Dick Chappell, Vivienne Williams & Richard Barrett

About

Dick Chappell

Dick was born in the Derbyshire Peak District in 1954 and studied Painting at Goldsmith’s College of Art. Relocating to the Clydach Valley in 1988 brought about a significant change of subject matter. This area, like Derbyshire, has a rich pastoral and post-industrial landscape which together with the coastline of SW England and Wales, provide the key reference points from which his paintings have evolved.
The recent sale of Dick's work at the David Bowie Auction, for a record price, has brought with it worldwide attention. This is the first exhibition of new works by Dick since the Bowie sale.
 "These paintings are a continuation of an examination of a language, form and subject which has developed over the past 20 years or so with little deviation. As a subject, landscape provides a traditional metaphor for a breadth of life’s complexities and, for a number of reasons, the coast is especially well suited to my interests. I don’t get to see the sea as much as I’d like but I do dream of it a good deal."

Vivienne Williams

Vivienne Williams was born in Swansea in 1955. She studied English Literature at Reading University taking a Masters Degree in ‘The Literary Response to the Visual Arts’ in 1978. She spent the next five years abroad, teaching English in Venice and Padua and working in an art gallery in Sydney where she began selling her work for the first time. Returning to the UK in 1983 she spent the next seven years studying and working in a Buddhist Community before becoming a full time painter in 1990, returning to Wales at this time. Her work is in public and private collections in Britain and abroad.
Vivienne says of her work:
“My subject matter is still life - vessels, flowers and fruit. I paint everything from my mind, my imagination and memory, preferring a flattened perspective with simplified forms. There is an emotional significance invested in the objects by returning to them again and again - like working a seam, one painting leads on to the next."

Richard Barrett

Richard was born in Cardiff in 1963. Although now based in Yorkshire, much of the inspiration for his work comes from spending time walking the coastline of Wales.
Richard says of his work
"My painting is driven by the elements, by the changing dynamics of light and how this breathes life into the landscape. I try to capture this essence, the powerful beauty of nature and its emotional charge".
Walking the landscape and sketching provide the starting point for Richard's work. As the process of painting begins, an intuitive approach comes into play. Instinct and memories guide the direction of the piece, with layers of paint energetically applied using brushes, palette knives and rags. Texture plays an important part - scratching, mark making and glazing are often incorporated into the finished work. The seascapes and landscapes that emerge have an allusive, abstracted quality. They invite the viewer in, to find their own interpretation, their own personal experience.
Much of the work for this show continues Richard's fascination with the land and sea of North Wales. In particular, the coastline of Anglesey and the unique presence of Snowdonia have played a vital role in many of these new paintings.