Three Ways West, Penwith Gallery – June & July 2024

Three distinctive artists come together in this exciting exhibition exploring their diverse approaches to media and abstraction rooted in the rugged yet beautiful land and seascapes of their adopted home in West Cornwall.

The differences between the three are evident in their use of media and working processes but similarities also surface as each responds to the geography and geology that surround them. They are all directed by the geometry they perceive – the lines, the forms, the shapes, the patterns. Each, in their chosen mediums, creates absorbing abstractions from that environment.

All three also inject aspects of the autobiographical, and of society at large into their work. Their own musings and reflections on life become embedded in their art. The fact that they were individually drawn to West Cornwall from very different locations (Cambridge, Yorkshire and Brighton respectively) gives each of them a unique lens through which to view the Cornish landscape.

Richard Holliday has been working stone by hand since his apprenticeship as a stonemason in 1980. Born in Cambridge in 1963 and surrounded by the precise historical geometry offered fertile ground for his love of the media of stone. His life has always centered around stone and his experiences working on buildings such as Westminster Abbey, Kings College Chapel, and Ely Cathedral to the more modern, was the crucible that began the formation of his own ambitions.

He has a strong belief of things done properly and thoughtfully and that stone can retain a strong voice in the world of fine art. Some of his work may be semi-autobiographic, reflections on society, of life abstracted, but fine line, form and deliberacy tie together his sculptural forms. The forms remain dynamic and clearly retain the energy from the chisel. The peace and quiet of life on the Lizard in Cornwall is very agreeable to Richard and allows him clean fresh meanderings of the mind.

Shelley Thornton made the beautiful town of St Ives, Cornwall, her home in 2007. She brings her bold and colourful abstract painting style to life through a series of unique collections. Her artworks represent a strong melding of the seeming dichotomy of the industrial city environment where she grew up and the stunning seascapes around her.

Shelley is driven by the feelings, interpretations and stories that run through our world. Often her work draws inspiration from her passion for music. Lyrical elements add to the narrative and mixed media style of some paintings whilst, in others, music has led to the idea and resulting feel for creativity as Shelley builds the piece up each layer at a time.

Whilst there is a preciseness to her approach, texture and symbolism surface within blocks of colour to tell comprehensive stories – evoking a deep sense of place and the passing of time. Shelley combines salvaged materials such as sand, salt, cement, brick and rust. These natural or industrial mediums bring their own histories to bear on the reading of the artworks – providing fragments of memory to her creations.

After a long career as an art director in London, Graham Black relocated to Cornwall to rekindle his love for printmaking. Based near Land’s End, his work is deeply rooted in West Penwith’s rugged coastal environment. His affinity with this landscape underpins his work – primarily silkscreen printing, which he embraces for its potential for unpredictable outcomes.

He also draws inspiration from the pioneers of British abstraction who were similarly motivated by Cornish topography: Nicholson, Hepworth, Frost, Barns-Graham, Pasmore. Where his work differs, perhaps, is in representing the myriad textural complexities of the rock formations that dominate the area – he’s as fascinated by surface pattern and texture as by form and shape.

To view some of the works on display, head over to the Penwith Gallery’s website here.