Matthew Bourne "Reinventing Traditions"

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MATTHEW BOURNE Reinventing Traditions

22nd July - 28th August

a compelling modern take on landscape & still life

(4) ‘Towards The Summit, Mountain Mist, Spring Colour'

(5) ‘Monolith, Mountain Range, Mist'

(6) ‘Above The Slate Mine, Drifting Clouds'

(7) ‘Erosion, Slate, Howling Wind'

Published by scotlandart.com galleries, registed trading name of The Emerging Artists' Partnership, Ltd, July 2016 scotlandart.com galleries, 193 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4HU www.scotlandart.com All text written by and copyright of Sam Reilly, 2016. Images remain copyright of the artist. front cover: (1) ‘Mountain Range, Gale Force Wind'; (2) ‘Narcissus'; (3) ‘Darkening Sky, Turned Earth, Rock' back cover: (33) 'Spring Colour, Studio II'; (34) ‘Ancient Hillside, Gorse, Clearing Cloud'; (35) 'Spring Colour, Studio IV' Details of all images: p18.

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PREFACE: It's always interested me, working for the Gallery, how often visitors and customers are pointedly seeking artists whose work progresses over time. Though most will select only one piece for their wall, it's often not enough to focus on that one piece in isolation in making the choice. We want to feel that, by owning an original painting, we are part of a wider narrative, of the development of a curious, intriguing mind. So we look for painters who are testing out new things, whose works we can locate within the grander sweep of their personal history, rather than painters who graft a career from very slight variations upon a tried-and-tested theme.

Perhaps this, we feel, is what distinguishes 'art' from 'craft'.

To look at the changing faces of Matthew Bourne through his career is to realise a restless, eager artistic temperament - an urgency with which takes Bourne takes his signature abstract style into numerous genres of painting, where a more conservative spirit might feel they wouldn't belong. His tempestuous landscapes have taken Glasgow by storm in recent months, inducing celebrity Judy Murray to describe him in June as her 'favourite painter', appreciating the 'vibrant colours and a sense of movement' in the seven works of his she has in her home. Not content with this popularity, extraordinary for an abstract painter in Glasgow, Bourne has begun applying himself to still life - these remarkable pieces are on display exclusively with ScotlandArt, and shown here for the first time.

We hope you enjoy our broad survey of this exciting modern painter; we are certainly proud to present him at this stage in his career, as ScotlandArt continues to offer you the most exhilaratingly original, affordable art.

- Sam Reilly, Gallery Coordinator

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Reinventing Traditions

An Interview with Matthew Bourne When Derbyshire-based painter Matthew Bourne suggests that he is happiest with ‘only a piece of canvas between me and the elements’, you might be forgiven for conjuring a stereotypically romantic image of an artist, primed in front of his easel, amongst the gathering oppressive clouds rolling in from the mountains.

But Bourne is describing here what for many of us will be a more recognizable scene: soaking wet, camping on a dreich night in the Lowlands, with only his tent to protect him.

(8) 'Eroded Ground, Howling Wind'

(9) ‘Riverbed, Valley, Rising Mist'

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It has always impressed me as an inherent aspect of Bourne’s art, to take those qualities with which he could have become an esoteric, exclusively abstract painter, and to train them instead upon aspects of lived experience, visual and emotional, which are relevant to us all. If this is clear from the paintings themselves, it is nonetheless illuminated in interview. So, to learn that Bourne as a child would spend most of the summer months camping in the garden - and an enviable amount of adult life exploring the mountains of Europe - only enriches our response to his landscapes. We still find our attention is caught, first of all, by those elements of the paintings which are at the very core of what we mean by abstract – in Bourne’s words, ‘what they are all about is paint, marks on the canvas, risk, chance, etc.’ Patterns of bright colour, in thick oils, dance upon the 2D surface of the canvas.

