Galleries - July 2012

Focus on CORNWALL 22. GALLERIES JULY 12 Visitors to Cornwall wanting to view or purchase art this summer will, almost certainly, be making a trip to St Ives. It has a profusion of galleries showing a wide range of art and craft and is home to Tate St Ives – a must for anyone seri- ous about modern art. Amongst key galleries here, Belgrave exhibit both 20th C. St Ives and significant contemporary work. In July it’s figurative bronzes by Christopher Marvell accompa- nied by a changing selection of paintings and prints. Marvell's sim- plified, pared down human, ani- mal and bird forms resonate with a subtle humour. New Craftsman Gallery , next door, celebrates the work (paintings, sketches, con- structions, some as yet unseen) of John Miller, a well loved painter whose balmy, minimalist take on the beach scene became synony- mous with Cornwall – his home, for over 40 years. Not far away, Petronilla Silver, a former Director of the Contemporary Art Society, presides over the Wills Lane Gallery , with an impressive array of fine and applied artists, em- bracing painting, printmaking, ce- ramics, glass and much else. Take both the high road and the low road out of St Ives and there are worthwhile galleries to be found. In Cripplesease Gallery Latitude 50 has a good choice of paintings, craft and also teas. You may hear Radio Brittany playing in the background – the owner is French. Along the coast road Yew Tree Gallery in Morvah is a rec- ommended stop – if the weather is kind it's idyllic. Here, 'Jubilation!' contrasts the lyrical 2 dimensional work of Elaine Pamphilon with qui- rky stoneware sculpture by John Maltby. Keep travelling west to Sennen Cove and make for The Roundhouse and Capstan Gall- ery used, until not so long ago, as net lofts and built upon the old boat hauling capstan, it is now crammed with paintings, pots, scul- pture and more and owned by noted ceramicist Colin Caffel. In gallery terms Penzance, St Ives' alter ego, equals it in quality if not quite in quantity. Extending over three floors of a Chapel Street Georgian house, Stone- man Gallery is a good example. In July they launch the Peninsula Project enabling artists who pre- viously worked with master print- maker Hugh Stoneman to re- engage with the area. In this first show Eileen Cooper RA has com- bined painting with collage in work that places her figures in vivid imaginary land and sea- scapes while Sara Lee's response is a personal one to the landscape itself. The importance of the Newlyn School to the development of art in Cornwall is hard to overesti- mate. For collectors of this historic work – plus traditional 19th and 20th C. British and European art – The Newlyn School Gallery , also in Chapel Street, have long specialised in this work both in London and here in Penzance. Visiting out of town galleries may require a journey but so often this is well worth the effort. Kestle Barton is such a place. Set in beautiful countryside with space for multi-media installations, its shows are unique and often un- expected. This summer innovative glass makers Matt Durran and Max Jacquard take over both out- door and inside spaces with tho- ught provoking sculpture and pieces created in situ using recy- cled glass. Over at Marazion on Mount's Bay, Market House Gall- ery offers a wide range of post war paintings, sculpture and ceramics, Newlyn copper and designer jew- ellery. From July 14 they have a solo show of new work by figur- ative artist David Johnson. Travel from Cornwall's far west to the sheltered Roseland Pen- insula and you'll notice the in- crease in temperature; in Porth- scatho you should also notice The New Gallery . It's not so new in fact, having been here for over 25 years and well established as a hub for a core group of artists connected with Porthscatho and others that visit or have connections. The Padstow Gallery also shows work by a loose associ- ation of artists, some local, some not, but all friends or colleagues of owner Sarah Adams who uses the top floor as her studio. Here she paints the meticulous and awe inspiring studies of cliffs and beaches that will be the focus of July's exhibition. Last year her show in London's Maas Gallery was a sell out; how nice to buy her work here in Cornwall where it was painted . . . Pip Palmer N icola Bealing, ‘Puff Fish Shoal’ oil on canvas, (detail) at The Wills Lane Gallery