Arundel exhibition extended as art world gets ready to reopen

Andy Waite’s online exhibition at Arundel Contemporary has been extended to June 28 – to include a chance for people to visit the gallery in person, with galleries reopening on June 15.
ANDY WAITE  In the studio  Photo by Jonathan WilsonANDY WAITE  In the studio  Photo by Jonathan Wilson
ANDY WAITE In the studio Photo by Jonathan Wilson

Andy’s work continues to explore an expressionist approach to landscape painting, his sense of colour enveloping you in an uplifting state of reverie, he promises. These are paintings to wander through, to become lost in and to return to…

The exhibition goes under the title Still Comes The Sky, a central preoccupation in Andy’s work: “I do feel that we have taken our environment for granted at our peril for too long and that in my small way I wish to draw attention to the beauty and wonder of nature. Still Comes the Sky is a reflection of that feeling in that it’s always there for us, bringing us its light and dark and reminding us that we are blessed and beholden to it in all its forms, come rain or shine. I was always more concerned with the landscape, but I have noticed that over the years my horizons have descended. I used to take a smaller area of sky and was more interested in the patchwork of the landscape below it, but over the past few years, I have been looking upwards more… and my horizons have gone down. The sky is now about three-quarters of the canvas.

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“I suppose I am just looking towards the light more. I like those days when there is a lot of drama in the sky, when you can see something threatening on one side but you can also see the light coming through on the other. I am inspired by those moments of contrast… those moments that reflect the light and dark within us all.

“I think the sky is something you can easily take for granted. Every day is a fresh day with new possibilities and the sky is still there. We are still blessed by it. It is easy just to think that one day just follows another, but the sky is still there giving us its joy and its blessing.”

As for the lockdown, Andy says: “I work in isolation anyway so it hasn’t really been much of a change for me. It hasn’t made a great deal of difference so I have just been able to get on with my work.”

The gallery is set to reopen on June 15 and will welcome all visitors while maintaining social distancing so that work can be viewed safely. Only two visitors will be allowed in at a time in order to protect both staff and art lovers.

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Paintings can however be viewed by appointment and can also be trialled at home with free delivery up to 75 miles and free postage within the UK.

The online catalogue has now been refreshed to include new paintings to replace those already sold.

“I am not expected to be there in the gallery in person, but they have actually sold a few online. I think people are going to be cautious initially about going back to gallery, but the response online has been good.”

And that online element – which has always been there to an extent – will continue to be important even when galleries are fully up and running, Andy suspects.

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It is one of the possible changes in the art world: “I do think people will be getting used to having Zoom to show them around a virtual gallery. I think the online stuff will continue as another way to show work to people for when they can’t actually physically get there.”

But the art itself won’t necessarily change.

“I am just inspired by the landscape… though I do think it is a time when there is a great deal of environmental concern around. And I hope my work turns people’s attention towards the landscape, but I have always been a nature lover anyway. I am just trying to bring the joy of my experiences of nature to the public.”

You can view the online catalogue at https://online.anyflip.com/fhnn/prhx/index.htmlArundel Contemporary is situated at 53 High Street, Arundel, BN18 9AJ.

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