The Podcast is Here
Welcome if you’re new to The Gallery Companion. And hello again to the old-timers. I’ve been a bit quiet for the past few weeks because I’ve been having a re-jig behind the scenes. From next week I’ll be publishing posts every fortnight. I will still be writing about the same sort of thing as before - art in the context of what’s going on in our world, what we think, how we behave, and how ideas change over time. In other words, all of the interesting stuff about our lives that art explores and represents.
And from now on all my articles are free for everyone to read. A lot of my content so far has only been read by a small number of you because it was behind a paywall. I wanted to see whether it was possible to earn my daily bread that way. Maybe it is for some, but not yet for me. In any case, it hasn’t sat comfortably with me because I fundamentally believe in open access to knowledge, especially when it’s not always clear who can and can’t afford to pay.
Conversely I also want to push back on the expectation of free content. Behind every email that I write is a ton of research, reflection and revision to craft something that is a pleasure for you to read. I want to find a way of making The Gallery Companion sustainable for me and accessible to all, and I’m still not sure how to achieve that. But my solution for now is to switch to a voluntary payment model, and to set it at a flat low rate of five bucks a month.
So if you love what I am doing (and if you’re in a position to do so) please become my patron and help me keep this good thing going as I continue to build a readership. My hope is that some of you are willing to support me for no other reason than that you value my writing and the knowledge that I share. There won’t be any add-ons or extras or exclusive content. But what you will get is the joy of philanthropy, interesting ideas that make you think, and my gratitude.
The Gallery Companion Podcast
Today I’m really excited to share the trailer of my new podcast with you!
If you’re a podcast listener you’ll now be able to hear all my content wherever you get your podcasts - it’s available on all the main players including Apple, Spotify and Amazon Music.
The podcast content will be mostly the same as my writing, but if you want to see the images, watch the videos and click on links, they will all be on the Substack app and in the emails I send out to you. I won’t be including voiceovers within emails anymore, so if you’d rather listen than read make sure you follow the podcast. Search for The Gallery Companion or click here for links to your podcast player:
Artists’ Writing Service
Artists: do you find writing about your art practice difficult? I can help! I provide an artist statement writing service and 1-2-1 mentoring to help you get more clarity on how to express the ideas in your work. Click here for more info and prices.
Here’s what I wrote recently for Nicola Bennett, a brilliant artist whose work is about the pleasures of sensory exploration:
Nicola Bennett is an abstract painter based on Lake Rotoiti, New Zealand. Her work is about the pleasure and energy that comes from immersing ourselves in the exploration of sensory knowledge. She begins with the everyday natural ingredients that we cook with – like mushrooms, tomatoes, aubergines, avocados, apricots – and gradually builds her understanding of them through conversations and collaborations with specialist growers and chefs. Absorbing their sense of care, their impassioned stories, their excitement for growing and cooking is an integral part of Bennett’s process of making: gathering this knowledge is the groundwork for her personal journey of discovery into these ingredients through touch, taste, smell, sound and sight whilst cooking with them in her own kitchen. Only after all that does she move into the studio.
For Bennett cooking and painting share similarities in their search for structure and balance through opposites. She looks to the language of food for inspiration in the composition of her paintings: just as the chef layers in all the ranges of taste, colour and texture, so Bennett layers veils of paint, sometimes opaque, sometimes soft or flat; and pays close attention to how colour, line, form, shape and tone work together to create a satisfying whole. The suggestive power of colour and how it relates to flavour is particularly important in her work. She wants the viewer to eat with the eyes, to see what the mouth feels.
Bennett’s paintings are not a simple representation of the ingredients in abstract form but rather her sensory responses to them which come from this entire process of research and discovery. The passion of others in nurturing and pushing possibilities with ingredients plays a significant role in this, adding a rich energy to her sensory experience that Bennett captures in her paintings. In this way she celebrates the sublime aspects of nature’s humble ingredients, representing the wonder about them beyond their material form.
To see works by Nicola Bennett follow her on Instagram here, and reply to this email if you’d like me to revamp your artist statement.
Thanks for introducing us to Nicola Bennett. Her work is so original and exciting!
Love Nicola Bennett's work, what an interesting artist. I've followed the podcast, can't wait! Wednesdays haven't been the same over the past few weeks. So glad you're back.