What a shame there’s no notice outside the Oxford Town Hall, inviting visitors to view the Oxford Art Society’s latest exhibition in the gallery.
It’s a great little venue, but because it is at the rear of the building (on the ground floor), few people realise it’s there. This means everyone misses out, particularly the artists who have once again put together a really great exhibition. It certainly deserves to be viewed.
Two artists who exhibit regularly have submitted paintings that suggest they are moving on, changing their styles. The first is Francesca Shakespeare, who normally submits some simply glorious still life studies and holiday paintings. This time she offers a couple of quite remarkable two-dimensional pieces, Run on the Bank and Banks’r Us. Both are mixed media and both are so tactile I found it difficult to resist touching the figures she has moulded on to the canvas.
Annie Newnham, who normally works in oils, has made interesting lateral changes in style too. Her work The Swan contains the usual figures talking over a drink – nothing has changed as far as subject matter is concerned. However this painting, worked in gouache and wax, is painted in bold colourful strokes which differ greatly from her usual style. Jill Cooper’s two fabric collages Jazz in Brecon and Deckchairs (pictured) show no change in style or medium. I am glad about that as her work always brings a smile to my face.
Bobbie Coon’s Sequence, worked in oil and charcoal on board, is impressive. It consists of two pictures fixed side by side – one of five women in red dresses sitting in line, the next a sequence of four faces all sporting a lipstick that matches the garments in the other picture.
Alison Berman’s Children Running in 3D is great fun and so is Juliet Dyers mixed media picture We Two, which like so much of her previous work, depicts cats, but this time she has painted them rather than moulded them from clay.
This exhibition, which continues until the end of the month, should certainly not be missed.
Helen Peacocke
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