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Exhibition catalogue
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GARY WRAGG
Constant Within The Change
Circuits & Edges
19 November – 5 December 2014
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
22 Mason’s Yard Duke Street St. James’s London SW1Y 6BU United Kingdom
T: +44 (0)20 7930 1262 F: +44 (0)20 7839 8043 E: contact@alanwheatleyart.com W: alanwheatleyart.com
Circuits & Edges
The poetic dialogue of centre to edge has flourished throughout the history of art, from the Egyptians to “The Book of Kells”, to
Persian and Indian Miniature paintings, up to a certain particularity in Matisse’s use of the border in his paintings and the great
late “Cut-outs”, to the superb edge paintings of Jules Olitski and Sam Francis in the 1960s and 1970s.
The modest selection of paintings in my forthcoming third one-person show at Alan Wheatley Art will describe the transition in
my recent work from “Circuits” to “Edges”. These themes have been a periodic preoccupation throughout earlier decades, and
continue for me now well into the sixth decade of my life as a painter. The recent paintings continue on from the last works
illustrated in the second volume of Constant Within The Change, published in March 2014 and celebrated with the retrospective
exhibition at Clifford Chance, Canary Wharf, London.
In my work abstract painting means the avoidance of a brand image, and instead the pursuit or investigation of disparate
pictorial means of “Now” states of being. What you see is what is there, it is not something else. This is what I revere, sensations
and activities playing around, flowing around, images without formula, that are capable of contradiction. The sensing and sensual
processes of my painting forage fresh presences and juxtapositions not restricted by categorization. The titles of the works in the
show arise mostly from snippets of Emile Zola’s novel “L’Assommoir”.
The recent paintings focus particularly on the function of central and peripheral perception, incorporating the spontaneous
application of paint to echo edge gestures, sometimes as a reflection amidst the central traversing of brush marks. I have a need
for my painting to achieve a certain kind of totality, a freshness and illumination of paint, light, colour, gesture, surface and space.
While I paint, there is a focus on an accurate meeting of stillness and movement that ultimately vies with my intuitive impulses
and the connected-disconnected feelings that may occur. Various intrigues sometimes emerge: how a pure colour can be echoed
in a canvas; how a mixed colour can ignite an otherwise static combination to create a particular kind of liveliness. An inquiring
activity suffuses a contradictory repose, just as painting itself comprises the two impossible complimentary opposites of flat
surface and illusionary space, to be united as one, neither taking precedence over the other.
Gary Wragg
October 2014
1
Rue Gambetta
2007-2010
Oil on canvas
211 x 168 cm / 83 x 66 inches
Literature: Constant Within The Change: Gary Wragg: Five Decades of Paintings: A Comprehensive Catalogue, Sansom & Co. Ltd.., London, 2014, ill.p.163.
2
Le Cannet
2007-2013
Oil on canvas
211 x 168 cm / 83 x 66 inches
Literature: Constant Within The Change: Gary Wragg: Five Decades of Paintings: A Comprehensive Catalogue, Sansom & Co. Ltd.., London, 2014, ill.p.208.
3
From Black 2
2009-2014
Oil and oil-stick on canvas
120 x 100 cm / 47 x 39 ½ inches
4
Blue / Yellow Streak
2010-2013
Oil and oil-stick on canvas
170 x 152 cm / 67 x 60 inches
Literature: Constant Within The Change: Gary Wragg: Five Decades of Paintings: A Comprehensive Catalogue, Sansom & Co. Ltd.., London, 2014, ill.p.199.
5
Pink, Blue & Green Wedges
2012-2014
Acrylic on canvas
220 x 169 cm / 86 ½ x 66 ½ inches
6
Elgin Re-visited
2013-2014
Charcoal and acrylic on linen
190.5 x 90 cm / 75 x 35 ½ inches
7
Four Corners, Two Circuits
2012
Oil and oil-stick on canvas
79 x 99 cm / 31 x 39 inches
Literature: Constant Within The Change: Gary Wragg: Five Decades of Paintings: A Comprehensive Catalogue, Sansom & Co. Ltd.., London, 2014, ill.p.196.
8
Four Corners, Blue / Orange Circuits
2012
Oil and oil-stick on canvas
79 x 99 cm / 31 x 39 inches
Literature: Constant Within The Change: Gary Wragg: Five Decades of Paintings: A Comprehensive Catalogue, Sansom & Co. Ltd.., London, 2014, ill.p.197.
