October Studio Work

Continued difficulties on the developments for 143, parts pictured above far right. Having attempted to make a cast and finding it a considerable effort considering my current resources, I have resigned efforts to complete it in time for the AF2012 show. It's a certain impossibility. However, developments in the possibility for an exhibition in the new year mean that I'll continue work, aiming completion for showing then.

A lovely trip to Canonbury Arts in London to obtain further bioresin for 163, pictured centre. This has been a consistent piece in the sense that what was planned is still currently on track, which doesn't happen very often. Quite the opposite is true of 162, above far left. I shall say no more.

I've had several thoughts for developments of work which I shall be pursuing throughout December and January, as the next month is vastly busy and some studio upgrades are required. There will likely be a number of projects that continue beyond this timescale and hopefully be somewhat rewarding.

As a reminder, the AF2012 exhibition I'm in opens at 18.30 on 15 November at the 491 Gallery, Leytonstone, East London, and runs until 29 November.

Frieze and RCA

Frieze is always a rush. Rule and I worked out a schedule for our allotted time which resulted in approximately 1 minute 20 viewing time per stand. Whilst we didn't necessarily stick to this, the availability of four day tickets now makes sense. Rule noticed an abundance of mirrors as this year's theme - something to do with the art world's obsession with itself, possibly. My choice for 'Mirror of the Show' award went to the broken one. Particular highlights involved regular favourite Antoni Tapies and a lovely packaging based painting by Tom Sachs, both pictured above. Both have links between architecture and painting, or a concern with the architecture of painting. Tapies' mixed media style in particular is something of an inspiration to me and his tone has always seemed to be somewhat sombre. There's a possible parallel between his building up and cutting into the painting's surface and my attempts to architecturally extend the painting in that they both move in the direction of sculpture. I say parallel, but as he started working some 60 years before me, I suppose it should be more of an influence.



The reason for visiting the RCA Interim Painting show work by Ellie Stanford. Two of her three pieces were pleasingly sober, including the one pictured above. The bright fluorescent ones have never really appealed to me as much as the more disturbing and bleak. This rule applies generally to most art forms and possibly as a general outlook. Afterwards, Alison, Rule and I took a brief wander around the Albert memorial, which I found to be a delightfully miserable reminder of things that don't exist, and that things which currently exist will at some point cease to exist.