Space and Colour, Sun in Pyramid by Peter Kalkhof
MERSTON GALLERY
PETER KALKHOF
Colour and Space
Exhibition open: 13th – 25th September.
(Preview Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th 3.00pm until 6.00pm).
Merston Gallery is a new type of gallery for the region. It is set in a tranquil rural location between two groups of villages, yet it will be showing nationally and internationally renowned art. The gallery is managed by Paul and Sylvia Kopeček.
Prepare to be surprised – the exterior is still that of a charming listed Victorian building, while inside a pristine white/grey modern gallery space has been created to show one-person exhibitions of contemporary fine art and design chosen to offer a stimulating and rewarding experience.
This third exhibition of paintings offers art of a very different kind to the previous two shows.
Peter Kalkhof was born in Germany and moved to England in 1963. He studied at the Slade and the École des Beaux Arts in Paris. He lives and works in London where he has been with the prestigious gallery Annely Juda since 1964, www.annelyjudafineart.co.uk. His next one-man show there is scheduled for spring 2012.
Kalkhof emphasises experience rather than emotion in his paintings cleverly combining a response to place with an understanding of universal values. He has always travelled visiting places which offer an opportunity to engage with the natural world or the culture of a particular society. His work has become more relevant as the decades have passed. Kalkhof is about unity, multiplicity and the need to value global culture, the natural world and all that this has to offer.
It is easy to describe the paintings as abstract. Nonetheless the elements that feature in the work are readily recognizable and almost literal. There are blues and earth colours, horizons and indications of topography. The use of colour is overwhelming and everything is almost held and managed within a strong geometry. The viewer moves away from the initial observation of squares, circles and triangles to consider the role of the centre and the periphery. The understanding of the colour is conditioned by texture, and the thickness and density of the paint.
Peter Kalkhof belongs to a Northern Romantic tradition which embraces painters such as Caspar David Friedrich, Kandinsky, Malevich and even Rothko. Yet he also admires artists such as Boucher and Gauguin. His work is both spiritual and sensual and creates an opportunity for reflection and contemplation.
Visit www.merstongallery.co.uk for opening times and further details.
Everything we do at Merston Gallery is the result of careful decision making with thought for quality, the community and accessibility.
No Responses to “Peter Kalkhof at Merston Gallery”