Exhibitions
Bryan Ingham
(Francis Graham-Dixon, till 29 April)
New Territories (Jason & Rhodes, till 8 April) Architectonics: Jenny Okun (Rebecca Hossack, till 1 April)
Vigorous downside
Giles Auty
So much broadcast material made in Britain about art in our time strikes me as dull or difficult to follow, that I can hardly complain about being invited so seldom to take part in it myself. My brief confronta- tion on Channel 4 last week with Sarah Kent, the critic from Time Out, was all part of a weekly routine for her whereas, if the past is anything to go by, I may expect my next invitation some time during the next century. For a TV channel which prides itself on its alternative culture, I imagine I may not be nearly alternative enough, sporting neither ear-rings nor tattoos and spouting neither Marxist nor politically cor- rect dogma. Since a great many thinking people share my somewhat sceptical views about what constitutes artistic significance, it is clear I am not nearly 'alternative' enough. It is a pity the living arts in Britain are administered so inequably that the truth of what is happening gets endlessly sup- pressed. In fact, such strength as exists in living art in this country is largely a tribute to the courage and commitment of artists and dealers who, in spite of everything, manage to retain independence of mind. By now, the use of a high percentage of public funding spent on living art has become counter-productive, an issue which a government with gumption would address. The combination of ignorance and complacency about what is really going on shown by some in high office is hard to credit but I foresee little chance of change. While the publicly-funded sector throws money regularly at so-called cutting-edge art, of extremely doubtful merit, British commercial dealers have had to weather a major and continuing recession with a min- imum of government help or sympathy. That some percentage has survived is a measure of their enthusiasm, blind faith and hard work.
I write of exhibitions held at the premis- es of four such dealers this week but could cite many others. Bryan Ingham is enjoying his fifth solo show at Francis Graham- Dixon Gallery (17-18, Great Sutton Street, EC1), an occasion marked by the produc- tion of a fine colour catalogue and enthusi- astic response from a band of collectors built up over years. Ingham's art pays overt homage to Braque, Gris and Picasso and also to Miro, Ben Nicholson and others from modernism's formerly heroic times. Many works are infused with the artist's personal and poetic response to place. While few break obvious new ground, they plough an existing terrain very fruitfully. Ingham is an artist of skill and sensitivity, armed with a highly developed response to 20th-century aesthetics. His witty and intel- ligent use of collage and strange, vertical shapes help make this a most appealing exhibition. Above all, I was captivated by the artist's refined abilities as a maker of art. None of his artefacts would look the least out of place even in the most presti- gious modern collections. At Jason & Rhodes (4, New Burlington Place, W1) we see examples not just from some of Australia's finest living artists but also of the response of Europeans to the typical Australian landscape of rusty earth, odd light and pale eucalyptuses. As one of Australia's senior, living practitioners Arthur Boyd paints this haunting terrain with an insider's knowledge and feeling. His paintings from the Shoalhaven River are remarkable yet hardly more so than those from an artist from the next genera- tion of Antipodeans of international quali- ty. Tim Storrier's nostalgic hymns to pioneer existence in the outback summon up a folk memory which is only two cen- turies old. Yet, if we stop to think, all of us stem from ancestors who were immigrants at some stage in history, a fact which has become easy to overlook by those obsessed only with so-called 'original' inhabitants.
Rebecca Hossack, Australian herself, is one of a brand of vigorous younger dealers who have made their mark in London. Her gallery at 35 Windmill Street — off Totten- ham Court Road — puts on a wide variety of enterprising exhibitions which she promotes with New World vigour. This gallery is not for bored Sloanes filing their finger nails. Architectonics: Jenny Okun is an exhibition of attractive works in different media most of which stem from modern multi-layered processes.
My panegyric on the merits of enterprising artists and dealers would not be complete this week without honourable mention of two others. At the Gallery in Cork Street, a little- known artist Christian Wharton showed real faith by backing herself to bring her ever- improving watercolours to wider attention. And the newly-located Belgrave Gallery (53, England's Lane, NW3) re-introduces Eric Wolfsfeld, who was one of the finest etchers of this century as well as being teacher and guide to Leine Laserstein (1898-1992) about whom you will also have read in this column. Wolfsfeld and Laserstein are for those who prefer to trust the evidence of their eyes. The Wolfsfeld show closes officially on 24th March but works remain available to view.
`Souvenir of Barcelona (large)' 1994, oil and pencil on board, by Bryan Ingham
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