THE ALCHEMY OF PAINT
21 – 26 May 2018, Gallery 8, St James’s, London, SW1
Tom Coates PPNEAC RP / Fred Cuming RA / Julie Jackson NEAC /
Mary Jackson NEAC / Andrew Roberts
The Alchemy of Paint brings together works by five British Artists: Tom Coates
PPNEAC RP, Fred Cuming RA, Julie Jackson NEAC, Mary Jackson
NEAC and Andrew Roberts, each of whom utilise paint as a means of offering
new perspectives on the observed world. Based principally upon direct
observation of nature, the works demonstrate the expressive possibilities of the
medium through gesture, texture and colour. The artists have translated real-life
experiences into painterly equivalents; elevating, romanticising, and deepening
our appreciation of the surroundings which are so often overlooked.
Tom Coates’ instinctive, improvisatory approach is met with outstanding
draughtsmanship. It is this combination of technical skill and creative aptitude
that has come to define his works, and is evident throughout The Alchemy of
Paint. David Wolfers of the New Grafton Gallery said that the artist “paints with a
sense of urgency and has a natural ability to express what he sees on canvas. He
is a prolific painter for whom technique is second nature.”
Fred Cuming RA has devoted his life to expressing the fleeting impressions of
his surroundings, often painting the South Coast of England around Hastings and
Rye. He said “I am not interested in pure representation, my work is about
responses to the moods and atmospheres generated by landscape, still life or
interior. I am interested in the developments of 20th Century painting, in
abstraction, that has been present in all movements, and in new ideas and art
Julie Jackson’s paintings are informed by a perceptual sensation of space and
light – she embraces the “material reality of paint”, feeling and manipulating the
medium to create lines and form. Discussing her creative process, she said
“looking at the world through the experience of painting makes me see more, and
see better. It creates a better understanding and connection to the world.”
Mary Jackson paints figurative, landscape and still life subjects in both oil and
watercolour. The foundations of her work are laid away from the studio,
something which the artists says “revitalises her perception”. She latterly works
into the composition, focusing on light and tone to create a sense of distance and
three-dimensionality.
Andrew Roberts starts his paintings plein-air, before adding multiple layers of
paint and varnish in the studio to form a rich, impasto surface. The resulting
texture is often evocative of the landscape itself, highlighting the transformative
possibilities of paint, and its potential to create a sensory experience for artist and
viewer alike.
Exhibition Information:
Title: The Alchemy of Paint
Dates: 21 – 26 May 2018
Address: Gallery 8, 8 Duke Street, St James’s, London SW1Y 6BN
Opening Times: Daily 11am – 6pm (late opening Friday 8pm)
Admission: Free
Nearest Tube: Green Park or Piccadilly Circus
Website: andrewroberts.co.uk
Instagram: @andrewrobertart #TheAlchemyofPaint
Notes to editors:
Images from left to right: Andrew Roberts, Between The Two – Lower Beeding;
Andrew Roberts, Got Nothing To Say – Estapona.