Rather than taking the random tourists approach to art appreciation, I decided this weekend to go back to basics and look after number one. Having got soaked last Saturday in the cause of my art, poor Tempted was roped in as chauffeur for a Saturday afternoon tour of the battlefield.
So, eschewing randomness, number one it was, and we were soon off to the exhibition proudly placed at the top of the list by the organizers, on the extreme outskirts of E17 at 277 Billet Road.
And what a fine choice it turned out to be. Paul Robinson and Anssi Sojakka are two professional artists who are really taking their work seriously, and deserve in turn to be taken seriously themselves. Their house had numerous works by the pair in their downstairs living room (which would be worth the trip anyway just of the the interior decorations and the deft use of manikins). Further work was displayed up the stairs and out in the back garden in their purpose built studio. The pieces tend to be large and striking.
The two artists' works complement each other well, and so were displayed as a mixed ensemble. Both use very complex techniques. Robinson tends to industriously fill his spaces, particularly with works such as "Gas Man"
where he uses the full canvas or board in his work and creates large representational pieces, whereas Sojakka, who makes an interesting use of components, incorporated in his art, has been tending to be more spare in his later works. These are quite moody and integrated with oceanic themes. Works of his such as "Heavy Weight" and "Entangled" caused some debate between Tempted and myself, as they verge on the sinister. I thought this was in a thrilling, spine-tingling way.