Marilyn Hallam, Geoff Hollow & Paul Tonkin

The next exhibition at Castlefield gallery is running from 22 November to 21 December, features the work of three artists, whose very different approaches to painting will produce an interesting and challenging show.

Marilyn Hallam is primarily concerned with working to reveal an image that is fresh, resolved and open. The fear of labouring or cluttering a picture leads her to develop compositional ideas away from the canvas, through monotypes and drawings. Her compositions are figurative and intimate, with no assertive narrative content. They often possess a wistful quality, being a gentle record of mortality. A more definite subject matter is the exploration of recession, and the creation of a living pictorial space. She regards drawing as one of the prime building blocks in her working process, which gives her pictures a deeply studied quality and seeks a seemingly effortless balance between colour and line, enjoying colour that is both sensual and celebratory.

Geoff Hollow’s paintings have raw, intense vitality; and are reminiscent of organic forms – landscapes, beaches – partly due to his subdued earthy palette and thick ridges of paint contrasting with thin stains. He is a self-taught painter, having had no formal training and was initially influenced by the work of Clifford Still, Barnet Newman and Mondrian. He has exhibited fairly widely in the south of England and has work in many private collections.

Paul Tonkin is an instinctive, spontaneous painter. He starts a work by staining large lengths of canvas with very fluid paint then lets the colours suggest the composition. He uses thick swirling acrylic paint, working wet into wet, to produce a very controlled, harmonious manipulation of colour. There are areas of great activity and excitement ands others of rest and tranquillity. He sees his rich vibrant paintings as symphonic arrangements of colour to be enjoyed for its own sake and sharing music’s power to evoke imagination.

In conjunction with this exhibition we will be presenting two videos – ‘Cruel Garden’, a dance drama by Lindsey Kemp and Christopher Bruce, showing29th and 30th November and ‘A Portrait of Paula Modersohn Becker’, showing 2nd to 6th December. On Saturday 7th December, Marilyn Hallam will give a talk about her work, in the gallery at 2.30pm – admission free. ‘Ideas About Composition’ will be the theme for a study day, held in the gallery on Sunday 8th December, led by Marilyn Hallam – cost £6.50 (£4.00 unwaged), including buffet lunch.