Sense of Space, an exhibition of work by painter Neil Canning, opens on 14th September as part of this year’s St Ives September Festival.
Coast Road, by Neil Canning
Neil is one of Cornwall’s most respected and high-profile artists, whose vivid, large-scale works respond to the dynamic landscape of west Cornwall.
In this new collection, which includes both large canvases and small works on paper, Neil explores the ways in which Cornwall’s ever-present ocean affects his work. In a powerfully abstract style and high-keyed palette, these works define the artist’s sensory interpretation of the coastal landscape, embracing not just visual viewpoints, but the essence of light, season, and elemental forces, including the dramatic Atlantic storms of winter 2023/24.
Neil Canning lives and works in west Cornwall. In 2011, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from University of Exeter for his outstanding contribution to contemporary British art. His work is held in private and public collections throughout the world.
Also on show is a new collection of work by ceramicist Jack Doherty. Made during the spring and early summer of this year, these works explore the effect of time and process.
Jack is known for his beautiful vessel forms (pictured), which are thrown on the wheel before being carved and shaped when the clay is soft, to reflect the fluidity of the material.
Each of his vessels is made using porcelain for its whiteness and special luminous quality, with the addition of just one colouring mineral and a single firing with sodium bicarbonate. The distinctive colour and surface texture of Jack’s works are created by the fusion of fire and soda in the intense heat of the kiln, leaving behind a subtle palette of smoky grey, lemon, russet and turquoise.
Jack was born in County Derry and studied ceramics at the Ulster College of Art and Design, in Belfast. He and now lives and works in west Cornwall and has gained an international reputation, exhibiting extensively in the UK and abroad.
