SOLO EXHIBITION by Muriel Barclay
at
Contemporary
Fine Art Gallery, Eton
26 June - 20 September 11.30am - 5pm.
Forward
from CATALOGUE OF SOLO EXHIBITION
(available on request from Contemporary
Fine Art Gallery )
This body of new work includes
many large, as well as smaller, canvasses filled with colour
light and movement.
The dancers and musicians
are still present but in this exhibition Muriel Barclay’s
talent for capturing grace and expressiveness has been employed
to introduce new subjects and themes. Horses and speeding
cyclists represent motion and freedom. The figures inhabit
atmospheric landscapes. This mood enhancing technique, added
to the artist’s gifted use of colour and mark making
express a celebration of life and liberation, while at the
same time, the artful restraint and ambiguity represent beauty
with an edge. Wide seascapes, woodland and picturesque loch
shores are the setting for tutus and Doc Martins, barge horses
galloping along tow paths and ballerinas cycling in the woods,
resulting in the juxtaposition of romance and mystery, innocence
and decadence.
As ever with Muriel’s
work, a combination of memory and fantasy is woven but the
imagery is subtle enough to allow the viewer their own version
of the tale.
The execution of the paintings
is as seductive as the content. The security of the drawing
and the use of colour and composition create good paintings.
These are decorative works but the personal involvement of
the artist is an important element in the attraction of the
work and takes one beyond the surface of the paint.
This
exhibition represents a new step in the artist’s development.
She is exploring new challenges in subject matter and painting
technique with confidence and evident enjoyment. These are
paintings which will delight and endure.
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