| ANOTHER DAY ON THE BEACH AT COLCHESTER'S MINORIES ART GALLERY |
| By Corinne Field |
05/01/2004 |
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 | Photo: The Beach, 2002 by Simon Carter © the artist. |
Another Day On The Beach is the first major public exhibition of paintings by Simon Carter hosted by firstsite at the Minories Art Gallery until February 21, 2004.
The exhibition consists of a wide range of works that reveal the artist's unique working process, dynamic palette and individual approach to landscape.
Carter paints using a mixture of abstract and figurative styles. He says he "uses the landscape to think with".
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Photo: Cattle on a bright field, 2003 by Simon Carter © the artist. |  |
In Another Day On The Beach that landscape is the coast at Frinton-on-Sea in Essex, somewhere Carter visited daily to draw.
His confident line drawings, on display at the exhibition, show subtle changes in weather, landform and atmosphere. When the artist returned to the studio he transformed the drawings into large-scale abstract paintings.
It is not only the beach at Frinton that interests Carter but also the surrounding area. There is a colourful painting of cows lazing in a bright yellow field, a view of the coastline from the sea, and a golf course in vibrant green.
A more abstract painting, The Beach, that Carter painted in 2002, shows his interpretation of the beach itself.
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 | Photo:Golf Course, 2003 by Simon Carter © the artist. |
Carter’s paintings depict rocks, waves, sea walls, swimmers, tower blocks and beach huts, trademarks of the Essex seaside town’s coastline.
Using bold, bright colours his works evolve organically over time, with significant reworking, making them unrecognizable from one day to the next.
His canvasses are on display at firstsite, the leading contemporary visual arts organisation in Essex, alongside drawings, works on paper, a walk-in sketchbook and objects from the artist’s studio.
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Photo: The town from the beach, 2003 by Simon Carter © the artist. |  |
Carter has lived and worked in Essex all his life. He studied at Colchester Institute and then North East London Polytechnic.
Until recently he juggled being an artist with working as a postman. However three years ago, after a couple of regional solo shows and a residency at firstsite he decided to paint full time.
Another Day On The Beach is a retrospective of Carter’s work from the last two years.
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|  | | Firstsite - due to open end 2008 | | | firstsite, the Minories art gallery, 74 High Street, Colchester, CO1 1UE, Essex, England
T: 01206 577067
Open: Firstsite, previously based at the Minories in Colchester, will reopen in late 2008 with its own purpose-built venue.
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