9
Speckled Pink – They All Clinked Glasses Again
2014
Oil on canvas
90 x 71 cm / 36 x 28 inches
10
Strolling in the Sunshine – Yellow Green Edges
2014
Oil on canvas
90 x 71 cm / 36 x 28 inches
11
Three Reds – Friendship is Friendship and Nothing to Beat It
2014
Oil on canvas
90 x 71 cm / 36 x 28 inches
12
Rolling Blues
2014
Oil on canvas
80 x 60 cm / 31 ½ x 23 ½ inches
13
Green Black – No Beginning No End
2014
Oil on canvas
80 x 60 cm / 31 ½ x 23 ½ inches
14
Butterfly Wedges
2014
Oil on canvas
80 x 60 cm / 31 ½ x 23 ½ inches
15
Red Edges - Pincushioned
2014
Oil on canvas
80 x 60 cm / 31 ½ x 23 ½ inches
16
Sonic Triangle
2013-2014
Oil on canvas
80 x 60 cm / 31 ½ x 23 ½ inches
17
Pilanch
2014
Oil on canvas
80 x 60 cm / 31 ½ x 23 ½ inches
18
Grelanch
2013-2014
Oil on canvas
76 x 61 cm / 30 x 24 inches
19
Centre Twist
2014
Oil on canvas-board
76 x 51 cm / 30 x 20 inches
20
Yellow Orange Edges – Out on the Streets
2014
Oil on canvas
60 x 49.5 cm / 23 ½ x 19 ½ inches
21
Blue Diagonal Twist
2014
Oil on canvas
60 x 49.5 cm / 23 ½ x 19 ½ inches
22
Green Yellow Red Edges – Spring Came
2014
Oil on canvas
60 x 49.5 cm / 23 ½ x 19 ½ inches
23
Magenta, Green & Black Edges – Nothing Left to Fear
2014
Oil on canvas
60 x 49.5 cm / 23 ½ x 19 ½ inches
24
Yellow Green Pink & Blue Edges – Haven of Idleness & Enjoyment
2014
Oil on canvas
60 x 49.5 cm / 23 ½ x 19 ½ inches
25
Ultramarine Magenta Gamboge & Black Edges – Everyone Should Have Some Privacy
2014
Oil on canvas
60 x 49.5 cm / 23 ½ x 19 ½ inches
26
Bottle Green Centre – Tipped Him the Wink
2014
Oil on canvas
60 x 49.5 cm / 23 ½ x 19 ½ inches
27
Black & Yellow Corner
2014
Oil on canvas
60 x 30 cm / 23 ½ x 11 ¾ inches
28
Orange Purple Yellow – When It Didn’t Put Anyone Out
2014
Oil on canvas
60 x 30 cm / 23 ½ x 11 ¾ inches
29
Green Red Lilac Up Down
2014
Oil on canvas
60 x 30 cm / 23 ½ x 11 ¾ inches
30
Pink Green Grey White Edge – Calm Went On
2012-2014
Oil on canvas
51 x 40.5 cm / 20 x 16 inches
31
Blue Centre Yellow Edge - Badingue
2012-2014
Oil on canvas
51 x 40.5 cm / 20 x 16 inches
32
Green Orange Red – A Stately Tread
2014
Oil on canvas
51 x 40.5 cm / 20 x 16 inches
33
Lilac Yellow – Good Health
2012-2014
Oil on canvas
51 x 40.5 cm / 20 x 16 inches
34
Blue Yellow – Again Between
2012-2014
Oil on canvas
51 x 40.5 cm / 20 x 16 inches
35
Green Yellow & White Circuit
2013
Oil on canvas
29 x 39.5 cm / 12 x 15 ½ inches
36
Orange Double White Circuit
2012-2014
Oil on canvas
29 x 39.5 cm / 12 x 15 ½ inches
37
Triple White Wedge Circuit
2012-2014
Oil on canvas
29 x 39.5 cm / 12 x 15 ½ inches
38
White Blue Double Circuit
2012-2014
Oil on canvas
29 x 39.5 cm / 12 x 15 ½ inches
INDEX
1 Rue Gambetta 2007-2010 Oil 211 x 168 cm
2 Le Cannet 2007-2013 Oil 211 x 168 cm
3 From Black 2 2009- 2014 Oil and oil-stick 120 x 100 cm
4 Blue / Yellow Streak 2010-2013 Oil and oil-stick 170 x 152 cm
5 Pink, Blue & Green Wedges 2012-2014 Acrylic 220 x 169 cm
6 Elgin Re-visited 2013-2014 Charcoal and acrylic 190.5 x 90 cm
7 Four Corners, Two Circuits 2012 Oil and oil-stick 79 x 99 cm
8 Four Corners, Blue / Orange Circuits 2012 Oil and oil-stick 79 x 99 cm
9 Speckled Pink - They All Clinked Glasses Again 2014 Oil 90 x 71 cm
10 Strolling in the Sunshine - Yellow Green Edges 2014 Oil 90 x 71 cm
11 Three Reds - Friendship is Friendship and Nothing to Beat It 2014 Oil 90 x 71 cm
