I've already said my piece about the woeful apology for an Arts Centre that can be found at Darlington. The people in charge there can only be thankful that I hadn't, at the time of my review, instituted my much-feared Blast.
No such worries need be felt by the fine people at Bishop Auckland Town Hall, just a matter of a few miles up the road. They're currently showing an exhibition by two talented local artists, Fred Wilkinson and Alistair Brookes, and I'm pleased to award both them and the gallery a Big Up.
Although they both hail from the former mining community of Ferryhill, they work in strikingly different media: Wilkinson has mastered the art of photographing people in a candid and unassuming style, whereas Brookes uses acrylic to capture the camaraderie of miners as they make their way to or from work, with clever use of black and grey and every shade between on huge white canvases.
Nowhere is this shown better than in the work he has titled Winter '47, which somehow manages to perfectly convey the heavy tread of miners as they make their way to work through the snow.
You'd need a second mortgage to afford most of Brookes' work, but it would be money well spent in my opinion.
The works of both artists are shown to good effect in the McGuinness Gallery in the basement of Bishop Auckland Town Hall.
The exhibition runs until 21 July 2007, and is timed to coincide with the 123rd Durham Miners' Gala which is due to take place on Saturday, 14 July in Durham City.
Although there are no longer any coal mines left in County Durham, local people are justly proud of their heritage, and the Gala has become Europe's largest regular political gathering.
3 comments:
When you go along to this exhibition can you whisper in their ear ... 'lets see some of your work on the web'. I would love to see their work but alas I can't make it up there ... or 'will you nip to the NW and show your wares there too please' is the 2nd suggestion to them and I know you can do it ;-)
Whispering in people's ear isn't really my style, 70steen ... but I'll give them a good bellow, and that might move them to consider your proposition!
yes, I'd like to see the work too. I thought the links would take me there but no.....?
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