Jim Hunter - Shapes of Blue

Shapes of Blue are recent works from Jim Hunter’s studio practice. The paintings have their own formal imperatives but point also to the commonalities between abstract painting and Jazz. He seeks to make the surface of the canvas a site for improvisation that allows him to keep the imagery, and its potential meaning, speculative and provisional.

This exhibition is timed to coincide with the 32 nd Swanage Jazz Festival. The relationship between Jazz and painting goes back a long way, from Piet Mondrians Broadway Boogie Woogie (1942-43), through Jackson Pollock to Jean Michel Basquiat. As for Jim Hunter, Jazz Music is a very common “go to” as studio background music. It just seems to inspire! We can point to common terms used to describe both forms such as rhythm, space, tone,
shape, interval, arrangement, fusion, improvisation as further evidence of this symbiosis.

Jim Hunter lives in Swanage and retired from his career in art education as Professor Emeritus of Painting at the Arts University Bournemouth. In 2018 he was elected a full Member of the Royal Watercolour Society and he serves currently as the Society’s Senior Vice President.

There is a discussion event to compliment the exhibition. This is on Tuesday 18th July, when Tim Edgar will chair a discussion with Artists Jim Hunter and Bonnie Brown on the theme of “Abstraction”.

Exhibition opening times:
July 7th – August 29th 2023
Daytimes (Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturdays) – 11am – 1.30pm
Evenings (Monday – Saturday) – 6 – 9pm and whenever The Showbar is open.⁠

 

Mowlem Visual Arts is an initiative aimed at showcasing exciting, new visual arts work in our building on Swanage seafront. Exhibited work will complement our programmes of other events, generally cinema and live performance. Applications for exhibition are welcome – please click here for full details.