NEXT EXHIBITION
opens 2nd FEB
“INSTANT MASH”
Carl Stimpson
2nd – 23rd February 2019
Opening party: Friday 1st February 6-9pm
I’d like to be / picture this / a gallery / trapped in a world /
through the mirror / but I still / see / a vision of you / right
before my eyes / there is something that I visualize / through /
all the tears / all the love / a distorted reality / to dream / you
took the blue out of the sky / instead of breaking up / instead of
/ a doorway / I realize it’s just a picture in a frame / seems like
everything I see / I still / love / like a portrait in flesh / I picture
all the things / you need / you have to borrow / rock steady /
again / again / so deep / listen Lord / all the things / I / paint /
the city / the tears / I / put you all inside my show / but / now,
babe, stop / ‘cause / there ain’t nothing like the real thing / my
world has turned to dust / just a handful of / reflections / I play
the game of fantasy / but / your paintings are all your own / love
/ right before my eyes / that’s the only thing / a total portrait
with no omissions / I got your picture hangin’ on my wall / ain’t
that poster love? /can’t tell them apart at all / be a gallery /
scanning life through the picture / to / think about paint / about
paint / your paintings / can’t tell them apart at all / so let me get
the real thing / ain’t nothing like the real thing / a vision of you
Carl Stimpson’s work mixes carefully painted portraits of icons from the worlds of music and film with cartoon imagery and techniques, and classic but obscure advertising logos. So far, so pop-art, but where his work diverges is in his treatment of this classic material – his use of the ‘ligne-claire’ technique, the imposition and projection of his mashups onto suburban and urban walls as fictional murals, a slight twist in some of the lovingly painted portraits.
Having trained initially as a painter – he studied Fine Art at The Arts Institute of Bournemouth (now Arts University College Bournemouth) – the recent addition of screenprinting to his painting techniques has allowed Carl to introduce an element of mass-production to his work, producing beautifully varied editions where the flatness of a screenprinted black ink layer contrasts with the softer hand-painted elements.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////