Valves of Sensation: March 2009

31.3.09

View through branches...

View through branches, 2008, coloured pencil on paper, 32.5x25cm

28.3.09

I recently discovered that the great Spanish film director Victor Erice was born in Carranza, Vizcaya in 1940 not that far from my home town, about 25km away in fact. Here is a short film he made called "Alumbramiento". It was part of a larger project called Ten minutes older. It seems to me, I can't be certain, that this film was made in Carranza or certainly in this part of Vizcaya, the architecture and landscape looks all very familiar. Jorge Luis Borges said once that "with the passing of time every poem becomes an elegy"...

23.3.09

New scans of drawings...

Open, 2009, coloured pencil on paper, 32.5x25cm

Spinoza (blue), 2008, coloured pencil on paper, 32.5x25

Central (brown), 2007, coloured pencil & holes on paper, 29x23cm

Desde el estudio...

22.3.09

Day trip to Santoña...

Yesterday in Santoña. Clear sunny day tempered by a cold sea breeze. Santoña seems to be full of barracks for the "Guardia Civil" and the town is now one of only a few places where one can still see the odd monument or symbol (lovingly maintained) of Franco's Spain. There is also a large prison, still in use which sits close to a beautiful beach. This sinister quality aside, the surroundings are beautiful and Santoña has been important as a fishing center and is well known for its anchovies. Here are some images...including one of my four year old son all taken with my iphone camera:

20.3.09

Closed shop

It's astonishing how many small stores are going out of business in Bilbao...this used to be a really good hardware shop, a favourite of mine, now it presents a rather melancholy image...

Test from iphone...

Mid morning coffee at bar chicote...

13.3.09

Drawings

Three new drawings. Persiana (afternoon), Terreno (September) & others will be on view at ART Brussels 2009:

Clear, 2009, coloured pencil on paper, 32.5x25cm

Terreno (September), 2009, coloured pencil on paper, 32.5x25cm

Persiana (afternoon), 2009, coloured pencil and oil paint on paper, 38x30.5cm

12.3.09

Things seen - Pierre Bonnard

Yesterday I received a parcel with the catalogue of the Bonnard show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The exhibition concentrates on the late interiors and still lifes. These paintings function on so many levels and contain very unexpected elements which often remain hidden on a first viewing. The picture within a picture is also a common feature. I find the way they are executed extremely engaging. Everything is subsumed into a new soft painterly reality and given unity. A few of the paintings to be found in the book...

Reading...

I tend to read in intense bouts, often two or three books at the same time. Here are three very interesting & recommendable books. In the western tradition, the shadow has often been related to the origins of painting -one draws the figure by tracing its shadow on a wall - so the painted image is born from the negative. A short history of the shadow by Victor I. Stoichita examines this tradition, a fascinating read. Musings and reflections on the art object and its relation to time is the subject of George Kubler's the shape of time. This work I am still digesting and thinking about...issues which are very much at the core of my own activity. Finally, Yves Bonnefoy and the collection of essays the lure and the truth of painting, a book I have read again and again...a very distinct style and view of things...

In process...esta mañana...

8.3.09

Antón Hurtado

Antón Hurtado, another friend and artist based in Bilbao, is preparing a museum show for the Museo Gustavo de Maeztu in Estella, Navarra. Although it won't open till mid April here is the exhibition poster.

Sherman Sam

Sherman Sam, friend and fellow painter will be showing at Rubicon Gallery next month. A rare chance to see his work. Here are two paintings and two drawings, wonderful things...