The Cath Ray Gallery and Studios presents an exhibition of new work from artist Jane Aukland, The Painted Word. Taking its title from Tom Wolfe’s influential book, which explored the work of the American Abstract Expressionists, the exhibition is based on the idea of translating words and ideas into pure shapes and colours.
Each piece in the collection depicts a word, phrase, sentence, exclamation, or piece of poetry in a colour-coded language devised by the artist. This system began with each letter of the alphabet being assigned a colour, which was then adjusted to reflect factors such as the hard or soft quality of the sound, whether the letter is silent, or whether it forms part of a composite sound.
The exhibition is open from Friday 5th September to Saturday 1st November.
Jane explains that this work develops her long-standing interest in how we communicate, in hidden and coded information, and in interpreting the signs and symbols left to us from the past, many of which were non-text-based. She is particularly interested in how language and sound convey ideas, thoughts, and feelings, and whether shape and colour can communicate them in a similar way. Just as we can appreciate the pitch, flow, and rhythm of a language we do not understand, or the structure of a piece of music, Jane hopes visitors will engage with the forms and colours in her paintings in the same way.
The exhibition invites visitors to see if they can crack the code and ‘read’ the images, making for an intriguing and interactive experience. Running alongside it will be an eight-week course on colour theory and mixing, ideal for artists looking to sharpen their skills. Sessions are two hours each week, offered on Mondays (1.00pm to 3.00pm), Thursdays (7.00pm to 9.00pm) or Saturdays (3.00pm to 5.00pm), beginning in October. The main gallery will also feature large botanical planters by Hu Taylor, cast in bronze resin, alongside smaller ceramic vessels.
Cath Ray Gallery and Studios, 58b Bridgegate, Retford, DN22 7UZ, is open Monday to Saturday, 10.00am to 5.00pm (closing at 2.00pm on Tuesdays). For more information, call 07803 204424, email raybooks@msn.com, or visit Facebook (Cath Ray Gallery & Studios) or Instagram (cathraygalleryandstudios).