A late summer exhibition at the Rose Gallery

The Rose Gallery, curated by  Shakti Sugafield (Shakti Adored) is hosting a”late summer” exhibition with a focus on physical work art, of which the greater theme within it might be said to be of an abstract nature.

On the ground floor, in Halls 1 and 2, the marvellous art of Sisi Biedermann continues to be exhibited. Her work – always marvellous to see – was a focus of what might be called the “early summer” ensemble of art on display at the Rose, again in Halls One and Two, and was a subject of my review of the Rose exhibitions at that time. Her display has been refreshed, with a further offering of her stunning art, some of which can also be found in her What a Wonderful World exhibition at the Lin C Art Gallery (read here for more).

Occupying Halls 3 and 4 is a visually impactful exhibition of abstract art by Sabine Mortenwold. Working in mixed media on canvas, Sabine’s work is powerful in tone and style, with the pieces offered at the Rose perhaps split into two halves. Within Hall 3 is a series of images that might be referred to as more deeply abstract, the 11 pieces  offering  reflections on emotional states. Vivid, strongly abstracted and layered, there are pieces that may at first be hard to grasp, but there is also a subtleness in the way each really is reflective of its title.

Hall 4, meanwhile offers what might be referred to as a “softer” series of Sabine’s art, with 13 pieces, the majority of which are clearly collage paintings of flowers. With softer tones and lines that clearly denote leaves and petals, these are perhaps the easier images to grasp with eye and mind, but each of them retains a wonderful abstract form within it.

Hall 6, on the floor above, is home to a series nine pieces of digital art by Leigh Quartz. Small the series might be, but each image is powerfully evocative, colour and tone carefully balanced to match its title, with just a hint of abstraction within some of them to offer a  connection with the exhibitions on the ground floor.

The use of the available space within the hall, with wide gaps between most of the pieces, allows the eye to focus on each painting in turn, encouraging the visitor to fully appreciate it without the distraction of neighbouring pieces slipping into the eye’s periphery. Thus it is possible to almost feel the primal force evoked with More Than a Conqueror, sense the passage of time in Seize the Moment, or find oneself caught within the gaze of Jolie Moly, seen on the right.

The abstract theme continues into Hall 7, where art by Etamae is presented.

Several of the ten images offered here are of an abstract nature in tone and idea; but with a much softer, more organic approach that perhaps found in the abstract pieces found within Sabine Mortenwold’s and Leigh Quartz’s pieces. Shapes here are more rounded, offer flow and a sense of quiet, almost relaxed (hypnotic?) motion within them.

Also offered within the set are paintings of flowers. Again abstract in nature, these offer a connection back to the flower-themed pictures within Sabine’s exhibition, and so again present a sense of thematic threads follow through the exhibitions, weaving them together on a subconscious level.

The Gallery’s main exhibition hall is given over to a presentation of art by Mary Sparrow, via her alter-ego(?) Bianca (biancajane Juliesse). Known for her portraiture of both humans and their pets, Mary’s art also encompasses still life, animals (notably horses) and photography.

Portraits and pets are very much the subject of the exhibit at the Rose Gallery, although wildlife and farm animals and poultry are also represented. The portraits  – all of them women and their dogs, are neatly presented to one side of the hall, becoming an exhibit in their own right, all presented in Art Deco or gilt-edges frames that perfectly compliment and complete the images they contain, which are themselves perfectly executed paintings.

However, it is likely to be the animal paintings on the remaining walls of the hall that are liable to captivate, simply because of the depth of character caught within them; not only with the portraits of cats and dogs, where it is perhaps most clearly evident, but also with the paintings of pig and piglet, cow, rooster and flamingos.

I believe this selection of exhibitions continues through into September – but please check with the gallery.

SLurl Details

• The Rose Gallery (Angel Manor, rated: Moderate)