GALLERY review

TUESDAY 17TH NOVEMBER 2009,

EXHIBITION REVIEW: Nessie Stonebridge’s ‘Postures of Delirium’

On Saturday 14th November, I found myself lost in the middle of Hackney looking for Vyner Street where a small gallery was waiting to be discovered, exhibiting the latest works of Nessie Stonebridge. I heard of ‘Madder139’ from the website ARTRABBIT, and instead of opting for the typical yet always promising TATE or National Gallery to look for new artists, I journeyed on a 176 from Tottenham Court Road to the unfamiliar area of EC1Y. It only took 30 minutes by bus and a further 20 minutes to find someone to ask for directions, and a broken umbrella, wet brogues and soaking A-Z to get to the gallery. It didn’t help that what I am use to as being a gallery is a grand large building with the likes of Monet and Singer-Sargent gracing its walls- Madder139 was found behind 4 large black bins and a graffiti ridden stairwell, with its windows all boarded up with brown paper.

After finding the gallery in such unlikely circumstances, even shockingly when I entered the room was no larger than my art class room with 2 women behind their desks tapping away at their keyboards with the exhibition on the walls surrounding them. And I was the only person visiting. Greeted by complete silence I wandered around, said an awkward hello, and asked to sit and sketch. They smiled, and I sat. After completely loosing the feeling in my right foot, I finished my sketches of a drawing that used charcoal and pencil on paper, and then asked one of the ladies what she thought of the exhibit. Bouncing ideas off one another, the overall impression and notes I left with included the words chaos, collision, sexual energy, fighting, frustration, speed, and depth.

The reasons I went were to try something new, go somewhere and discover something, and someone, new. I wanted to see this artists work as well because just looking at the thumb size image displayed online of one of her pieces, most using oil on linen or canvas, had convinced me to make the trek down to this gallery, and seeing them all in person was very pleasing. It’s hard to describe a painting when you just like it, especially if it’s abstract. The colours, the style- they’re all things that I could say interest me in Stonebridge’s ‘Postures of Delirium’ but, without sounding daft or slightly insane, they seem to exude an energy that is really appealing to me. Just one room with 10 paintings or so, and I left on a high and deep in thought. Before even knowing that the paintings were taken from personal events in the artists past, I could feel the emotion of the works in the colours and harsh swirls and strokes of the paint. The exhibit has converted me from an abstract antagonist, and was one of those great experiences when you see how really strong the power of art is. And that Hackney isn’t that bad after all.