John Moores 25
This exhibition is being held at the Walker Art Gallery, 20 September 2008 - 9 January 2009
Oil on canvas, 40 x 30 cm, 2008
Much of my recent work has been related to the Romantic, both as a movement
and as a more personal manifestation of longing, desire and the imagination. 'The
Princes' are part of this body of work, relating to fairytales and our girlish longings
for love. Some of them take as the starting point Disney-style princes; others take
the romantic hero Cary Grant. But they are always corruptions of their starting
points. 'Prince (tilted)' is inspired by Slovakian puppets, but also refers to another
motif I use, 'The Hapsburg Hat.'
This was a felt hat I bought for a partner, which reminded me of hunting hats worn by the Austro-Hungarian Emperor, Franz Josef. I work with clusters of ideas, often not entirely sure of their inter-relatedness. As I work, I find myself pulled in an out of the process of image making, so that in some paintings I give myself over to the creation of illusion and the process itself is very close, whereas in others, I find myself at a great distance from it, considering every action. This duality of process seems to be integral, both to myself and to my subject and the ambivalence I feel towards it.
Eleanor Moreton was born in London in 1956. She
studied at Exeter College of Art 1975-79, UCE Birmingham 1993-96 and
Chelsea College of Art and Design 1998-99. Recent exhibitions include '
EAST International 2007' Norwich Gallery, 'Pranvere' National Gallery of
Albania 2007, 'The Painting Room' Transition Gallery London 2008 and '
These Living Walls of Jet' Ceri Hand Gallery Liverpool 2008. She is Durham
Cathedral artist-in-residence 2007-08 and will exhibit at the Reg Vardy
Gallery Sunderland 2008 and in 'Eleanor Moreton: Cathedral Artist in
Residence' DLI Durham 2008 and 'Curious and Curiouser' Galleri Rebecca
Kormind Copenhagen 2008-09.