Albemarle Gallery shows Peter Welford

Written by Charly Stakehouse Saturday, 19 May 2012 00:26

London - Peter Welford’s work is chiefly concerned with subjects of an allegorical or metaphorical nature and includes a number of Vanitas and metaphysical paintings. Symbolism infuses his work. As there are, technically, many layers and complexities to each painting, so are there layers of meaning; and thus, for the viewer, different levels of comprehension. On view at Albemarle Gallery through 28 June, 2008.

Each work aspires, therefore, towards the multidimensional. Aesthetic harmony and technical precision are juxtaposed with subjects of psychological and philosophical intensity; and thereby conflicts are set up: an harmonious choreography of discord; the ambiguity of certainty. Welford’s work is intended as a mirror: a commentary on the moving shape of reality; and a contemplation on the fallibility of man in an infallible world.

Welford was born in London in 1964. He studied History of Art and Conservation at the universities of Manchester and London (Courtauld Institute of Art). He continued at the Courtauld as lecturer before spending eight years as an architectural historian and historic buildings consultant. Throughout this time however, he divided his focus between his architectural work and his painting. In 2000, he gave up his architectural consultancies to paint full-time.

Over the past two decades he has made a careful study of the traditional workshop practices of Old Master painting, in particular those of the early Flemish and German schools. As a consequence, he has acquired a detailed knowledge of the technical mysteries of fifteenth- and early sixteenth-century Northern Renaissance painting, a technical vocabulary long forgotten. His interest in technique is, however, not born out of nostalgia; nor is he concerned with imitating past styles. Instead, he uses this technical language - with its extraordinary aesthetic possibilities - to express his view of contemporary reality: the world he observes around him, and to which he belongs.

Located in London’s West End, Mayfair, the Albemarle Gallery profiles contemporary paintings and sculpture by established and emerging English, Scottish, Irish, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Croatian, South African, Russian, American and Canadian artists.

Albemarle Gallery

49 ALBEMARLE STREET LONDON W1S 4JR  / TEL 020 7499 1616  / FAX 020 7499 1717

WWW.ALBEMARLEGALLERY.COM  /  EMAIL INFO-at-ALBEMARLEGALLERY.COM 

---

Click on logo below to add this article to your favorite Social Website ~