H.A.P.P.Y

I went to Harrogate recently to do some shopping and meet a friend. Annoyingly, the car park I usually use has suddenly changed its charging system, so that now you have to pay on arrival rather than on departure, which means estimating how much time you'll need. (I wondered why what is normally a packed multi-storey was virtually empty.) Anyway, I erred on the safe side when paying and had time to spare, which gave me long enough to pop in to Harrogate's civic art gallery, The Mercer Gallery.  

The current exhibition is H.A.P.P.Y by Liz West, created as a counterbalance to the Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D) which troubles her - and many others - in the darker winter months. She 'experiments with colour and light to create environments that inspire joy and curiosity'. She has filled the main gallery space with a vibrant installation of coloured acrylic circles that shimmered in the light from the windows and chandeliers. It was fun, though I felt I'd have liked a winding path through the middle, to better immerse myself in it, rather than tiptoeing around the edges. 

Elsewhere there were various colourful paintings in ink, felt marker pen and paint. Many of these were maquettes (smaller mock-ups of planned larger works). I thought them reminiscent of Bridget Riley's Op-Art work from the mid to late 20th century, though much less precise. West's work is primarily about colour, whereas Riley was exploring the dynamic potentialities of optical phenomena.

As well as paper-based creations, there were smaller experiments with acrylic and acetate panels and sheets, which allow the light to pass through like stained glass. Have a look at her website to see the larger site installations based on these. They're rather wonderful - HERE.

I enjoyed all these pieces. They made me want to get out my paints; I love colour, as you know - so, yes, they left me feeling happy!