This new body of work by Bill Pryde continues to build upon ideas he began in previous solo shows with interpretations of scenery in Scotland and Suffolk. His unmistakable style captures this using vibrant colour and dynamic form.
Having recently moved his studio full time to Suffolk, Bill is surrounded daily by the enormous and ever-changing skies and landscape moods of this county. Walking his dog each day gives him the opportunity to admire the marshes stretching out towards the sky, and indulge his fascination with the constant mystery of the sea, “not always active, but often quiet, dark, even contemplative.“
For Bill, Suffolk is reminiscent of his native Scotland, possessing the same quality of light and similar vegetation, and both these locations Bill feels demand a response. “They are huge and defiant canvasses, moody, tranquil, yet full of force.”
In this series of works, Bill works frequently in monoprint rather than editions. This allows him to explore new, more painterly, techniques. Only being able to do things once is something he finds liberating, and brings a wonderful sense of spontaneity to his work. These works are immediate and particular responses to the world he sees around him, an expression of his moods and feelings.
These landscapes are joined by a new collection of Orchid prints which are a return to a subject which Bill first explored over ten years ago. He describes how he felt drawn to their delicate, old and spindly stalks, and amazement at their sudden production of an outrageous and youthful flurry of flowers. Having just celebrated his 64th birthday, he is conscious of his own aches and pains but keeps pushing himself onwards, so feels in this way these Orchid works are in some way autobiographical.
This is his 6th solo exhibition at Curwen Gallery, having first been part of Curwen Gallery’s ‘Hot off the Press’ exhibition in 2003 of London MA Printmaking Graduates. Bill’s work has been shown also in one-man shows at the Dundas Street Gallery, Edinburgh, the Nehru Centre in London, the Old Printworks Gallery in Saxmundham, and in Kolkata, India.
He studied at Camberwell College of Arts and spent several years as a keyholder at East London Printmakers in Hackney. During 2005 he was a resident artist at the Florence Trust, Islington. He now shares his time between Suffolk and London.