Yet when we look deeper into the painting, we find that the masterly treatment of perspective transports us to a mist-shrouded hillside – imagining the artist (or indeed ourselves) out in the pouring wet, battling against the elements, is just another part of what the artist himself describes as ‘allowing nature and the landscape to take presence’, infusing the works with a ‘humane quality’.

There’s a lovely echo of this in Bourne’s manner; we're talking at first about the practical aspects of the show, which with forty-one paintings is by no means a small undertaking for any artist. Now that the hard, artistic graft is nearing its end, our conversation begins with the more mundane, practical worries which creep into the

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final moments before the show. Will the paint dry in time?

Will I have these frames finished with the kids' sports day on Wednesday? How on earth am I going to fit forty paintings in the car?

I'm reminded of the artist recounting how he came to love Minimalist music. A 'lifelong connection' was established when, while studying in Chicago, he found himself 'eating pizza and drinking beer' with the composer John Cage, who had come to deliver a lecture. The music which animates him in his studio even today – which he treasures for its ‘hypnotic nature, sense of scale, the solitude of the individual in the bigger picture’ – was thus introduced to him through the most sociable, down-to-earth of means.

There may well be no living painter displaying in Scotland more deeply invested in representation against abstraction in painting - but Bourne's painting uses this tension, in a sense, to kick the pedestal out from beneath abstract art, if only so that, once it's had a moment to dust itself off, it can stand on a level with us, show us more directly where, or how, we should be looking.

SR: I wanted to start by asking you about your decision to move to Chicago to study in 1990, after graduating from Wolverhampton.

MB: Well, I think it was mainly to push myself, trying

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to gain access to one of the most prestigious art schools in the USA. But also, by then I had by then developed an affinity with the American Abstract Expressionists.

Studying in Chicago gave me every day access to the Art Institute of Chicago and some of the greatest art in the world, with a fantastic catalogue of Abstract Expressionist art.

SR: I think it’s very interesting that the first work we showed of yours, in 2004, was still very clearly produced under this influence – more absolutely conceptual in its appeal to emotion, even in the titles, things like ‘Fearful Symmetry’, likening the form to an emotion. How else do you think Chicago shaped your work up to this point?

(10) ‘Fearful Symmetry', 2004

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MB: I think mostly in terms of the quality of teaching, of the visiting lecturers I was exposed to. I once sat eating pizza and drinking beer with John Cage (composer) after he delivered a lecture at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), which began a life-long connection with Minimalist Composers. John Adams, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Arvo Part. I still listen to this music everyday in my studio. The hypnotic nature, sense of scale - it helps me make sense of the chaos which is often allowed to happen in my paintings.

SR: So why do you think you’ve moved away from this quite minimal, abstract style in painting towards something more representational in recent years?

MB: I should say that in a lot of ways I do still find abstraction the most exciting and challenging way to work and I can assure you that there are many more abstract painting in me. Also that I do still see these recent paintings as abstract – what they are ‘about’, as it were, is paint, marks, risk chance etc. We were talking about music – it’s all just abstract sounds put together in a particular way, much as painting is only marks. People have always seemed far more accepting of music and far more questioning of abstract art.

SR: But you are now taking on two highly traditional, representational genres – landscape and now most recently still life?

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(11) ‘Scorch #lV'

(12) ‘Summer Horizon'

(13) ‘Fast Flowing Mountain

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(14) ‘Ancient Hillside, Gorse, Clearing Rain'

(15) ‘Spring Colour, Studio III'

(16) ‘Spring Colour, Studio'

(17) ‘Howling Wind, Clearing Sky'

(18) ‘Heavy Ground, Clearing Sky'

(19) ‘Spring Colour, Studio V'

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MB: Well yes. Allowing nature, and the landscape, to take presence give them a more humane quality. Which allows them to become more accessible. But in whatever way, to whatever degree my paintings do develop a more abstract sensibility, it would be great to take people with me.

