The Royal West of England Academy is pleased to present Sounds like Painting, a one-day exhibition and music performance in the Milner and Methuen Galleries curated by Michelle Cioccoloni. The exhibition brings together three Bristol-based painters and a sound engineer and musician, all of whom are taking painting and music in new and interesting directions.
Sounds like Painting is centred around the first ever preview of a computer software programme that allows the musician to play a score and at the same time to translate the sounds into intricate computer drawings. Daniel Cioccoloni’s approach to music consists of an exploration of sound in terms of textures, exploiting concepts usually relating to sculpture, such as density, size, shape and roughness/smoothness of surface. During the live performance the audience experiences the music simultaneously as an aural and visual entity. The delicate drawings resulting from the sounds played are in fact three-dimensional representations of space, the values of depth in each line representing depth of space.
The remarkable visuals of the music performance are perfectly complimented by the paintings by Mehrdad Bordbar (Jerwood Drawing Prize 2010), Matthew Arnold and Timothy Holloway. The visual languages of each artist show how a different use of line, form and treatment of surface can evoke the same qualities found in music.
Mehrdad Bordbar’s work combines composition, colour and form to create a sense of perspective, light, and movement. The dialogue between these elements and the materials (wood and paint) produces a work that relies on the emotional intensity of the painting and the impression of spontaneity. His paintings stem from a fascination with the urban environment and the way we interact with it, encouraging the viewer to slow down and appreciate the relationship between internal and external space.
Matthew Arnold’s paintings communicate both collectively and individually. From afar they appear as clusters interacting with each other as a whole, spreading across the walls in an organic way, like notes on a page, pulsating beats on the gallery walls. Sometimes close and overlapping, sometimes far from each other, they gravitate towards a central point. When viewed close up their individual characteristics show how Arnold hones in on specific palettes. Positioned on opposite walls, a warm palette inspired by Flemish painting on the left contrasts with the much colder blues and purples on the right.
Timothy Holloway’s use of paint translates into an intense visual experience. The choice of a material such as steel is significant in that it rusts and thus presents a struggle between the layers of pure white and the imperfections which gradually appear on the surface, indicative of time passing. The way this interacts with the surrounding glow represents the relationship the artist sees between emotional, physical and psychological states of being.
Sounds like Painting
The Royal West of England Academy
Queen's Road
Bristol
30th December 2010
Opens 10am. Refreshments 6pm. Music Performance 7pm
