22nd November 2007
'Between the Lines', an exciting new exhibition of paintings by Rick Sanderson is on show at the Chapel Row Gallery, Bath from 15th - 19th December.
The fleeting movements of race horses in the parade ring, the glimpse of a gardener working between cypress trees in a Spanish garden and the light splashing across the nets of Thai fishermen on the Mekong river: just some of the themes transformed by Rick's use of luscious colours and lively rhythms. These are paintings that cross and re-cross the line between representation and abstraction leaving space for the viewers' imagination and tapping into the world of mythology and dream. A selection of the artist's intuitive sketches will be on show from his travels through Spain, India and South East Asia and, closer to home, journeys into the exuberant world of horse racing. Rick's vibrant pencil lines capture the vivid sights, sounds and smells encountered, and back in the studio, these delicate drawings are transformed into sumptuous, life-affirming paintings that layer rich imagery and meaning in dynamic pictorial spaces.
"When we know something from long experience of living, seeing, hearing, thinking, feeling; if someone asks us how we know, it is not easy to answer in a way that communicates much of the experience at all," says Rick. "Painting provides a way of moving some way towards conveying the wholeness of that experience."
The paintings are a celebration of more than the original places and events that inspired them. With bold colours and abstract elements added by a mixture of pouring, dripping and scraping, each painting has its own internal rhythms and fragile balance. Rick takes inspiration from an eclectic range of sources such as the immediacy of cave painting, the studied composition of Degas and the colour and richness of Bonnard. The paintings that have emerged through the alchemy of the artist's influences, travels and processes offer to each visitor to the exhibition, the pleasure of exploring their own thoughts and spaces between the lines.
Rick will be at the gallery to chat about his work, and refreshments will be available, on Saturday 15th December 10am to 12.30pm, Sunday 16th December 2pm to 4pm and on Tuesday 18th December 12 to 2pm. The exhibition is open from 15th - 19th December from 10am to 5pm.
