The artist revisited landscapes painted by icons of Romanticism. Pic © David Tress

Exhibition preview: Chasing Sublime Light, Gallery Oldham, Oldham, January 17 2009 - April 18 2009

“The journeys I took were fascinating” says David Tress. “They revealed a whole spectrum of change, from wild and almost unchanged stretches of moorland to the total urbanisation of locations overtaken by the industrial expansion of the 19th century”.

Taking the evocative landscape paintings of JMW Turner and his contemporaries as inspiration, this 53-year-old Welsh-based artist has embarked on a crusade to explore both the breathtaking scenery his predecessors captured and the steps they took to do so.

Byland Abbey. Pic © David Tress

The results encompass a geographical cross-section of beauty spots across the UK. Yorkshire’s Byland Abbey sees speeding traffic added to Thomas Girtin’s serene painting from more than 200 years ago, while Ullswater in the Lake District challenged Tress to consider the sublime combinations of light, cloud, sky and water Turner illustrated so masterfully at the end of the 18th century.

First Spring, from Warkworth Castle. Pic © David Tress

Islay in west Scotland, Warkworth Castle in Northumberland and Harlech Castle in north Wales are also taken in through Tress’s revisiting of the routes the original artists followed, using the same watercolours, paper, gouache and ink the Romanticist 18th century artists would have employed.

Food Served Daily, from Harlech Castle. Pic © David Tress

“The exhibition offers us a fresh insight into the tradition of painting sublime, awe-inspiring landscapes, and it gives us the opportunity to re-appraise the work of artists like Turner, Cozens and Sandby from a contemporary standpoint,” says gallery curator Stephen Whittle.

Girstin's view of Kirkstall Abbey. Pic © David Tress

“David responds to landscape in a very powerful and emotional manner. He is interested in the ways in which famous artists of the past have got to grips with Britain’s most dramatic and compelling scenery.”

The artist has selected historic watercolours from Gallery Oldham’s collection to accompany his work.

Leaving Islay. Pic © David Tress

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