In 2017 Galerie Terra’s exhibition series will start with a solo exhibit of work by the British artist Martin McWilliam, who resides in Germany. He is a regular guest in the gallery with his theme “The vessel and its image”.
Following a work sojourn in China, his objects have developed a more archeological character. He places the vessels and bowls between vertical ‘support pillars’ which invite the viewer to examine them more closely. The different dimensions in space and time, originally influenced by Japanese culture, emerge and lead from the imitation of what he admires to the representation of beauty.
McWilliam’s belief that art is a process in which the products of our curiosity take shape is illustrated by the following quotation from Donna Tartt’s novel The Goldfinch:
“—if a painting really works down in your heart and changes the way you see, and think, and feel, you don’t think, ‘oh, I love this picture because it’s universal.’ ‘I love this painting because it speaks to all mankind.’ That’s not the reason anyone loves a piece of art. It’s a secret whisper from an alleyway. Psst, you. Hey kid. Yes you.”
Whether a brushstroke – or in his case, a bowl – has something to say is a different matter:
“….there’s a middle zone, a rainbow edge where beauty comes into being, …”
Etty Walda
Galerie Terra Delft