Moray Art Centre showcases work of six artists
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THE work of six artists in residence will be showcased at the Moray Art Centre (MAC) from August 4-17.
This is the first time that the Findhorn-based charity will present work from its artists in residence.
Artists Keith Barker, Dawn Burgess, Bruce Torquil Campbell, Jonathan Wheeler, Christa Gramatzky and Lynn Barton work across different mediums.
Keith Barker aims to encapsulate the truth of life, as he sees it, through images of nature, by manipulating light and shade to reveal a hidden story.
Inspired by his interest in crafting boats, his work captures the abundance of wood and its many uses through photography, sculpture, and painting.
Keith volunteers at MAC where he teaches illustration and woodworking in the programme of courses.
He said: “I seek to encourage a better world that is growing inside each one of us, and to invigorate the world of art and design as a whole with expressions of the present age.”
Additionally, Barker has written a poem entitled Trees Can Sing – A Shipwright’s Prayer.
Here is an excerpt from it: “You balance the air, for us to breathe. To all you great trees growing tall, green, and strong, thank you for the gifts you give for the boats and the houses of man.”
Painter Dawn Burgess is a Gray’s School of Art graduate and former art teacher. Since 2017, she has dedicated her time to being a full-time painter, exploring the depth of her past through figurative painting and surrealism.
Her practice explores the fine line between memory and imagination, as well as incorporating elements of Greek
mythology into her paintings, telling a story that peers deep into Dawn’s own life.
Bruce Torquil Campbell is a Scottish artist living and working in Findhorn. His art practice is in part inspired by capturing the essence of a moment in light and colour, through the lens of abstract shapes and exciting textures. Sometimes his work starts off from a photograph, which then evolves into a myriad of colour relationships which become reminiscent of landscapes and cityscapes. He works mainly with oil and acrylic creating layers of space and
colour.
As well as being the chairperson and director of the Park Pottery in Pineridge where you can see his ceramics, he is also a trustee and director of MAC.
Jonathan Wheeler is known for his vibrant and dramatic watercolour paintings. Based in Findhorn, he has made a
full-time profession from his art practice by capturing the beauty of the Scottish landscape through vivid and painterly brush strokes.
Oxford-trained physicist Jonathan revived his passion for painting and began his full-time career painting the architectural landscape of the Highlands.
He said: “I came back from Brazil in 2001 and found myself painting in ways that surprised me – the colour was so vibrant, and my painting style became very free and loose almost overnight. I saw this as a sign that I needed to take action – to leave my computer career behind and go for art!”
Jonathan exhibits his work in galleries around the UK and his work travels internationally, illustrating how Scotland has become the heartland of his work.
Wheeler is the author of Scottish Castles, a book consisting of paintings by him of various castles
throughout Scotland, it is currently the best-selling book in Scotland for Scottish castle
lovers.
Christa Gramatzky is a Stroud School of Art graduate. Her paintings are vivid and bright, immersing the viewer in colour, composition, light, and shade.
Christa aims to take the viewer on a journey to find beauty reflected through the abstract nature of her work. The work on display at the exhibition showcases scenes of surreal and otherworldly combinations of forms and colours that everyone will have a different perspective of.
Lynn Barton is a Moray School of Art graduate who specialises in abstract painting. She is inspired by American abstract expressionism and non-objective abstract techniques, which are evident in the pieces she will be showcasing in this exhibition.
She has exhibited mainly locally, such as in Eden Court in Inverness, and Wasps Links Studio in Nairn, but has
exhibited as far as New York for The Art Students League of New York residency on the Vytlacil campus.
