Alan Christian-Aass

Images from Ten Parishes

About the Event
Alan Christian-Aass freely makes delicate and intricate drawings that elevate the making of marks on paper to a fine art, creating works of extraordinary complexity and beauty.
Event Type
Exhibition
Disciplines
Painting/Drawing/Illustration
Telephone
01984 629223
Opening Times
Fri 7thSat 8thSun 9thMon 10thTue 11thWed 12thThu 13thFri 14thSat 15thSun 16th
closed12pm - 11pm12pm - 11pmclosed12pm - 3pm, 6pm - 11pm12pm - 3pm, 6pm - 11pm12pm - 3pm, 6pm - 11pm12pm - 3pm, 6pm - 11pm12pm - 11pm12pm - 11pm
Further Info

For many artists, drawing is integral to the creative process. Traditionally, drawing facilitates looking and understanding a subject before it is translated into another medium and, as such, often holds a secondary position to painting, printmaking and sculpture. Alan Christian-Aass, however, elevates the making of marks on paper to a fine art, creating works of extraordinary complexity and beauty.

Whilst his formal vocabulary is largely derived from his love of the West Country - the sensuousness of hillscape, the density of hedgerow, the gnarled tree, the capricious quality of light - his work transcends the mere representational. Instead, he appropriates the line as his vehicle for communion with the metaphysical in nature - a mystery, he says, that can never be unveiled completely but only glimpsed iri passing, out of the corner of one's eye.

Indeed, Alan Christian-Aass' work suggests rather than depicts, utilizing natural idioms to trigger emotional associations. For him, the act of drawing is a kind of meditation where the rational mind is suppressed and chance and accident are allowed to dominate, giving free reign to the subconscious. Form is then teased from the surface by the layering of marks in a variety of inks. At times, colour is introduced to solidify that form but also to heighten its sense of ambiguity. Creation becomes a meeting of emotion and spirit, life and illusion, reality and dream. Ultimately, meaning is derived in reciprocity between the emotional content of the image and the imagination of the viewer.

Alan Christian-Aass was born in 1943 to a Welsh mother and a Norwegian master mariner father. His youth was spent in Pembrokeshire and Kenya, informing his love for nature and mysticism. He was educated at the West of England College of Art, Bristol and the University of Plymouth, Faculty of Arts, Exeter.

He cites the works of Goya, Samuel Palmer and William Blake as well as the German school of draftsmen amongst his influences.

Venue Information

Address
The Globe Inn
Fore Street
Milverton
Somerset
TA4 1JX
For Venue Information
01823 400470
Directions
From roundabout on B3227 proceed up hill into village. Straight ahead at junction. The Globe is on the left.
Parish
Milverton
Disabled Access
Good
Refreshment Details
Quality restaurant/snacks available during licencing hours
 

Events At This Venue

Event Type Event Title Disciplines Dates (see event page for full info)
Artist Alan Christian-Aass - Images from Ten Parishes Painting/Drawing/Illustration 8th, 9th, 11th, 11th, 12th, 12th, 13th, 13th, 14th, 14th, 15th, 16th
Artist John Foster - Images from Ten Parishes Painting/Drawing/Illustration 8th, 9th, 11th, 11th, 12th, 12th, 13th, 13th, 14th, 14th, 15th, 16th
Artist Susie Needham - Images from Ten Parishes Photography/Film/New Media 8th, 9th, 11th, 11th, 12th, 12th, 13th, 13th, 14th, 14th, 15th, 16th