curious sculpture was called: 'Apollo Admiring Two Vases in Black' by Edward Allington (1951 -2017), made of painted wood, plastic and cast resin. I thought it was quirky but engaging. Allington was part of the 1980s New British Sculpture movement, which included famous names like Anish Kapoor, Rachel Whiteread and Anthony Gormley. He often referenced the classical art of Greece and Rome in his work. 

Finally, this caught my eye. It's a maquette (a small model) by Anthony Gormley, for a sculpture called 'Brick Man' that was proposed for a site near Leeds rail station. It was to be 120 feet tall and would have been the largest sculptural monument in the UK at that time (1986), pre-dating Gormley's well known and massive 'Angel of the North' (1998) in Gateshead. It was planned that visitors could ascend a staircase inside and look out over the city through the figure's ears. There was local opposition to it and it was denied planning permission, so that it was never built. I imagine there are those now kicking themselves for having missed the opportunity, given how widely known and well-regarded Anthony Gormley's work has become.