12 Rolling Blues 2014 Oil 80 x 60 cm
13 Green Black - No Beginning No End 2014 Oil 80 x 60 cm
14 Butterfly Wedges 2014 Oil 80 x 60 cm
15 Red Edges - Pincushioned 2014 Oil 80 x 60 cm
16 Sonic Triangle 2013-2014 Oil 80 x 60 cm
17 Pilanch 2014 Oil 80 x 60 cm
18 Grelanch 2013-2014 Oil 76 x 61 cm
19 Centre Twist 2014 Oil 76 x 51 cm
20 Yellow Orange Edges - Out on the Streets 2014 Oil 60 x 49.5 cm
21 Blue Diagonal Twist 2014 Oil 60 x 49.5 cm
22 Green Yellow Red Edges - Spring Came 2014 Oil 60 x 49.5 cm
23 Magenta Green & Black Edges - Nothing Left To Fear 2014 Oil 60 x 49.5 cm
24 Yellow Green Pink & Blue Edges -
Haven of Idleness & Enjoyment 2014 Oil 60 x 49.5 cm
25 Ultramarine Magenta Gamboge & Black Edges -
Everyone Should Have Some Privacy 2014 Oil 60 x 49.5 cm
26 Bottle Green Centre - Tipped Him the Wink 2014 Oil 60 x 49.5 cm
27 Black & Yellow Corner 2014 Oil 60 x 30 cm
28 Orange Purple Yellow - When It Didn't Put Anyone Out 2014 Oil 60 x 30 cm
29 Green Red Lilac Up Down 2014 Oil 60 x 30 cm
30 Pink Green Grey White Edge - Calm Went On 2012-2014 Oil 51 x 40.5 cm
31 Blue Centre Yellow Edge - Badingue 2012-2014 Oil 51 x 40.5 cm
32 Green Orange Red - A Stately Tread 2014 Oil 51 x 40.5 cm
33 Lilac Yellow - Good Health 2012-2014 Oil 51 x 40.5 cm
34 Blue Yellow - Again Between 2012-2014 Oil 51 x 40.5 cm
35 Green Yellow & White Circuit 2013 Oil 30 x 39.5 cm
36 Orange Double White Circuit 2012-2014 Oil 30 x 39.5 cm
37 Triple White Wedge Circuit 2012-2014 Oil 30 x 39.5 cm
38 White Blue Double Circuit 2012-2014 Oil 30 x 39.5 cm
39 Here to Here, Red Autumn 2013 Acrylic 19.5 x 19.5 cm
BIOGRAPHY
Gary Wragg, born in 1946, first attended the High Wycombe School of Art before moving to London. There he studied at
Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts, where he won a Rotary Travelling Prize to Florence and Rome as well as the Lord Carron
Prize awarded by Bryan Robertson. He continued post-graduate painting at the Slade School of Fine Art and won a Boise
Travelling Scholarship to USA and Mexico, which he took in 1972. He also received an Arts Council grant in 1975 and a London
Arts Association grant in 1978.
Wragg’s trips to America, first to New York and Provincetown to visit Jack Tworkov, between 1971 and 1974, and time he spent
in Springs, East Hampton with Willem de Kooning in 1985, were highly significant in his artistic development.
His first one man exhibition was held at Acme Gallery, London in 1976, with a subsequent successful show in 1979.
He exhibited regularly at the Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London, between 1980 and 1989 and held a series of important solo and
group exhibitions at Flowers East, London, between 1996 and 2010.
In his work Wragg explores from what he calls his ‘treasure chest’, a traditional lineage of Poussin, Titian, Rubens, Goya,
Delacroix, Cézanne, Bonnard, Matisse, Pollock and de Kooning.
Since the late seventies Wragg’s love for painting has integrated with his passion for the Chinese martial art of Tai Chi Chuan.
Wragg has found that the gestures and controlled movements of the discipline have formed a parallel in the painting and his
work has subsequently evolved from the vocabulary and legacy of Abstract Expressionism to his investigation of energy painting.
