Western Morning News (Saturday)
Maggie’s Wild Song is a breath of fresh air
FRANK RUHRMUND views Maggie Matthews’ new exhibition at Cornwall Contemporary, Penzance
THE song Maggie Matthews sings in her exhibition Wild Song, being held at Cornwall Contemporary, 1 Parade Street, Penzance, is not only wild but also wonderful. With a dozen of her new collection of paintings having been sold prior to the exhibition opening, and with one each of them going to Germany and the USA, and two going to New Zealand, the remaining eight going to venues in the UK, it emphasises the artist’s international and national importance.
One who was born in the small coal mining village of Blaina in South Wales, she now lives and works at Botallack, a former busy centre of Cornwall’s copper and tin mining industry, she studied at Newport College of Art & Design and at Exeter College of Art & Design in Devon. Not surprisingly, the first public commission she received more than 20 or so years ago, came from a firm in her native Wales, a request for a 12-foot long painted panel to be erected in the reception area of the then new offices of the architectural engineers Ove Arup & Partners, in Cardiff. Other commissions include BBC Wales Broadcasting Studio, where a permanent collection of her paintings are on display during broadcasts. She has not only exhibited her work widely throughout Cornwall and the UK, but also further afield in the USA, from Nantucket Island to New York in the White Columns exhibition. and she is now represented in a number of collections, from that of BBC Wales to Women of the World, Claudia DeMonte in the USA.
Although not alone in being described as an unusual artist, Maggie Matthews is more unusual than most in that she successfully combines her love of the great outdoors and of working there as an en plein air artist with her love of abstraction. An abstract en plein airist, in fact, she often lives dangerously and is to be found perched on the cliff edge not far from her home, working rapidly with her sketchbook, totally absorbed while attempting to capture the essence of the moment. Talking of her approach to her art, she says: “I seek out the wild and scenic landscapes of Cornwall in order to walk and paint. My steps quickly fall into a rhythm as the path weaves its way in and out of coves, crossing small rivers, climbing steep headlands. I can while away the hours recording the plant life, noticing the subtle changes in the turning of the seasons. A gentle joyfulness and a natural curiosity keeps me moving forward. Working outdoors encourages me to react instinctively to the landscape, weather and light. A carpet of sea pinks contrasted against a sparkling blue sea is quickly recorded. The yellow gorse overpowers one’s sight and smell, and oxide orange lichen shines out from a grey granite background. All these colours find their way on to my canvases. Returning to the calm of the studio, I spend many hours in a process of simplification, a honing down to the essential aspects of line and evocative colour.” An artist for whom the relationship between people and the natural world lies at the heart of her work, from Beachcomber and Sea Path to Sea Song and The Wild Garden, it’s a heart which beats strongly in each of the many atmospheric abstract but accessible paintings that contributes to the charm of her totally captivating Wild Song.
All of them can be seen on the gallery’s website, along with a virtual tour of the gallery, which includes its upper floors where works by the gallery’s regular exhibitors can be seen. everything from Jessica Cooper’s Small White Butterfly and A Measure of Love to Ken Spooner’s Blue Wheel and Blue Devils.
Wild Song runs until August 1, and the gallery hopes to be open 10-5pm Tuesday to Saturday until then, but it is worth checking its website for up to date information on actual opening times.