I recently met up with London-based artist Sam Peacock, (born 1976. originally from Rugby and educated at Coventry University. "Escaped the West Midlands in 2004 to pursue a career in London") to view his one-man exhibition at Curious Duke Gallery in London. Sam’s paintings, whilst being minimalist abstracted landscapes, are a refreshing shift away from any convention. Working on steel plates he creates horizons across the “canvas”, based on experiences from his travels around the globe, particularly in Australia and Thailand. I think the pieces are terrific.
Employing a mix of conventional and
unconventional organic materials like liquorice, demerera sugar, and carbolic soap he creates
surprising subtle effects and delicate colours. He sometimes uses burning to
good effect as well (the only pieces that reminded of the “Combustione” works
of Italian artist Alberto Burri, but this was totally incidental) creating hot
and harsh “burnt” landscapes that refer to the Australian Outback. He often scrapes back layers of paint to
reveal the blur the horizons that define his work. He references these works in
series called Orescrape, Colourscrape, and Remescrape.
Peacock explains that “I gorge on the speed and power of mark-making, the rawness and the ferocity of paint; how brush marks shift, scrape and overlap to build up structures and forms which compel me to paint, I look incisively for the conversation within the form to build this up on the surface as the work evolves.”
Dubbo (from the Australian series)
Sam Peacock: “Dubbo is a desolate town where buildings and architecture are characterised by those who occupy them. It’s a jail town with hard as nails pubs, the earth is red and scorched and wildlife lethal. The town’s attractions presented in all forms help form this series of work. In age and eccentricity comes a force of colour. Heat is used at varying points to cause as much distress as possible.”
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| Dubbo 1 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 50 x 50 cm |
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| Dubbo 2 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 50 x 50 cm |
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| Dubbo 3 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 50 x 50 cm |
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| Dubbo 4 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 50 x 50 cm |
Katoomba
“Home of the 3 sisters, hence this is a
triptych. The red being inspired by patches of fauna growing on the rocks and
the mineral content escaping into the bush trails there; a vast space of
undiscovered land. Burned out areas appear frequently in this space of intense
beauty. The raw surfaces in the works combine organic materials matched with
intense heats.”
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| Katoomba 1 Masking tape, Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 100 x 100 cm |
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| Katoomba 2 Masking tape, Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 100 x 100 cm |
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| Katoomba 3 Masking tape, Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 100 x 100 cm |
Kurringai
“The inspiration for this series comes
from looking at where early pioneers had blasted huge rock formations out of
the earth and used steel drilling equipment to carve out a freeway to link
Sydney to Newcastle on the Central Coast Road, Memories were of hanging out the
car window taking photos on my iphone looking for earth colours mixed with
human interactions in the form of drill lines.”
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| Kurringai 1 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 100 x 100 cm |
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| Kurringai 2 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 50 x 50 cm |
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| Kurringai 3 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 50 x 50 cm |
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| Kurringai 4 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 50 x 50 cm |
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| Kurringai 5 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 25 x 25 cm |
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| Kurringai 6 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 25 x 25 cm |
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| Kurringai 7 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 25 x 25 cm |
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| Kurringai 8 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 25 x 25 cm |
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| Kurringai 9 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 25 x 25 cm |
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| Kurringai 10 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 25 x 25 cm |
Blaxland
“Blaxland, like most of Australia has a
bushfire indicator, I spent time wandering through Blaxland national park with
my Brother in Law who is knowledgeable on the Australian outback. We looked at
some bushfire damage to trees and the land, an array of charred wood, iron ore
and in the rainy season, mudslides. My Australian family is from here and it’s
a place close to my heart. There are areas of light and dark in most artist’s
rites of passage, this is possibly mine.”
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| Blaxland 1 Demerera sugar, Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 100 x 100 cm |
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| Blaxland 2 50 x 50 cm Demerera sugar, Masking tape, Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel |
Newtown
“Newtown’s vibrancy and chaotic charm
mixed with Sydney’s urban population and Victorian architecture gives a heaven
sent hideaway for vegans and book lovers and has been a place to explore over
the years.”
