Art in the Club
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The club has long been a place which fosters community music and drama. Two years ago, following refurbishment of the club, it was agreed to offer the wall space in the main room for local artists - whether they be amateur, just starting out or established - to show their work for a month. No restriction is placed on the subject matter although political content was selected to be shown during our May Day weekends on the themes of “Enough is Enough – Trade Unionism in the High Peak” and “Peace for Palestine” .
This venue will take up to 12 large paintings and more if they are smaller. Anyone wanting to exhibit should contact Kasey Carver on Kasey.carver@btinternet.com
Details of those who have exhibited are shown below starting with the most recent.
Tom Swindell "About Time"
January 2025
Born and bred in Whitfield, art has always been in Tom’s blood. Stone carving from the age of 7yrs, his main profession is as a Stone Mason. The wish to continue his education led to various access courses and ultimately a degree in Fine Art at Manchester University. On this route, he was able to dabble with a wide range of mixed media which is reflected, often playfully, in his artworks. However, Tom maintains that it was his artist Father, Alan Swindell, and his architect neighbour, Philip Andrew, that taught him everything he knows about art.
This exhibition reflects how the invitation to exhibit at the club provided the incentive to get back to making art with a renewed focus – and also how the Labour Party got back into government. Many of these pieces carry the extra symbolism of being working clocks.
Tom can be contacted on 07842 966511
Michael Howard "On The Shoulders of Giants"
November/December 2024
It’s quite simple. I paint for pleasure and to give pleasure. The making of a painting, without the pressures of being a statuary professional, allows me to operate when and where I wish without the destructive pressures that operating in the commercial world sometimes brings. I paint to inhabit those moments of exhalation, illumination, connectivity and pure creativity that are rare in life but not so rare in art - especially when a painting suddenly declares itself complete and you’ve no real idea how you’ve done it.
I think of myself, the way a musician might think of themselves when sitting down - or standing up - to interpret the work of another musician or composer. And those terms that you might use to describe the experience of listening , to making, music - I apply to my art: harmony, dissonance, counterpoint, rhythm, crescendo, diminuendo, colour, movement,
The title of this small show relates to my love of study the paintings of those painters, past and present that I admire - a list that includes Ghislaine’s name too of course.
A Brief Biographical Sketch: Michael Howard has lived in Glossop for over 35 years and is married to the artist Ghislaine Howard. He is an artist, lecturer, and writer. Many of his paintings and poems are inspired by the fabulous landscape that surrounds our town; a book of these, 'Being There' has been recently published by Gnöbolis Press and is for sale at Dark Peak Books, George Street Books, or from the artist. Michael is particularly fascinated by the philosopher Wittgenstein’s sojourn on Chunal Moor in the early years of the last century. As an art historian he has written many books on the history of art. 'L.S. Lowry - A Visionary Artist', 'Ghislaine Howard: the Human Touch’, 'The Impressionists by Themselves', 'Monet', (written in association with the Musée Marmottan, Paris), and 'Gauguin', (in association with the Gauguin Museum, Tahiti). He is currently working on a new publication on the Wigan born artist Theodore Major (1908 -1999), ‘Walking on Fire’ and a fascinating programme of ground-breaking research on L.S. Lowry, who knew Glossop well.
Michael can be contacted on m.howard928@btinternet.com
Adrian Lambert "The True Aesthetic "
October/November 2024
Alfred Halliday
September 2024
Artist Alfred Halliday is very much a local lad and many of you will no doubt remember him from the days when he ran Peak Autos Spares in Glossop at the bottom of Shrewsbury Street many years ago. What many of you will probably not know is that before running Peak Auto Spares, during and since he was and has been a highly prolific and exceptional artist working in multiple and varied mediums. He describes his creativity as being his life force his complete reason for being. In fact it can be true to say that Alfred is somewhat of a Renaissance Man, Alfred is a writer, a poet and also a multi instrumentalist jazz and blues musician.
