INTRODUCTION
Jack had finished his introductory words to this exhibition before I had even set pen to paper. His description of his paintings as ‘a conversation on canvas between the past and the present’ is perfect and leads us beautifully into the title of this exhibition, Talking Pictures . Jack grew up talking pictures; his mother was a painter, his father an architect and painter, uncles and extended family all artists or involved in the arts. Art was an ever present subject of conversation, and paintings were always being talked about. So it has continued for Jack, a lifetime of ‘talking pictures’ with other artists, past and present, in person and through their paintings. We see these working conversations coming to life on the canvas; when embarking upon lilypond paintings six years ago it was to Monet that Jack turned, seeking out what first fascinated him all those years ago about the iridescent pads floating on the reflective, watery depths. Having worked with the subject matter over the years, Jack has found his own artistic vocabulary expanded and what he expresses now is a different story about this time honoured subject. It is Jack’s contemporary still life paintings that are his most autobiographical and tell the story of his life and his interests - here we find family paintings, a loyal red chair, guitars, mandolins, old letterpress printing blocks. These paintings speak also of the artists who have inspired him most from art college to now - Sir Peter Blake, Picasso, Larry Rivers - all artists who have embraced the spirit and methodology of collage - selecting temporally disparate images, multiple perspectives and different material surfaces and then bringing them together on the canvas to tell a new story. In each of his paintings, whether landscape or studio work, Jack seeks to engage and speak to the viewer, inviting them into this conversation on the canvas. The language is first and foremost visual; as much as the studio works invite discussion, they are immediately engaging because of their palette choices and striking compositional design. The landscapes - the dappled light of Provence, the Italian waiter, the gondola gliding through the dark glassy canals of Venice - these are images created to evoke shared memories and the feeling of ‘being there’. And within the lilypond paintings it is the mesmerising visual unity of land, sky and water on the lilypond’s surface that speaks of the timeless beauty and tranquillity of this visual experience.
Enough of these words though, let the paintings speak for themselves!
Eileadh Swan Gallery Director
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