In terms of the traditional aspect of these genres, I suppose what I want is for my paintings to feel both ancient and modern at the same time. It’s important to carry the weight of history, I think, and of course it’s also important to relate to people. What you want to create is an appreciation of the timelessness of painting, but also a feeling of the passing of time.

SR: Would I be right to say then that the abstract part really is timeless, since it doesn’t refer to anything beyond itself – but these representative genres always have a sense of belonging in whatever way to the wider world, part of a wider history?

MB: I think so. There is always that sense in which what's important to painting - what really defines it - is this tactile quality - I've said elsewhere that I "flick, smudge, pour, spray, spread, scrape, rub, splat, squeeze, draw, scribble and dribble in order to create tough, uncompromising paintings which carry the weight of art history and relate to people on many levels." I suppose its a cliché, but from my very earliest memories my pocket money was always spent on art materials - and I was drawn to materials like charcoal, and pastels which had a messy, tactical feel to them.

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In terms of my subjects - I think that, more and more as you get older, you become aware of your own position in time. You become more aware of the seasons - and I think the still life comes directly from this sort of observation.

I spend a huge amount of time in my garden which is a very important form of relaxation for me but can also be challenging and frustrating. As a gardener you constantly see the circle of life and death and as I have got older I have started to wonder how many more springs I will see.

I’m sure these emotions arise from children getting older, the death of family members. I’m not morbid about this, it’s just an observation.

Last summer I started painting cut flowers from the garden. Watching them fade from their full glory and then decay over a small period of time became fascinating subject matter. I was never quite sure where it would lead and the large still life that you recently sold took over six months to complete. Once the flowers had completely decayed I would replace them with more and continue to paint so the paintings began to take on a real quality of time through the many layers of paint and they would begin to portray a circle of life and death. The way I garden is very similar to the way I paint, allowing plants to naturally thrive where they take hold and then I go in and make sense and make my own editing decisions.

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(20) ‘Bluebells, Studio'

(21) 'Cut Flowers, Studio IV'

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SR: What about the landscapes? They were what originally took you away from a more 'pure' abstraction, I suppose.

MB: Well the landscapes relate to the still life, the gardening, everything else in that it’s about imposing order upon chaos; the use of straight lines in my more landscape based pieces are an example of adding control - maybe even placing myself within the painting.

(22) 'Spring Colour, Mountain Lake, Lying Water'

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(23) 'Midnight, Rockpools, Breaking Wave'

Again, though, I think it's something directly personal coming into the works. The outdoors has always been important to me. From my early teens for probably 3-4 years I would spend 5 months of the year sleeping in a tent in the garden. Hard to explain. I just liked to be outside.

And over the years I have camped all over Europe, the pine forests of south west France, the Peak District, Snowdonia, Lake District, Pembrokeshire coastline, hills of the Scottish Lowlands. With only a piece of canvas between you and the elements you really are out there. Away from the world, wet in the pouring rain, gives me a great sense peace and all these experiences feed my art. The paintings are an amalgamation, an attempt to portray the experience on all levels.

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SR: So what other kinds of experience do you think you’ll try your hand at next then? What about 'abstract portraits'?

MB: [laughing] I’m not sure about that. I'm sure my painting will keep evolving. Exactly where is hard to say because so much comes from within the painting. Having said that, there are some trees coming into fruit in my garden now.

Maybe the still life will start incorporating some of those...

Matthew Bourne was speaking to Sam Reilly, June 2016

(24) 'Low White Clouds, Hedgerow, Wild Flowers'

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(25) 'Wooded Hillside, Lying Water, Gusting Wind'

(26) ‘Rocky Pathway, Mountain Pass'

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List of Works

All paintintgs oil on canvas, framed in a white, limed wood.

