julian bailey

13th february - 13th march

‘For me painting is about a certain directness above all else. No filters,no smothering in charm,no gravy of special effects or clever brushwork.
Whether the painting of the head has features or not it must be arresting, it must hold you. It must be alert, a moment in time recollected and held forever.
Of course the pictures here are about a studio relationship between artist and sitter, one of equals in input. There is no male gaze or such like, of which we hear so much about at the moment.
The pictures are sensual, but that’s in the nature of oil painting, turn away if you don’t like that. There’s youth, radiance, joy, and beauty and vitality for sure.
Above all there is presence. These pictures are not imitations or copies of a person. They are their own reality. Presence in the studio, that’s how it starts. A chat, some coffee, music (Handel or Bach) some drawing, a moment held. Then gone, absence. Recollection is all that’s left. Empty studio. What can you do? Gather yourself up, paint.
Action, and something new comes about, a form of salvation, for me at least. Something you only had an inkling of has fully manifested itself through the work, and that makes for moments of real joy.
For the sitters too, I am so grateful. Lending me a part of themselves like this, very personally, very privately, and now very publicly, thank you.’

Julian Bailey

This is far from the first of Julian's exhibitions which I have viewed, admired and found - in every respect - increasingly impressive, from the broadest, repeating aspects and angles to the rarest and finest details. His paintings reward extended, acute and infinitesimal observation just as much as - although in a different and complementary vein relative to - swift, all-encompassing appreciation limited, perhaps, by time or other practicalities. This series of his works here is very impressive and a pleasure in every respect to enjoy, compare and evaluate as single pictures and also as respective components in a stylistically and time-line-related group of works. He is a notable artist: not many - any?! - like him; his works have many dimensions, and these pictures have given me unending pleasure to get to know.
I ask myself what it is that impresses me so much amongst scenes which appear bold, strongly coloured and deftly outlined......no hazy horizons, multitudes of shades of one and the same base colour merging and fusing with each other; no shady figures in the background, wildlife in the middle distance, nor yet a focus on blurred and uncertain skies which one often encounters in exhibited works. These representations of people, places and objects ranging from bottles through towels to flowers are strong, definitive and bold, but, impressively, they do not come across as stark, sharp, contrasting or incompatible, as is often true of clearly represented people, places and pastimes....
…Some people might refer to his work by way of familiar and apparently relevant terms such as Abstract Art or Modern Art, to name but two of the many schools and styles on record and in viewers' minds and eyes. Julian's paintings give me a strong and welcome impression of recurrent confidence and competence in evidently mature and experienced observations of persons, of scenes and of situations, simplifying and prioritising the subject-matter in such a way as to reproduce a firm and skilled expression of what is important in a vision and event for making its characteristics and its impact evident, impressive and memorable. This feature of Julian's artistic talent comes across strongly - as I experienced it today - as one focuses, considers and gradually realises why and how the images have the strength, solidarity and significance which they do, at the same time as retaining cohesion, realism and a gentle, natural overall appearance. He seems - to me! - to have taken time definitively to decide - perhaps overtly; perhaps subliminally - what lines, colours, features, items and geometric, geophysical properties create the impressive and memorable impacts of each subject. These are the details which he has immortalised on canvas, reinforced with a subtle sense of vivid colours, lines and relative positioning of features portrayed. The subject-matter could never have been invented by a computer, however sophisticated its supposed programming skills. It couldn't have been 'taught' by a specialised Arts academic or practitioner. It calls for the experience and deliberation of an eminently artistic mind and eye over time to translate events, visions, objects, persons and shapes in to prioritised, simple, straightforward, accurate and evocative representations which impress the mind and eye of the humble observer and admirer (- as am I!).
I was much taken by almost every painting in the series, for respective and specific reasons as well for the overarching rationale which occurred to me gradually as I gazed and thought further. The simple view of Chloe with a Blue Towel, the intriguing representation of Bottles & Cups and Echoes of a Barn, to select a few, reflect this stylistic approach which specifically, if not uniquely, reflect Julian's 'artistic philosophy', and stand out, at least in terms of my appreciation, as egalitarian examples of the ways in which he achieves apparent pictorial simplicity at the same time as attaining a notable level of technical sophistication, artistic development and appeal to the eyes of the beholder!
Please forgive me if I seem to have become entranced by these paintings, and thereby over-expressive in referring to them. I'm aware that I've set down my thinking and my reactions in greater detail than I should have done in extending my ideas to anyone who sees fit to consider them. The excuse - and reason! - for my having done so is that this exhibition has reach, depth and impact which one doesn't encounter often: and enthusiasm leads me energetically to set out the 'whys and the wherefores' that may go some way to help me in explaining my admiration.…

Jamie Stewart