Isles of Illusion
New Work
Adrian Paul Metcalfe
21st March – 18th April 2015
Oriel Canfas Gallery
44a
Glamorgan Street, Canton, Cardiff. CF5 1QS Tel 029 20666455
Opening times:
Tue - Fri 1pm – 4-30pm / Sat 10-30am – 4pm
Islands have always held a mystery and fascination in
human imagination. Originally perhaps as havens of safety, easily defensible
and from where potential danger could easily be seen approaching. They have
also been places of isolation, forced in the case of shipwreck, or chosen in the
case of hermits or religious communities. They are places which people dream of
escaping to or escaping from; they hold a sense of possibility, of renewal, and
of an untouched natural state. The idea of the island has been strong in the
minds of artists, writers, and poets as an ideal location for particular events
or stories to exist. Actual islands have been discovered, explored, and lost
again. Islands have appeared from the oceans and disappeared again due to
rising or lowering sea levels or volcanic eruptions. Over the centuries, many
have been charted incorrectly and so lost again for hundreds of years. The idea
and potential of the island as metaphor for exploration, discovery, mystery,
and narrative is what many of the recent works in this exhibition examine.
Mistakes of navigation have been the catalysts for
the much of my creative development, which examines further the themes of
exploration and imagination. Examples such as that of Giovanni da Verrazzano’s
search of the fabled North West passage or The Strait of Anian, reportedly
discovered by Lorenzo Ferrer Maldonado in 1588 which led the inclusion on
charts produced at the time of seas and straits that have never been found.
These errors of navigation, illusory islands and imaginary discoveries have led
to work seeking to examine the limitless possibilities of that which may or may
not exist. They represent the journey of discovery that everyone takes through
life. The work becomes a vehicle through which I can ponder the possibilities
inherent in existence. The paintings also explore experiences associated with
time and place. They seek to create an atmosphere in response to the actual
forms, colours, and light experienced at sea to create images, which illuminate
our notions of meaning.
The paintings
are abstract and no one specific meaning can or should be sought. The titles
suggest possibilities to the viewer while remaining open to individual
interpretation, encouraging an engagement in personal contemplation and
creative thought. As many questions are raised, as are answered but the works
seek to explore the possibilities of existence and celebrate the richness of
life. I hope readers will explore the work for themselves, find their own
meanings, and enhance their own voyage of discovery.
Adrian Paul Metcalfe
email: apmetcalfe@freeuk.com
Mobile:
07799743750 Home: 01446 738877
www.adrianmetcalfe.co.uk