Until recently Alfred gigged many times with his beloved and cherished friend, blues legend the late Victor Brox. When he was young and attended Glossop Grammar School he excelled in art but sadly never got the chance to go to art college or take it further. Alfred began working at Peak Auto Spares at the latter end of the 1960s, but cars were not his passion. His father owned two shops in Hyde and Glossop and Alfred felt that it was his duty to help and support his father. It was during this time that great works of art were born ! In- between serving customers, at the back his shop, using hardboard, car paint sample pots he created large scale industrial scenes. The art emerged in vast abundance and it can be true to say that most of Alfred’s work from the 1970s was indeed created in the shop.
In Alfred’s words ‘’ my creativity is a wild beast, an indomitable life force that could not be caged. The creative force felt stronger than me, I felt compelled to create art and despite working in my car spares shop on a daily basis I HAD to create art on whatever materials I could find ‘’.
During the mid 1980s Alfred’s painting style changed and it did so very dramatically it metamorphosized from a fairly traditional impressionist style to the strident modern art that we see of his today. This did not happen gradually like with most artists but all of a sudden on one evening and Alfred describes this as his complete and utter baptism of fire ! Gabrielle his daughter remembers her father waking both her and her mother up in the middle of the night, he was in floods of tears exclaiming that his style had changed. In this first modern piece Alfred had used only three colours white, black and red, it is stark, it is eerie and it is compelling. Alfred describes this painting as being the aftermath of a nuclear war, bodies are disjointed and eyes fixed. Even though this painting is untitled it is an important painting because it marks the artist’s ultimate transition from traditional to modern and it will be featuring at Alfred Halliday’s exhibition at the Glossop Labour Club this September.
From that night in the 1980s Alfred has continued to create all kinds of art in all kinds of ways, he has painted on bottles, plates, tiles and even once on an old leather coat ! He also spent many years carving in sandstone but alas due to his failing health he could no longer sustain this. Alfred believes that Picasso has had the strongest influence on his work, in Alfred’s words ‘’ His genius was so refreshingly different for it’s time his vision completely hits me, the shapes, the colour, the drama. Through his expression he opened the doors completely liberating modern artists for decades to come’’.
Another strong influence on Alfred’s work is his love of music, particularly jazz and he has created many art works in the past spontaneously after returning home from a gig; he states that he aims to incorporate the energy and movement of jazz within his art irrelevant of the subject matter.
After a lengthy spell in hospital in 2016 Alfred returned home a physically much weaker man he felt that he did not have the energy to handle large canvases and mix oil paint but was desperate to create. By sheer chance his daughter Gabrielle received a gift in the post it was packaged in a smooth white packaging material called Foamex, it was lightweight but sturdy and Alfred could not resist the temptation of creating art upon it. A friend also recommended Sharpie pens and it was a match made in heaven, Alfred was smitten and continues to create art this way today.
Alfred believes that when he is no longer on this earth he will still find a way to create for he states that ‘’ these works have a life and an energy all of their own they will continue beyond me to dance, to sing and too love ‘’.
Cicely Deloughry and David Fowler
August 2024
Cicely Deloughry: I regard myself very much as an amateur beginner. At school, art was not a subject for girls, especially during the war. When I retired in my seventies, I joined a weekly half-day class tutored by David Woodrow at Glossop Adult Centre, which I attended for about nine years until Covid interrupted. Since then, I have regarded myself as self-taught, using photographs, magazines and online pictures as inspiration.
I have found this new interest extremely satisfying and have made many new friends with whom to share ideas and helpful criticism.
It is with some trepidation that I am exhibiting in the Labour Club, which is my first display in public, but this too has been a learning experience. I hope that it might inspire others, who hitherto have regarded themselves as totally without any talent or skill, to not hesitate but “have a go” and discover an occupation that brings great pleasure and satisfaction into their lives.
David Fowler: When I first moved Glossop in 2001, I started going to WEA art classes at the Adult Education Centre with Dave Woodrow and he has been a great inspiration and source of advice ever since.
