BEGIN:VCALENDAR
METHOD:PUBLISH
PRODID:-//http://www.petleys.co.uk/-event-17//NONSGML iCalcreator 2.4//
VERSION:2.0
FILENAME:edward-beale.ics
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:20120207T145631UTC-94946nJrMb@http://www.petleys.co.uk/-event-17
DTSTAMP:20120207T145631Z
DESCRIPTION:The directors and staff of Petleys take great pleasure in invit
 ing you to come and have a glass of champagne with us to celebrate Edward 
 Beale's preview party on Tuesday the 5th of October\, 2010 from 6.30 to 8.
 30pm for his latest exhibition.\n\nThis exhibition shows how landscape is 
 a powerful spur to the creative imagination. In the same way as writing wa
 s once seen as a magical process of transferring images from mind to mind 
 there is something inexplicable and fascinating about the way a well-execu
 ted painting can affect us. There are many different ideas about which qua
 lities are essential to a painting as there are so many views about what c
 onstitutes good art. But when we stand in front of a painting we find ther
 e are aspects to it that defy description. In some mysterious way a painti
 ng can deliver a visual bolt of energy and feeling. Edward's paintings are
  informed by the past\, by a tradition\, but they are also about an experi
 ence of now. We can witness the results of an aesthetic journey in which t
 he artist has developed ways of conveying his visual experience. Such a jo
 urney has a more profound significance than the concerns of fashion. Inste
 ad the artist seeks to translate onto canvas the visual excitement he feel
 s and all other considerations fade into irrelevance. To accomplish some s
 ort of match between the object\, the idea and the painting involves a per
 iod of contemplative concentration in which every bit of accumulated knowl
 edge and experience must be employed. The process of making a painting is 
 very often a mixture of frustration and pleasure but at the end of it ther
 e can be something new and lasting to show. What you see in these painting
 s is the result of a process of selection and suggestion that translates w
 hat the artist sees into a vibrant two dimensional surface. It is always s
 urprising to feel the joy and delight that a painting can induce. Such a r
 esponse intensifies with knowledge but can be experienced by anyone. It is
  brought about by a special alchemy that draws the viewer into the artist'
 s experience. A painting takes on its own life and is at the same time a t
 estament of a particular place at a particular time. While a painting is m
 ore than a record it is the desire to record that gives it tension. Painti
 ng on the spot (even with discomforts such as being bitten by flies\, scor
 ched by the sun\, frozen by the cold\, blown about by the wind) is an impo
 rtant aspect of Edward's work. This exhibition includes works made in new 
 places and also those where familiarity has deepened his understanding. Th
 e 'Bridge over the Dordogne at Castillon' was made in the strong light of 
 October in south west France. The road above was busy with the traffic of 
 a market town while the river below carried the occasional swan or rowing 
 boat. Few were aware of the artist working on a grassy patch in the shade 
 of the bridge like a silent witness. The wide wilderness in 'Stornoway fro
 m the Pentlands Road' shows one of the most secret and remote places. Whil
 e it is often blustery and wet\, here it is shown in sunshine and the sky 
 has made the peaty lochs a rich\, deep blue. A derelict stone cottage is n
 early camouflaged in the distance and\, caught by the light of the sun\, a
 re three wind turbines. Castile y Leon in central Spain has a policy of ac
 cess to rough trails across farmland with wide margins which encourages wi
 ldlife to flourish and makes it possible to find many vantage points from 
 which to paint. In early summer the cornfields were already ripening and p
 oppies were springing up around their edges. The walls and spires of Segov
 ia are visible for miles across fields. Signs of modernity like motorways 
 and out of town shopping are assimilated into traditional ways of life. A 
 mountain range is named after the imagined outline of a woman's reclining 
 form. This can be seen in 'La Mujer Muerta from meadows\, Castile'. A Hebr
 idean echo of this is seen in 'Mountains of Harris with Cailleach na Moint
 ich' which also depicts an imagined female outline. These legends reveal a
 n ancient continuity of cultures intimately connected to the landscape but
  noticed and painted by a contemporary artist. Layers of meaning in a pain
 ting are often difficult or impossible to describe in words especially whe
 n there is no overt narrative. Observational painting is often connected w
 ith concerns such as the pattern of a line of trees\, or a shape overlappi
 ng or fitting with another\, or the way colours react with one another\, o
 r the way a tone can be cool in a hot landscape\, or how one edge or plane
  meets another. They add up to countless decisions on how best to render t
 he outside world with paint on a surface. Edward's work shows that while t
 he subject is clearly important to a painting\, just as important is the w
 ay the paint is applied. The viewer can share in the artist's pleasure in 
 the paint itself as much as in the subject. When you look at one of Edward
 's paintings you can see the frankness of his approach in the way the pain
 ted marks remain visible. The eye is beguiled into seeing the object at th
 e same time as noticing the paint itself. There is art in the construction
  of the painting as well as in the choice of the subject. Pleasure in the 
 way the paint has been applied can be felt as much in still-life studies l
 ike 'Still life with aubergines'\, or 'Yellow flowers in a decorated vase'
 \, as in the monumental landscapes like 'Vineyard at Vives'\, or 'Cherry o
 rchard on hillside near Ceret'. The tactile quality of the impasto paint i
 s almost three dimensional and conveys a strong sense of presence and sens
 uousness. Edward says that '… the experience of painting different types
  of landscape opens up new possibilities. I find that it even affects how 
 I paint a life model or a still-life back in the studio.'\n\nClaire Edward
 s M.A. (Phil) August 2010 \n\nClick here for more information about this e
 xhibition\nhttp://www.petleys.co.uk/events/profile/17\n\nClick here to vie
 w the catalogue online\nhttp://issuu.com/petleys/docs/10-10-05_edward_beal
 e/2?mode=embed&layout=http://skin.issuu.com/v/color/layout.xml\n\nClick he
 re for more information about the Artist\nhttp://beale.petleys.co.uk\n\nFo
 llow us on twitter!\nhttp://twitter.com/petleys\n\nThis is a Public event\
 , 5 Attendees (at time of iCal export)\n\nLocation: Petleys\, 9 Cork Stree
 t\, London\, W1S 3LL\n\nGenerated: Tue\, 07 Feb 12 14:56:31 +0000@http://w
 ww.petleys.co.uk//events/profile/17
DTSTART:20101005T183000
LOCATION:Petleys\, 9 Cork Street\, London\, W1S 3LL
ORGANIZER:MAILTO:jason@petleys.co.uk
SUMMARY:Edward Beale
URL:http://www.petleys.co.uk//events/profile/17
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR