Clouds on a warm Tuesday evening

…the Bernard Jacobson Gallery held a preview of William Tillyer’s new paintings, a series of innovative metal lattice works inspired by Tillyer’s cloud study of the Helmsley sky in Yorkshire. Clearly a man of his word, Mr. Jacobson had promised to introduce my friend & I to the artist, and indeed, Mr.Tillyer snuck up on us while we were enthusiastically flicking through an archive book of his exceptional water-colours. It was a real treat actually, and a privilege, I mean how often does one get the opportunity to ask an accomplished artist such daft questions as ‘what prompted you to start painting?’, it was like asking a fish why they like swimming. More insightful, however, was Tillyer’s description of his long-term love affair with employing interactive materials as part of his creative process, while using the archive book as a reference point to demonstrate. ‘Do you remember every piece of work you’ve ever created?’ asked my friend, ‘oh yes, every one’ Mr. Tillyer replied. At the age of 71 that’s not bad going, given that I seldom remember what I had for breakfast. The last two paragraphs of the artist’s wall-mounted notes are especially poignant, and for me, sums up the motivation behind artistic endeavor:

‘This simple observation states my need to ‘prick the bubble’ and operate in today’s ever narrowing gap between order and chaos, the romantic, scientific, rural and urban, and most of all between control, and letting go.
In setting down these brief notes, I have started with the least important aspects of theme, or any other body of work. It is the very last point, that gap, that space between, for which I have no real name that is important, and in the end that which I am unable to verbalize.’ William Tillyer 2010

I can’t speak for anyone else, but I definitely floated away on a Tillyer Cloud 9.

V

William Tillyer etching Clouds 2010

Tillyer etching Clouds, work in progress 2009

Tillyer Bloworth Blue

Ed: note that from June 24th, the Bernard Jacobson Gallery is holding the first exhibition of new work by Pierre Soulages in London since 1972 – not to be missed!

www.TILLYER.com

www.jacobsongallery.com

]]> http://www.vesnaabstractart.co.uk/news/tillyer-cloud-9-1607.html/feed 0 http://www.vesnaabstractart.co.uk/news/one-book-one-painting-one-pot-1469.html http://www.vesnaabstractart.co.uk/news/one-book-one-painting-one-pot-1469.html#comments Tue, 27 Apr 2010 21:25:26 +0000 V http://www.vesnaabstractart.co.uk/news/?p=1469

sounding out

On Saturday 10th April, I took a walk over to Madame Lillie’s gallery in Stoke Newington, to view Sounding Out, an exhibition of artwork, photography & sound by Richard C Beard. I originally met Richard during an open evening at his artist studio on Manor Road, every inch of wall space was covered with various experiments as if his mind had literally exploded over four walls… I’m amazed the ceiling escaped.
By utter contrast, there was a neat folio on the desk filled with his most recent work, of which i1123 0926 grabbed my attention; linear mark-making, primary-colored minimalism with texture and a sense of purpose.

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A few weeks later, the same image turned up on my door mat in the form of a postcard invite to Madame Lilly’s. Cazenove Road is tucked away and yet a stone’s throw from Stoke Newington Church Street, which is full of great pubs, cafe bars and general buzz on a Saturday afternoon. The gallery space used to be a corset factory and has retained some of its old character. Abstract sounds mixed with bird song chirruped along with Richard’s works-on-paper, delicately pegged, pinned, and having dispensed with costly framing formalities – this was art at it’s most raw. It was hard not to get excited about it, I’m so used to seeing art displayed in a clinical fashion whereas this felt immediate, welcoming and unpretentious.
It’s easy to spot various influences in Richard’s work, Rothko and Hodgkin being the most obvious, nevertheless, Richard’s voice is making itself heard; the leap he has made only in the space of a few weeks was marked and I can’t help feeling excited about what this artist could ultimately contribute if he persists… and I really hope he does. The thing that makes Richard an artist at heart is his unequivocal child-like courage for experimentation, and I find this incredibly inspiring. The enhancement of mixing sound with art seems obvious to me, and yet I can’t help wondering why sound isn’t used more often in artist exhibitions; engaging as many of the senses as possible has become an art form within the retail sector, and yet barely used where real soul engagement is possible, and preferable.
The bottom line is that the Richard C Beard experience was enjoyable and memorable. To paraphrase Elizabeth Gilbert, keep turning up for your job Richard, Olé !