My dad used to take me to the art gallery at Norwich Castle Museum when I was small boy to look at landscape paintings and something must have stayed with me.
I like colour and texture so pastel, and oil seem to suit me best. Walking with the Labour Club book group during Covid helped me to discover the enormous range of dramatic landscapes in Derbyshire. I am looking forward to more plein air painting in the Peaks.
As Cic and I play Scrabble every Friday we thought we would display our pictures together.
Cordelia Howard
July 2024
Cordelia Howard is a Glossop born decorative artist. Her background is in theatre and directing, and her sense of design and the theatrical is shown in her work.
Since being a child, Cordelia has been fascinated by fairytale, folklore and the mysterious, magical world that runs alongside our own.
Cordelia’s work is self-reflective and often operates as a mirror to her life, capturing moments in time through self-portraiture and the painting of those she loves.
Several years ago, Cordelia began to work with the Tarot, particularly the Marseilles deck. The wonderful mythic images and the ancient symbolic nature of these cards have become a key focus and inspiration for her work. This exhibition blends together the different strands of Cordelia’s practice.
A note from the artist: ‘I hope when you walk into this space that it will feel almost as if you had walked into a stage set. My work is there to bring joy and to fire the imagination’.
Cordelia can be contacted on cordeliahoward25@gmail.com
Cordelia and friends put on a short play and talk as part of her preview with the profits from this event going to MAP. The initiative supports local artists and enriches the community's cultural landscape.
Helen Gerrard
June 2024
Helen Gerrard is an artist, illustrator and sculptor living in Glossop in the High Peak.
Helen enjoys working with a variety of traditional materials in different styles, but has gained attention recently for her paintings of “Glossopy” scenes, a series of quirky local landmarks and scenes painted in acrylics on canvas.
Along with her husband, Helen also wrote and illustrated the popular children’s book “The Bee Polisher”, first published in 2019 by Pegasus Publishers, then republished with extra illustrations in 2022 by The Rowan Rose Publishers as a paperback, eBook, and audiobook narrated by cult English pop legend John Otway, with an ensemble cast.
Helen produces high-quality cards and prints, which can be bought or ordered from either Glossop Craft Centre or by sending a message to her Facebook page, www.facebook.com/helensmermaidtales
While you’re there, why not check out her photos, videos and stop-motion animations? You can even follow the page, and join a growing group of over 2,000 lovely friends and fans from around the world.
Helen would like to thank the Glossop Labour Club for inviting her to exhibit her work, and a big thank you to you for coming to see it!
Yvette Ribot-Smith "Oppression"
May 2024
I Live in the High peak. In my art work I use oil as my favourite medium and I explore a mixture of themes: landscapes, dance and human rights issues. In my art I give form to ideas, emotions and stories so they can be thought, felt and told.
Quotes from people who inspire me:
Banksy: Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.
Rauschenberg: The artist job is to be a witness to her/his time in history.
Ai Weiwei: If my art has nothing to do with people’s pain and sorrow, what is it for?
Albert Einstein: Look deeply into nature and you will understand everything better.
David Attenborough: The future of humanity and all life on earth depends on us.
Kiefer: Art is longing, you never arrive, but you keep going in the hope that you will.
My intention in my Art work is to create a space for empathy, a vehicle for connection and solidarity. The aim is to pay tribute to the people whose stories need to be remembered in an atmosphere of respect and humility. I thank you for your understanding. May you find solace as I do in the landscapes from which I draw inspiration. This is where I go walking to reflect on the human condition and for pleasure.
N.B. Yvette presented her exhibition "Oppression" as part of the club's May Day weekend "Peace for Palestine"
"Enough is Enough" for May Day Weekend
May 2023
May Day weekend 2023 "Enough is Enough" celebrated local activism. The exhibition for May was especially commissioned to reflect this theme. Artist Andy Gale collaborated with activists and photographers to develop screen prints that showcased various local campaigns.
Diversity is Beautiful Holiday Hunger
Solidarity Act Green
Taking the Knee
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