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New Work by Colin Barclay and Eline Barclay at Van Brunt Gallery
 | | A work by Colin Barclay |
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The first exhibition dedicated solely to the work of landscape artists Colin and Eline Barclay together will be on view at Van Brunt Gallery in Beacon beginning September 8, running through October 8. The work of both artists is well known and well loved in our area and is similar in many ways. There are significant differences as well. The exhibition at Van Brunt will give gallery visitors a unique opportunity to compare and contrast the work of mother and son.
The Barclay family lived near Newburgh for many years and this is where Colin grew up. Eline spent her childhood in New Windsor and got her degree in Art from SUNY New Paltz. Now the artists live on the coast of Maine in different small towns.
Their love of the Hudson Valley persists and can be seen in several of the paintings on view in this show. Other paintings depict locations in Maine and Newfoundland. Not surprisingly both artists see the major differences in the locations in terms of light, the greenish light of the Hudson Valley and the warmer more violet light of the North.
Colin spent hours in his mother's studio from the time he was a little boy, so it is natural that he learned from his mother's example. In a recent interview, he emphasized the importance of Eline's passion about painting and her dedication to her work. He also noted that they have similar tastes in art: both admire the Hudson River School painters George Inness and John Kensett and the Russian landscape artist, Isaak Levitan. Moreover, according to Colin he and his mother share an "eye for what moves us."
Differences between the artists are rooted in each one's mastery of painting technique. Colin builds his deep areas of color with multiple applications of very thin glazes, sometimes twenty or more layers deep. Eline makes more use of opaque pigments in a process called
scumbling." Her surfaces tend to be more textured and her colors are often tints, pure colors mixed with white. She tries to maintain the look of her paintings in her pastels. Fine examples of both mediums are in this show.
Colin remarks that his mother's paintings are getting more abstract and that he greatly admires the deftness and freedom of her brushwork. Eline is clearly proud of her son's accomplishments as well, though the two maintain a friendly rivalry. Gallery-goers will benefit from this, because clearly each artist has pushed the other to new heights.
Also on view is an installation by Beacon artist Robert Brush entitled Jesus in the Clouds, Beacon NY, which is based on a strange experience the artist had while living in New York City.
One day Brush observed a woman with a camera seemingly taking photos of the sky while standing in the middle of the street. Seeing her once was odd enough, but what really caught his attention was the fact that she appeared at the same time 4 or 5 days a week for the next two months always pointing her camera towards the heavens. Finally his curiosity demanded that he find out what she was up to. He politely asked and she responded, "looking at Jesus." When Brush took a look through the camera, Jesus was nowhere to be seen, only clouds. And what's more, the camera had no film.
This experience led the artist to think about seeing and believing and belief in general and this is subject of his installation of cloud photographs that he has taken over the past year and a half.
Van Brunt Gallery is located at 460 Main Street, Beacon. For further information please call 845-838-2995 or e-mail carl@vanbruntgallery.com. The gallery website address is www.vanbruntgallery.com. Gallery hours are Thursday - Monday 11am to 6pm.
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