‘POSERS’ AT THE OLD FIRE ENGINE HOUSE ELY
Jeff Crosby. Tinners’ Rabbits
The gorgeous interior of The Old Fire Engine House restaurant in the centre of historic Ely is a perfect match for the work of Posers. Founded by famous artist , illustrator and go-to letterer, bigwig, John Holder, they have gathered each week in the old Cambridge College of Art now ARU, since what seems like the dawn of time. Actually this informal inclusive group has thrown up some stunning contemporary young practitioners - alongside celebrated veterans like Jon Harris ( you have seen his distinctive work on every sign and menu in Cambridge for decades) now sadly lost to the fleshpots of King’s Lynn.
This show could be the autumn destination of your dreams. Sine 1968 the Old Fire Engine House has turned out the finest of traditional food in an atmosphere of quiet unforced elegance. So a celebratory afternoon of indulgence would combine with a stimulating sweep around our city’s most adventurous creatives.
Take Jim Butler - actually don’t, as he is in huge demand as an art teacher at ARU , but his conceptual prints have depth and design combined in spacial satisfaction . Or Carole Ellison . Her stunning Broken Barn, second picture below, blazes with a glorious foreground whilst the subject lowers darkly in a large corner of the canvas. It’s felicitously on display as you enter the building.
Newnham Sky by Neil Warmsley
Each artist shows but one picture - aside from John Holder and the super-talented Neil Warmsley rewarded as authors of the entire exhibition, John ‘s work appears as two fine and collectable drawings of Ely Cathedral The interior one is of such thoughtful detail, it includes a small homage to the fate of the doomed local heroes, the Littleport Martyrs hanged in Ely for their rebellion nearly two hundred years ago..
Neil Warmsley’s exhibit I ( see above) - unbelievably -a painting. - Neil’s love of nature ( he is a expert gardener as well as an artist) and the inner life in the picture ‘flames out, like shining from shook foil’ as the poet Hopkins has it . If you live in Newnham here’s a transcendent vision of that small place .
The opening illustration here belongs to Jeff Crosby . With all the intrigue of stained glass window, it has the energy of a woodland scene. Tinners’ Rabbits - because they were the food of miners. The whimsy of this piece of art, belies its solid mahogany base - a piece for all time.
Broken Bard by Carole Ellison
International Food Store by Niall MacCrann
The move towards figurative art today is relentless. Abstracts once the sole pick of any art collector give way to quirky graphic slices of life as captured so brilliantly in this daily scene. Accomplished heart warming and eminently of our time.
The Allotment by Mish Kelly
Van Eyck, Durer and the Flemish school float behind this coruscating scene of rural winter. It is a calm reassuring return to the detail and mastery of perspective so admired in the past but given a studied iteration here by a hugely gifted artist.
Brother in Stripy T-Shirt
They say it’s hard to have a writer in the family. How about an artist? This warmly realised brother appears to be on the point of leaving his sister’s studio - or he has zoned out of the sitting. But what a delightful human realisation this portrait is and what skill behind it.
The show continues through October - and the lunches teas and dinners for the lucky ones, go on we hope, forever.
