The content of McEwen's new work is eloquently revealed. There is no blatant parading or
grandstanding designed to seduce the casual viewer, rather there is an expectation that
when the initial pleasure of seeing these works passes, the true quality will only unfold and
reveal itself through a calm, concentrated viewing. As you step up to the mark to do this,
the instinct on first viewing is of pleasure. Perhaps because the cool, light colours sparked
with dark seem almost calmly and familiarly impressionist or perhaps because McEwen
uses a horizon with faint echoes of landscape-type elements – and this initial familiarity is
satisfying in itself, seeming to put the work firmly within a familiar context.
However, this work is not at all about traditional landscape set in familiar contexts, it is
about something else altogether. In McEwen's landscape there is an absence of human
touch or human interaction – he is caught up totally in the landscapes changing skies and
its shifting light and moods. McEwen was an active "friend of the earth" long before the
bandwagon rolled and he cares deeply about landscape and the role that humanity plays
in seeking always to mould the physical environment to its will.
For McEwen this work is about finding a new meaning in Irish landscape, of somehow reinventing
its landscape for himself. The line, shape and colours have changed since his
last two solo shows in The Hallward Gallery in Dublin and in the Caldwell Gallery eighteen
months ago. It is almost a seasonal palette change from autumn to spring, but more than
that, it is a move from landscape observed as a subject to landscape experienced as an
event. (Chris Caldwell - The Tom Caldwell Gallery, Belfast)
McEwen's new solo opens on the 12th September 2007 at Caldwell's Lisburn Road, Belfast Gallery.
Snippets of interest to lovers of Art. News about Irish Artists or otherwise. The odd rant...
Thursday
Jonny McEwen's New Solo
The content of McEwen's new work is eloquently revealed. There is no blatant parading or
grandstanding designed to seduce the casual viewer, rather there is an expectation that
when the initial pleasure of seeing these works passes, the true quality will only unfold and
reveal itself through a calm, concentrated viewing. As you step up to the mark to do this,
the instinct on first viewing is of pleasure. Perhaps because the cool, light colours sparked
with dark seem almost calmly and familiarly impressionist or perhaps because McEwen
uses a horizon with faint echoes of landscape-type elements – and this initial familiarity is
satisfying in itself, seeming to put the work firmly within a familiar context.
However, this work is not at all about traditional landscape set in familiar contexts, it is
about something else altogether. In McEwen's landscape there is an absence of human
touch or human interaction – he is caught up totally in the landscapes changing skies and
its shifting light and moods. McEwen was an active "friend of the earth" long before the
bandwagon rolled and he cares deeply about landscape and the role that humanity plays
in seeking always to mould the physical environment to its will.
For McEwen this work is about finding a new meaning in Irish landscape, of somehow reinventing
its landscape for himself. The line, shape and colours have changed since his
last two solo shows in The Hallward Gallery in Dublin and in the Caldwell Gallery eighteen
months ago. It is almost a seasonal palette change from autumn to spring, but more than
that, it is a move from landscape observed as a subject to landscape experienced as an
event. (Chris Caldwell - The Tom Caldwell Gallery, Belfast)
McEwen's new solo opens on the 12th September 2007 at Caldwell's Lisburn Road, Belfast Gallery.
