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Latest items? Unedited? Fringe Report Uncut
Exhibition: Bristol Affordable Art Fair - Suzanne Partridge
Verdict: Intoxicating warmth
Bristol - May 03
Affordable Art Fair. 9-11 May 03. The Old Passenger Shed. Temple Meads St Bristol. £5 entry.
Samantha Darling visited art exhibitions in Bristol, including the Affordable Art Fair - where she met Suzanne Partridge, whose work had caught her eye:
Suzanne Partridge is very down-to-earth and realistic about the abstract expressionism of her paintings. ‘I want people to have their own interpretation. If someone sees ice or flowers, what does it achieve to point out that I see a bird carcass, or that I remember the foot and mouth crisis being in full swing?’ Underneath her relaxed exterior there's a cheeky wit and wicked sense of humour. Much like her paintings, with titles like Pheasant Plucker and Blue Mound. 'But Blue Mound was funnier when it was called 'My Big Blue Bush'.
She draws inspiration from her surroundings, such as 'the entertaining mix of colour my daughter wears.' In her work, the reality she observes becomes 'large areas of fantastic colour, which every now and then I can prevent from going totally brown.'
Untitled Red. An intoxicatingly warm piece. Predominantly red, it evokes the subtlety of an evening sky, demanding uninterrupted attention. Partridge uses only black or white frames to contrast with the work. Here the black frame stops the eye from being gradually drawn to the outer edge, and enhances the depth and weight of the intense colour.
Still Life II is a large, square, abstract expressionist oil painting on MDF. It's composed with icy turquoises, minty greens and summer sky blues. It possesses a chaotic tranquillity, the shattered-ice effect reminiscent of staring into a marble. The oil paint is applied rather than painted, creating a luxurious sense of depth, the almost ‘ready to melt’ texture of the painting inviting touch.
The Affordable Art Fair (Untitled Red above), at in the Old Passenger Shed at Bristol Temple Meads Station brings together the work of 50 different galleries from the UK and abroad. Work on display includes prints, paintings and sculpture.
Suzanne Partidge has forthcoming exhibitions at the Beaux Arts, Bath, Summer 03; Strode Theatre, Somerset, Jan-Feb 04. Her work is displayed at Innocent Fine Art, 7a Boyces Avenue, Clifton, Bristol (Still Life II above); The Biscuit Factory, Newcastle; Albemarle Gallery, London; Karen Taylor Contemporary Art, Twickenham; Chase Art, Cornwall; Old Warehouse Gallery, Dorchester; Tallantyre Gallery, Morpeth, Northumberland.
END
(c) Samantha Darling 11 May 03
at the Bristol Affordable Arts Fair
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012
www.fringereport.com
