Big, Bold and Bizarre!

NORTHAMPTON Museum and Arts gallery are currently holding a ‘Big, Bold and Bizarre’ exhibition that will end on February 27^th.

Sporting an array of oil paintings and sculptures from various artists, including international artists Michael Derek Jarman and Sir Frank Brangwyn, the work immediately screams out ‘talent’ when entering the exhibition. The ability portrayed really allows you to be open minded about the paintings and opens your imagination to the hidden meanings buried beneath the beauty of the art.

The title of the exhibition links perfectly with the art on display. Their visual impact is incredible – some are big, some are bold and some are simply bizarre. The combination of bold and colourful paintings mixed with the weird and abstract act as a visual feast for all of the visitors, this is most definitely an exhibition I would recommend to others.

Although some pieces of work may not be everybody’s cup of tea each painting and sculpture stands out in its own, unique way. Acting as a niche, one of my personal favourites has to be John Bratby’s ‘Sunflowers and Sun -Crossed Sky in the Summer of 1968.’ Bratby’s choice of bold colours, ranging from bright yellow to bright green, allows the idea of life and nature to shine through the painting literally emphasising the precise strokes of the brush with each gallant tint. Some would say that the iconic sunflowers painted by Bratby were influenced by Vincent Van Gough’s ‘Sunflowers.’

Moreover, ‘Lock 1977’ painted by Ben Johnson in my opinion stands out for its intricate detail and sheer size. Johnson’s painting is by far the biggest addition to the exhibition portraying a fantastic amount of detail that can only be seen up close. Clearly Johnson spent a lot of time on this painting and his talent should be displayed and congratulated for years to come.

After having observed the ‘big and the bold,’ next on the list was the ‘bizarre.’ ‘Avebury Series No.4’ by Michael Derek Jarman certainly fits into the bizarre category. To the untrained eye like my own, the painting looks like a yellow canvas, with red and blue lines and dark circles to represent stones in the Wiltshire area. In my opinion, this painting was particularly tedious and lacked imagination. Another bizarre piece was Sully Sheinman’s ‘Sacred Vessel 46,’ that simply looked like a young child had sketched it at school. I feel these two pieces should not have been part of the collection however everybody interprets art in their own ways and some may find a hidden and beautiful meaning behind the simple piece of work.

That aside the exhibition as a whole was interesting and inspiring in many ways. I would recommend ‘Big, Bold and Bizarre’ as it’s a chance to open your mind and really see the beauty of life portrayed as a work of art through the eyes of somebody else.