V

TED. com Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity
www.madamelillies.org
www.theothers.uk.com

#107

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#107 © vesna milinkovic 2009

Future Glow

Our Christmas project, pondered on the afterglow of way too much booze; a New Year’s poster illustration titled Future Glow 2010, designed in conjunction with furniture designer John Barnard. The egg-shaped portal represents a vision of new growth for the coming year, while the sun symbol is our source of light, sustenance and inspiration for the months ahead.

Wishing you all a spiritually uplifting and prosperous 2010 from VA!

Future Glow 2010 by John Barnard & Vesna Milinkovic © 2009

www.johnbarnard.co.uk

John Barnard is one of the UK’s leading furniture designers,

“the last great artisan” Ben Barnard, Habitat

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Barbara Ana Gomez, illustrator extraordinaire, thanks Barbara!

I was the archetypal reluctant Londoner up until fairly recently. I moved from the 22mph Yorkshire Dales to 122mph London around this time five years ago (feels like yesterday). After renting a shoebox in Islington for two years, my Converse were seeking better value per square feet, so I found myself moving to the Green Lanes area of Finsbury Park. Anyone who is familiar with Islington knows that there is little necessity to venture any further, it’s fairly self-sufficient. However, the danger is that one can spend their entire life in this compact chi-chi environment and lose all perspective of the broader context of London.
It is an extraordinary privilege to live by a park, especially in this metropolis. I’m positive that having doorstep access to green space has saved me from dropping the odd marble. In the course of five years I’ve taken time out to stroll through as many of London’s park’s as possible, and yet I still love Finsbury Park above all others. It’s trees are phenomenal, and in springtime the park explodes with cherry blossom the likes of which I’ve never seen anywhere else. There is a natural easy magic in Finsbury, it doesn’t need to try hard to be a great park.
Green Lanes (according to Wiki) is possibly the longest road in London, so I can’t speak for it’s entire stretch, however the area adjacent to the park is choca with authentic Greek and Turkish deli’s, cafés and eateries. The food options are seriously mind-boggling and it’s possible to eat like a siroche na dache as my mum would say; an orphan at a feast, for a fiver. It took me a while to really appreciate my local habitat, it’s a radical adjustment from the manicure of Islington High Street, but I wouldn’t trade it for all the chi in London. There is an authenticity to Green Lanes Finsbury Park, the love of which gravitates to the heart by some mystical force of osmosis, and sets up camp.
At the back end of this summer, I spotted one female artist strolling barefoot along the Ashram, canvas in one hand, fag in the other. It made me smile; this area has become a magnet for all types of artists and musicians, which I was oblivious to when I first arrived; from Stokie’s artist studios to Finsbury Park’s warehouses, Green Lanes is fast becoming the new frontier for London’s creative edge. There is a palpable feel-good buzz factor in the area, and it’s on the increase. Houses that were begging for TLC are receiving much-needed make-overs; the Ashram is certainly looking tidier than it was even a year ago.
Hoxton and Spitalfields have experienced their own brand of radical regeneration, however, there is a double-edge sword of pretension that creeps in like poison ivy; the ‘too cool for school’ syndrome kicks in which thus negates the original authenticity that makes an area so coveted in the first place. Green Lanes Finsbury Park is relaxed to horizontal; there are less obvious foot-holds for the developers, and with a pumping east-European artery, she is more likely to keep her virginity in tact. Either that, or we may have to invest in a chastity belt.

V

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GABRIEL

The Annunciate, incorporeal being in blue, witness of Passion.

Gabriel, spirit of truth and personification of the Holy Spirit.

Gabriel, 2009

acrylic on canvas
100cm x 100cm

A new abstract painting
by Vesna Milinkovic, also available as a gicleé print, online at

Vesna Abstract

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related article: angelgirl

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