CONCEPTION – Part Two / Canvas Galleries, Belfast
September 27 – October 11, 2012
Opening Reception: Thursday, September 27, 6.30 – 9.00 pm.
Following on from Conception Part One London in June, Darren MacPherson and Patrick Colhoun introduce the second part of a two part exhibition of work from two very different but complimentary artists. Two mediums, MacPherson’s vibrant, acid coloured figurative paintings alongside Colhoun’s dark, brooding, somewhat disturbing contemporary sculpture.
Part one in June was London, MacPherson’s base; part two is Belfast, Colhoun’s hometown.
Part one, described as ‘Art with balls’ by Cool on Demand Culture blog, showcased the work in a gritty industrial setting in South East London. The second venue will be a contemporary white cube gallery in Belfast, a city really starting to find its feet in the genre of contemporary art.
Two artists, two cities, two cultures, two mediums.
Darren MacPherson has a growing reputation as a contemporary figurative artist whose acrylic and spray paint works are bold and full of colour.
His frequent use of high key colours can be jarring, even startling to a first-time viewer. The negative space in the composition used merely to emphasise the foreground; this is the part of his work that he spends most time on, adding layer upon layer of content. Darren’s colours bounce off the canvas and his chaotic, sometimes erratic, strokes make for abstract suggestions of the male and female form.
Inclusion in prestigious events such as FLAGSTOP in Los Angeles, the inaugural Other Art Fair in London and the 2011 National Open Art Exhibition are cementing MacPherson as an artist with a growing reputation.
Patrick Colhoun is a contemporary sculptor living and working in Belfast. His irreverent approach and ever darker subject matter make for work that is anything but traditional ceramics. His use of other materials such as latex, hosiery and piercings add to the mix.
“I strive to be unique, my work will divide opinion. It is strong and masculine, certain pieces animal like. It touches on subjects like sexual deviancy, containment, aggression, with hints of religious symbolism, making distasteful subjects into attractive physical forms.”
Colhoun was the winner of the Sculpture Category in the Signature Art Awards in London in 2011 and is currently exhibiting in Northern Ireland, London and Romania. Most recently Colhoun was involved in the controversial Warning! Gallery in Belfast exhibiting alongside Tracey Emin, Julian Opie and Andre Stitt. Prior to the Olympics Colhoun exhibited in the Outside the White Exhibition in the Bermondsey Project, an exhibition juried by Edward Lucie-Smyth and Tim Marlow of White Cube.
CONTACT
info@canvasgalleries.com
Tel. +44(0) 2890 222 727
Canvas Galleries – Stranmillis
76 Stranmillis Road
Stranmillis Village
Belfast, BT9 5AD
United Kingdom
www.canvasgalleries.com
Above: Patrick Colhoun, Cohorts, 2012, 20H x 15W x 12D cm. each, Black clay, hand painted finish. Collaboration with Jill Black.