TEACHING / LECTURING
1971-1988 Portsmouth Polytechnic
1971-1996 Visiting Lecturer at Chelsea School of Art, London; Slade School of Art, London; Bath Academy of Art, Bath
1972-1993 Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts, London
1975-1997 St. Martin's School of Art, London
1994-1995 Slade School of Fine Art, London
1995 Tate Education Department Special Projects: A Dialogue with de Kooning, Tate, London
1996 Tate Education Department Special Projects: Figuring Cézanne, Tate, London
1996 Tate Education Department Special Projects: Jackson Pollock Exhibition, Tate, London
1998-2003 Artist Summer Residence, The Painting School of Montmiral, Castelnau de Montmiral, S.W. France
1999 Drawing Masterclass, Classic Cézanne Exhibition, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
2001 Cézanne Lecture, Newcastle University
2004 Drawing Marathon, Studio School, New York, USA
2004-2008 Annual Studio Drawathon, Vyner Street, London
2005 Artist in Residence, Alayrac, France
2009 Annual Studio Drawathon, Epping Upland, Essex
2011-2014 Annual Studio Drawathon, Epping Upland, Essex
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
1976 Acme Gallery, London
1978 Newcastle Polytechnic Art Gallery
1979 Acme Gallery, London
Peterloo Gallery, Manchester
1982 Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London
1983 Herbert Art Gallery, Coventry
1984 Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London
Castlefield Gallery, Manchester
1986 Nicola Jacobs Gallery, London
1989 Jean Wainwright, Chiswick, London
Open Studio, Hackney, London
Studio Show, West Hampstead, London
1990 Goldsmiths Gallery, London
Studio Show, West Hampstead, London
1991 Gallery 10, London
1993 Studio Show, West Hampstead, London
1994 Studio Show, West Hampstead, London
1996 Works on Paper, Gallery M, Flowers East, London
1997 Flowers East, London
1999 Flowers East, London
King Street Gallery, Sydney, Australia
2000 The Quiet Paintings, Flowers East, London
2003 Flowers Central, London
Studio Show, Vyner Street, London
2006 Burgh House, Hampstead, London
2008 Flowers East, London
Mason’s Yard Gallery, London
2010 Early Works 1968-1969, Alan Wheatley Art, London
2012 Spontaneity of Movement, Alan Wheatley Art, London
2014 Constant Within The Change, Clifford Chance, London
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
1969 Play Orbit, ICA, London
1971 Young Contemporaries, Royal Academy of Arts, London
1974 British Painting 1974, Hayward Gallery, London
1977 British Painting 1952-77, Royal Academy of Arts, London
1978 Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London
1979 Hayward Annual, Hayward Gallery, London
1980 Three British Artists, Studio Marconi, Milan, Italy
7 British Artists, Bernard Jacobson Gallery, New York, USA
1982 Sydney Biennial, Australia
Contemporary Choice, Serpentine Gallery, London
Hayward Annual, Hayward Gallery, London
1983 Younger British Artists, Warwick Arts Centre, London
1984 English Expressionism, Warwick Arts Centre, London
Spuren und Zeichen, 200th Anniversary of Trier, Germany
1985 30 London Painters, Royal Academy of Arts, London
1991 John Moores Exhibition, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
London Group, Royal College of Art, London
1995 A Dialogue with de Kooning, Royal College of Art, London
London Group Biennial Exhibition, Barbican, London
1999 A Personal View of British Painting & Sculpture
(curated by Bryan Robertson), Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge
2001 Art Crazy Nation (curated by Matthew Collings),
Milton Keynes Gallery, Milton Keynes
Art of the 20th Century, Flowers, New York, USA
John Moores Exhibition, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
2010 The Art of Giving, Saatchi Gallery, London
2011 Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London
2014 The Social Basis of Abstract Art, Up Down Gallery, Ramsgate
Small Is Beautiful, Flowers Gallery, New York, USA
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Arts Council of Great Britain
Barclays de Zoete Wedd, London
Contemporary Arts Society, London
DeBeers Consolidated Mines, London
Eastern Arts Association, Leicester
The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
Leicestershire Education Committee, Glenfield
National Gallery of South Africa, Cape Town, South Africa
Pompidou Centre, Paris, France
Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham
Saatchi Collection, London
Slade School of Art Collection, London
St. Pancras Library, London
University College, London
Victoria & Albert Museum, London
39
Here to Here, Red Autumn
2013
Acrylic on canvas
19.5 x 19.5 cm / 7 ¾ x 7 ¾ inches
Front cover: Blue / Yellow Streak (cat. 4)
Published to accompany the exhibition Gary Wragg: Constant Within The Change: Circuits & Edges, 19 November – 5 December 2014
© ALAN WHEATLEY ART, 22 Mason’s Yard, Duke Street St. James’s, London SW1Y 6BU
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form
or by any means without first seeking the written permission of the copyright holders and of the publisher.
Artworks © Gary Wragg
Photography © Gary Wragg
Catalogue design by Iwona Chroscielewska
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
22 Mason’s Yard Duke Street St. James’s London SW1Y 6BU United Kingdom
T: +44 (0)20 7930 1262 F: +44 (0)20 7839 8043 E: contact@alanwheatleyart.com W: alanwheatleyart.com
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