With so many major art attractions wherever you go, it is easy to overlook some of the smaller, less publicised exhibitions in local galleries. So I made a point while on holiday on the south coast last week to seek out one of these exhibitions.
The art gallery at Worthing in Sussex was holding several concurrent exhibitions but with limited time, I had to choose which one to visit. The "Trees In The Landscape" offering sounded interesting and when I entered the Norwood Gallery I found a delightful mix of mainly landscape paintings with trees as the main feature. These were by various artists who had lived in or had a connection with the area.
One of the pictures that caught my attention was Flowers in Hot Sun by Ivon Hitchens. Hitchens had moved to Petworth, north west of Worthing, from London during the Second World War and was a keen landscape artist. The style of this picture, influenced by Cezanne, was bold and somewhat abstract. Its strong, bright colours warmed me up, despite the drizzly summer weather outside.
In strong contrast, another painting I found quite attractive was a winter scene entitled "Mill Near Midhurst". The bleak view across the millpond to the old buildings was gloomy, with heavy grey clouds stretching into the distance. The black bark of the trees stood out starkly against the snowy ground. The artist, Bruce Barnden, was once head of Chichester School of Art an enthusiastic romantic interpreter of the Sussex landscape.
The paintings in the exhibition have been chosen from the gallery's collection by Christine Forbes, a local art tutor. It runs until 5th November 2011. Details of this exhibition and others are on the Worthing Museum and Art Gallery web site.
Vince,
Love Your Art.
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