(1) ‘Mountain Range, Gale Force Wind' 100x100cm £1,150 (2) ‘Narcissus' 70x170cm £795 (3) ‘Darkening Sky, Turned Earth, Rock' 100x100cm £1,150 (4) ‘Towards The Summit, Mountain Mist, Spring Colour' 30x25cm £210 (5) ‘Monolith, Mountain Range, Mist' 30x25cm £210 (6) ‘Above The Slate Mine, Drifting Clouds' 30x25cm £210 (7) ‘Erosion, Slate, Howling Wind' 30x25cm £210 (8) 'Eroded Ground, Howling Wind' 45x45cm £495 (9) ‘Riverbed, Valley, Rising Mist' 35x35cm £395 (10) ‘Fearful Symmetry' 93x92cm £695 (11) ‘Scorch #lV' 80x80cm £550 (12) ‘Summer Horizon' 53x53cm £395 (13) ‘Fast Flowing Mountain Stream, Racing Clouds' 100x100cm £1,150 (14) ‘Ancient Hillside, Gorse, Clearing Rain' 40x40cm £450 (15) ‘Spring Colour, Studio III' 70x70cm £795 (16) ‘Spring Colour, Studio' 100x100cm £1,150 (17) ‘Howling Wind, Clearing Sky'

45x45cm £495 (18) ‘Heavy Ground, Clearing Sky' 45x45cm £495 (19) ‘Spring Colour, Studio V' 60x60cm £695 (20) ‘Bluebells, Studio' 60x60cm £695 (21) 'Cut Flowers, Studio IV' 25x30cm £210 (22) 'Spring Colour, Mountain Lake, Lying Water' 70x70cm £795 (23) 'Midnight, Rockpools, Breaking Wave' 30x25cm £210 (24) 'Low White Clouds, Hedgerow, Wild Flowers' 35x35cm £395 (25) 'Wooded Hillside, Lying Water, Gusting Wind' 45x40cm £475 (26) ‘Rocky Pathway, Mountain Pass'

80x80cm £895 (27) ‘Green Hillside, Lying Water, Breaking Sunlight' 30x25cm £210 (28) ‘Mountain Ridge, Rock, Low White Cloud' 30x25cm £210 (29) ‘Fast Moving Clouds, Grassy Hillside, Wild Flowers' 30x25cm £210 (30) ‘Rocky Coastline, Sandstone, Breaking Waves' 30x25cm £210 (31) ‘Rocky Outcrop, Mist on Moor' 30x25cm £210 (32) ‘Seed Heads, Late Summer, Rock' 30x25cm £210 (33) 'Spring Colour, Studio II'

100x100cm £1,150 (34) ‘Ancient Hillside, Gorse, Clearing Cloud' 40x40cm £450 (35) 'Spring Colour, Studio IV' 100x100cm £1,150 On Exhibition; Not Featured in Catalogue (36) ‘Wooded Hillside, Wild Flowers, Mist' 40x45cm £475 (37) ‘Snow Covered Peaks, Slate, Howling Wind' 30x25cm £210 (38) ‘Heavy Ground, Breaking Light'

30x25cm £210 (39) ‘Rockpools, Distant Stack, Sunlight' 30x25cm £210 (40) ‘Seed Heads, Summer Evening, Stony Ground' 30x25cm £210 (41) ‘Through the Valley, Racing River, White Water' 30x25cm £210 (42) ‘Snow Capped Mountains, Frozen Ground' 30x25cm £210 (43) ‘Monolith, Rock, Strong Wind' 30x25cm £210 (44) ‘Rolling Hill, Strong Wind, Wild Grasses' 30x25cm £210 (45) ‘Passing Storm, Rocky Ground, Black Rock' 30x25cm £210

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(27) ‘Green Hillside, Lying Water, Breaking Sunlight'

(28) ‘Mountain Ridge, Rock, Low White Cloud'

(29) ‘Fast Moving Clouds, Grassy Hillside, Wild Flowers'

(30) ‘Rocky Coastline, Sandstone, Breaking Waves'

(31) ‘Rocky Outcrop, Mist on Moor'

(32) ‘Seed Heads, Late Summer, Rock'

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