An Unspoken Discourse: A conversation in paint
Oxmarket Contemporary is proud to exhibit a unique collection of paintings and drawings by two exceptional south coast artists, Colin Merrin and Malcolm Crocker. The exhibition, entitled ‘An Unspoken Discourse’, will run from Tuesday November 28th through to Sunday December 10th. This will also include a talk by the artists on Saturday December 2nd from 2pm to 4.30pm.
‘I take a stream of consciousness approach to my work, making fairly random ink drawings, mostly based on the human face, then work into them with a variety of materials’ said Colin, a former headteacher of a London pupil referral unit. ‘I’ve always been an artist and showing my work in such a fantastic space as the Oxmarket and to encourage people to come along and see it, will be a great pleasure’. His paintings and drawings reflect his interest in behaviour and the human condition and how it impacts on events in history. ‘My work is graphic and slightly comic strip in appearance as it focuses on the absurd and questions the idea of meaning.’
Like Colin, Malcolm has been an artist all his working life. He worked as a town planner in the past and was the chief executive of a local authority. ‘I paint imaginary strange dystopian landscapes and structures,’ said Malcolm. ‘I’m interested in the future of our tiny green planet, which is barely a dot in the universe. I enjoy the interplay of landscape and architecture which questions the idea of time and issues around the disintegration and erosion of earth and the gradual return to nature.’
Malcolm commented, ‘Both Colin and I decided to show our work together as a conversation in paint and image making and we were so bowled over when we saw the beautiful building and space at the Oxmarket, that we decided we’d like to use both galleries.
Colin and Malcolm are established artists who have exhibited in galleries and spaces both nationally and internationally. They agree that art in its true sense is something unique to each artist. It has to embody integrity. ‘We’re stylistically very different,’ said Colin, ‘however our work is both imaginative and unusual. We respect each other’s individualism and while there’s always some remote resemblance to the work of other artists, I think we both avoid cliché.’
Malcolm concluded, ‘In terms of what we’d like to achieve, apart from selling some work, we decided the show should include a talk. It is after all about a discourse between two painters who have certain views about the world, so we’d like to open this up as a discussion with people who are all welcome to come along for free on Saturday, December 2nd from 2pm.’
This exhibition is witty, colourful and thought provoking. A visual feast and a must for your diaries.
