TOMAS WATSON
Works on paper
Monoprints and etchings
28 NOVEMBER – 23 DECEMBER 2006
Jill George Gallery is delighted to announce Tomas Watson’s
latest solo
exhibition for November - December 2006.
This show will present a selection of monoprints and etchings
produced
in his Greek studio following a four month visit to India earlier in the year.
Ever
since a brief period of experimental printmaking as a student at the
Slade in
the early 1990s, Watson has wanted to further explore the medium. The purchase of a printing press in Italy earlier this year has finally enabled him to
pursue
this ambition. His paintings and
drawings resonate with the wonder of the human form, and these new
works
continue his fascination with bodily representation. Sensual
and intimate, they successfully
translate his consummate mastery of form and line.
Watson
regards printmaking as a means to enhancing his expert drawing. His etchings render the initial drawings so
faithfully that it is often difficult to differentiate between the two. Enriching the speed and confidence of his
work, the artist has mastered the skills necessary to produce images as
dignified and beautiful as his painting.
The fluid lines and contrasting tones evoke comparisons with a
wide
range of art historical antecedents from Pontormo and Guercino to
Whistler and
Seurat.
The
timeless elegance and universal appeal of Tomas Watson’s work makes it
both
desirable and highly collectable. Still affordable – with prices
starting as
low as £300 – this exhibition contains works that will make perfect and
unique
gifts. All works will be available for Christmas.
Included
in the exhibition are haunting images from the artist’s travels in India: the fishermen
returning carrying their nets above their heads, the solitude of a boat
in the
moonlight, a tea-seller in Kerala, and the historic city of Varanasi.
Whilst
the human body retains a central importance in Tomas Watson’s work –
and he continues
to portray it in a way most artists cannot hope to emulate - these
prints reveal
an exceptionally skilled draughtsman in full control of the medium
exploring
the subtle balance between figuration and abstraction.
Notes
for Editors
- Tomas
Watson was born in Sussex in 1971 and studied at Huddersfield Technical College (1989-90) and the Slade School of Fine Art
(1990-94), with a course in Anatomy for Artists at University College, London (1993-94). He has exhibited with Jill George Gallery since 1998, and this will be his fifth solo
exhibition at the gallery.
- Watson’s
work has been exhibited in Britain, Greece, Canada and the USA, and is represented in numerous
international public and private collections. He
has taken part in the BP National Portrait Competition in 1997 and
again in 1998 when he was awarded First Prize. In
2001 the National Portrait Gallery commissioned him to paint author
John Fowles.
- The Private View of ‘Tomas Watson: Works on
Paper’ will be at Jill George Gallery, Lexington Street, Soho on Monday 27 November from 6-8.30pm.
- Jill George Gallery began by exhibiting the work of recent
graduates and new artists and now shows selected painting and sculpture
from a roster of international artists.
If you
require any further information or images
please contact Jill George Gallery on 020 7439
7319 or email press@jillgeorgegallery.co.uk
Jill
George Gallery is open weekdays 10am - 6pm,
Saturdays 11am - 5pm, Thursdays until 8pm.
www.jillgeorgegallery.co.uk