Artists Statement for Mr H Haut
The works of Mr Herbert Haut are concerned with the creation of identity and devices individuals use to project their identity to the outside world.
The collages developed from work started in Sheffield prior to moving to Pembrokeshire. In 2006 Sheffield was a scruffy Northern English town with a rich Industrial, political and cultural history and a vibrant artistic community. Artists such as Kev Grey, Kid Acne and Phlegm were starting to gain notoriety. Geographically remote Haut’s photographing and documenting of vinyl stickers, incongruous to rural West Wales , was a way of maintaining a visual connection, if in subject matter only, with these distant practitioners.
Early collections of photographs displayed images of stickers in a relatively formal manner. In later sets presentation of the photograph became a concern, with the shape of the image often referencing the shape of the sticker itself.
In ‘Alibi’ the documenting became an intrinsic part of the work. People, whose identity was hidden, were asked to pose with a piece of ‘vandalism’ in shot and asked to complete the sentence “I come here”. The end product speaks as much about human behaviour as presentation of evidence.
Last week I planned to take 14 framed pieces up to the gallery. 12 big and 2 small pieces. 7 Dr J Beau and 7 Mr H Haut. Before I even got the the front door I had edited it down to 12 pieces. Once they were placed in the gallery itself it was obvious there was still too much work for the small space. After much umming and ahhing I decided on 8 pieces. Less is more.
Martin White, also on show;
http://www.orielqueenshallgallery.org.uk/MartinWhi…
was there to screww the pieces to the wall which left me with a statement to write!!
Artists Statement for Dr Justinian Beau
The landscapes of Dr Justinian Beau were produced after relocating from Sheffield to Pembrokeshire. Inspired by seascapes and sunsets without rival in Yorkshire an idiosyncratic style of landscape painting was developed.
Trained in a conceptual fashion without technical skills, feelings of anxiety, isolation and low confidence all lead to a style which relied upon what were considered to be socially valued skills. Pieces used the mathematics of proportion, repeat patterns, precision, a limited palette of tasteful colours and carefully blended gradients.
The aim was to produce artwork that was not in any way upsetting or challenging but intriguing and calming. Without figures the landscapes place the viewer centre stage in an attempt to recreate the meditative peace one experiences at dusk, evaluating a day gone by and looking forward to another.
Later pieces more angular format echo a busier environment. They become populated by man-made structures, contain more expressive colour and spontaneous brushwork.