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| Newtown 1 Oils and varnish on mild steel 50 x 50 cm |
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| Newtown 2 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 50 x 50 cm |
Ettalong
"A place close to my heart, because it's where I go fishing. Natural beauty occurs in all areas. Its inhabitants are all weathered by the local environment, as is everything else. I swam out to a pier here, which was broken and taken by the sea, to fish off. The piece of work is a signature piece and incorporates oils, varnishes, and organic materials."
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| Ettalong Demerera sugar, oils and varnish on mild steel 100 x 100 cm |
Mudgee
"This series is based on a visit to rural New South Wales in 2010. It's known for it's mining industries of old. Looking at some of the shapes and spaces, along with the colours there, which were raw and sun-bleached. The work is based on steel and includes oils and varnishes alongside coffee and masking tape."
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| Mudgee 1 Demerera sugar, Arabica coffee, gloss and matt varnish on mild steel 100 x 100 cm |
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| Mudgee 2 Demerera sugar, Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 50 x 50 cm |
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| Mudgee 3 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 25 x 25 cm |
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| Mudgee 4 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 25 x 25 cm |
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| Mudgee 5 Arabica coffee, oils and varnish on mild steel 25 x 25 cm |
Umina
"The rock formations here are awe-inspiring, the sea is a force of nature and the heat oversees life here like a giant pagan god. Australia and it's vast resources are here for all to see. The bleached colours are everywhere and the stone is hot to touch. Every now and again, a seal will appear on the beach, having been chased by a Great White. Oils, varnishes and organic materials scatter the surfaces."
"The rock formations here are awe-inspiring, the sea is a force of nature and the heat oversees life here like a giant pagan god. Australia and it's vast resources are here for all to see. The bleached colours are everywhere and the stone is hot to touch. Every now and again, a seal will appear on the beach, having been chased by a Great White. Oils, varnishes and organic materials scatter the surfaces."
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| Umina 1 Oils and varnish on mild steel 75 x 75 cm |
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| Umina 2 Oils and varnish on mild steel 75 x 75 cm |
Whiscrape
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| Whiscrape 1 Oils and varnishes on steel plate 25 x 25 cm |
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| Whiscrape 4 Oils and varnishes on steel plate 25 x 25 cm |
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| Whiscrape 5 Oils and varnishes on steel plate 25 x 25 cm |
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| Whiscrape 7 Oils and varnishes on steel plate 25 x 25 cm |
Remescrape
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| Remescrape 18 Oils and varnishes on steel plate 50 x 50 cm |
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| Remescrape 20 Oils and varnishes on steel plate 50 x 50 cm |
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| Remescrape 22 Oils and varnishes on steel plate 50 x 50 cm |
Ironsea
The Ironsea series represents a long-awaited ambition to look at Britain's trade links and its underbelly of routes and lines that draw towards a capital. Britain's coastal ports and its links to the new worlds are studied. Decay creeps in alongside a heritage of Industry. The sugar trade is examined in the materials seen and our relationship with the world is discussed alongside the overwhelming power of the oceans."
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| Ironsea 1 Carbolic Soap, Liquorice, Demerara, Varnish and Oils on a steel plate 50 x 50 cm |
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| Ironsea 2 Carbolic Soap, Liquorice, Demerara, Varnish and Oils on a steel plate 50 x 50 cm |
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| Ironsea 3 Carbolic Soap, Liquorice, Demerara, Varnish and Oils on a steel plate 50 x 50 cm |
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| Ironsea 4 Carbolic Soap, Liquorice, Demerara, Varnish and Oils on a steel plate 35 x 35 cm |
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| Ironsea 5 Carbolic Soap, Liquorice, Demerara, Varnish and Oils on a steel plate 35 x 35 cm |
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| Ironsea 6 Carbolic Soap, Liquorice, Demerara, Varnish and Oils on a steel plate 35 x 35 cm |
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| Ironsea 7 Carbolic Soap, Liquorice, Demerara, Varnish and Oils on a steel plate 35 x 35 cm |
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| Ironsea 8 Carbolic Soap, Liquorice, Demerara, Varnish and Oils on a steel plate 35 x 35 cm |
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| Ironsea 9 Carbolic Soap, Liquorice, Demerara, Varnish and Oils on a steel plate 35 x 35 cm |
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| Ironsea 10 Carbolic Soap, Liquorice, Demerara, Varnish and Oils on a steel plate 35 x 35 cm |
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