There's something highly satisfying about viewing well constructed and well presented drawings, paintings and sculptures in exhibition. But when the work engages the intellect or evokes emotion, it's even more exciting. The work by Brian Richard Taylor seen here both satisfies and excites to provide a fascinating experience. By personifying human conceits and foibles in the figure of the Harlequin, the artist not only gives life to our hopes and dreams, he provides us with someone to blame for our own failures. And if some of us debate the meaning of the compositions, which allows us to engage even more with the exhibits, all agree on the excellence of their construction and presentation.
Drawing the figure is difficult but when it is made to look easy you know the artist is in top form. Taylor is a master at defining the human body in paint, pen, pencil and patinated terracotta. His understanding of anatomy allows this artist to celebrate the beauty of the body from the tips of the fingers of the lady watching a Man in Flight, to the pointed toes of the dancers in Cricket Match. This ability is much appreciated as it allows the artist to present the figure in a variety of possible and impossible poses. The elegance of his drawing gives credibility to the narratives while rich colours and stable compositions allow the viewer to safely free fall into a world that seamlessly melds fact with fiction. And isn't that just the kind of belief that breathes life into all Myths?
As well as deftly defined figures, Taylor's landscapes detail grasses, weeds, flowers, and leaves with what seems to be the smallest brush. Even a below ground root system surrounding the Recluse is painted with care and believability. Although we assume these arcadian landscapes are fantasy, the strength of rocks and fragility of foliage seen in Soliloquy at Chippers is recognizable as a certain section of Greenmount Hill.
Blurring the border between fact and fiction seems to be part and parcel of Taylor's artform. Consider Take a Good Look and Harlequin and Dryad, two exotic images painted so they appear to be completed jigsaw puzzles. If they have a lesson to impart it may be something along the lines of our need to have all the pieces in the right place if we want to see life's 'big picture'. Or perhaps they hint at the fragility of our perception of reality.
Taylor's smaller black and white, ink and colour pencil drawings prove the old adage that less is more. With minimum definition of the subject we are able to 'fill in the blanks' between the simple shapes to 'see' the whole. This concept is also employed in the beautifully rendered large painting Homemaker. Here our 'hero' sits in a room where pieces of furniture are fully hidden by dust covers leaving only their contours to suggest what lurks beneath the shrouds. A similarly covered figure is seated next to the Harlequin, with only bare feet exposed. We find the shape of head, hands and knees via the excellent use of subtle highlights. It is a 'haunting' image that called me back more then once.
I also returned often to the small sphinx like terracotta sculptures that defy definition and demand to be stroked. This collection of exotic half-breeds involving female busts with bird or animal torsos, lounge on plinths and are surrounded by purring admirers. They are indeed fantastic fantasies.
Do see this exhibition and take the time to explore every exhibit as each well crafted narrative offers an exciting excursion into realistic fantasy.