Matthew Bourne
A Solo Exhibition at Contemporary Six
Saturday, July 13 – Wednesday, July 23, 2019
Preview: Saturday, July 13, 12pm – 4pm
Living in a city, for all of its benefits, can be an attention-sapping existence. As wild as it may seem at times, the urban environment is not a place that channels the contingency, and the raw power of nature: of Britain’s coastlines, mountain ridges, moors, tarns, and falls. This is what the abstract landscape artist Matthew Bourne paints — the bombast, the rhythm, the spark of nature.
For ten days from Saturday 13th July, Bourne will be showcasing a brand new range of paintings for a solo exhibition at Contemporary Six, a leading independent art gallery in the heart of Manchester city centre. Over twenty paintings will be on display — some large imposing works, and some miniatures.
This body of work has grown over the past year into a fine collection of innovative landscapes. “Bourne’s paintings evoke something primal”, says gallery-owner Alex Reuben. “They connect with us immediately, as natural forces do. They humble us or make us feel part of them. Anyone who has felt a rush of seaspray or a chilling wind on their face will understand the origins of this work”.
Bourne arrived at his expressionist style of landscape painting after beginning his career as a committed abstract artist. But he sought to open up his works by providing the viewer an observable doorway, a doorway in the shape of landscape. Just as a successful landscape painting depicts more than just hills, water, and weather, Bourne seeks to evoke “the history of a place, its wildness, its seasonal rhythms, and the viewer’s sense of self in relation to her surroundings”.
Educated at Wolverhampton Polytechnic in the UK and The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, USA, Bourne is part of a long tradition of Expressionist painting that glories in surface and texture – producing work that is as much about the process of painting as the subject. The artist uses whatever method he chooses to make his marks: he flicks, smudges, pours, sprays, spreads, scrapes, rubs, scribbles, and dribbles the paint, resulting in a canvas that is almost a sculpture, residing somewhere between representation and abstraction.
“Bourne’s paintings have gone from strength to strength over the years I have represented him”, said Reuben. “He now has a great following at the Gallery, with collectors all over the country, in Europe, and the United States. He is a keen hiker and climber, so I expect Bourne’s solo exhibition to appeal to everyone who similarly values the outdoors, and how it is portrayed in contemporary art”.
The show runs from Saturday, July 13 – Wednesday, 23 July 2019. Every painting in the show is available for purchase, with prices starting at £300.
Contemporary Six, 37 Princess St, Manchester, M2 4FN
www.contemporarysix.co.uk
E: info@contemporarysix.co.uk
T: 0161 835 2666
Opening hours:
Tue–Fri: 10.30am–6pm
Saturday: 10.30am–5pm
Sunday: 11am–5pm.
About Contemporary Six
Contemporary Six is a leading independent art gallery located in the heart of Manchester, opposite the beautiful Town Hall. Established in 2010, the Gallery is known for offering a warm and friendly welcome to art enthusiasts, collectors, and new visitors to the city.
Fine Art graduate Alex was just 24 when he opened Contemporary Six with the ambition that his Gallery be a place for discovering emerging artists, and showcasing award-winning and internationally acclaimed works.
Specialising in original paintings — landscapes, portraits, and abstracts — handmade prints, sculptures and ceramics, Contemporary Six is committed to displaying variety in artworks, with integrity and substance a priority. Having built a reputation for being both very personable and knowledgeable, Alex has built a loyal custom base for the Gallery, putting on a number of excellent solo exhibitions per year, as well as group shows, and artist talks.
