INSIDE CORNWALL - APRIL 2002

FIGURATIVE WORK AT PYDAR GALLERY
art reviews by Cath Wallace

Melanie MacDonald took over the Pydar Gallery in May 2001 and has given it a distinctive style in the choice of work on show which is nearly all figurative or landscape based.
Melanie’s own work has a very painterly textural quality which is echoed as a theme in the other artists’ work on display. Melanie paints in big areas of oil colour washes, building up layers of thin paint which acts as a veil to look through, into the picture. I like her portrayal of children, in particular the diptych called ‘Child’s Play’ of two canvases framed as one with the depiction of a small child on the right hand canvas and a child’s scribble drawing on the left. I also liked her ‘Looking for the Pigeons’ of a man and child loosely painted again with large areas of colour wash but in oil. Melanie’s paintings are very atmospheric and create a joyful mood, conjuring up those feelings of being with young children.
There are several artists showing life paintings and drawings in the gallery, including Melanie’s which are quite strong. Others include those by Michael Jones, whose watercolour technique makes interesting viewing. But the best nude drawings for me where those by Ges Wilson, who uses a combination of mixed media to create very powerful but subtle images. I preferred her life drawings to her paintings, which involve collage as well as gesso and thick impasto paint, but the painting’s don’t allow the drawing to come through enough, which is this artist’s strong point.
Nick Williams also paints with a thick impasto paint surface of mainly architectural interiors and still lives. His ‘Havana House Front’ and ‘Moroccan Hotel’ were the ones that caught my eye.
Steve Slimm has two distinctively different styles of painting. One is his acrylic, almost abstract depiction of seascapes, using quite acrid colours to portray large expanses of beach and sand dunes. He is obviously a far more experienced watercolourist and, for me, his moody, storm-tossed landscapes, such as ‘Distant Padstow’ and ‘West from Madron Carn’, were winners.
The gallery is in a very old building which used to be a tannery and only the basics have been installed to make it into a gallery. This means it still maintains the original features, and creates interesting nooks and crannies in which to show art. Furniture is also for sale, both restored and contemporary pieces made in Cornwall. As well as furniture, the gallery has a variety of ceramics. Christine Feiler’s neat, formal bowls and vases add a sense of order to the emotional tone of much of the painting. I particularly like Claudia Wormer’s rough-surfaced dark stoneware vases in deep browns and greens. The owner has gone out of her way to find artists that are on the whole not greatly shown in other galleries in Cornwall, which makes a refreshing change. The prices are also very reasonable.