Bernard Charnley
Bernard Charnley is an English painter born in 1948 in Reading and is now based in Frome, Somerset. Charnley trained in graphics and painting at Leeds College of Art. His interest and study in philosophy led to graduating from the Open University with his MA. This experience informs his ongoing work.
Current selection
These paintings are a dialogue with the scenic as a familiar kind of image, with its idealised conventions placed under pressure so drawing attention to its premises. The anchoring horizon and its division of the elements is the activating architecture. A complex exchange is then intuitively shaped among geometry, abstraction, mark, gesture, layering, surface scoring and scraping with unexpected interactions of tone and colour. Titles are integral as adjacent commentary, inviting multiple associations or interpretations. The exploration unsettles the scenic as a given harmony, offering an aporetic space that questions the image in its making, refusing a settled coherence.
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