McNally’s collection of brutally vivacious – yet wondrously detailed – drawings portray scenes of dense chaos, absurdity and social tradition
According to Geordie-born artist Robert McNally, there’s no place like home. He expresses this touching sentiment through his work which, unsurprisingly, often borders on that of the comically violent.
Occupying Gateshead’s WORKPLACE Gallery from now until Saturday 29th July, McNally’s collection of brutally vivacious – yet wondrously detailed – drawings portray scenes of dense chaos, absurdity and social tradition. Though he is now stationed in Berlin, this northern ‘ex-pat’ continues to provide a fluent communication of hardy British tradition – his standout work, an incredible depiction of the UK’s biggest night out (2016’s aptly named ‘Black Eye Fridays’), is a flurry of high-heel spikes, whirling fists and spilt drinks, condensed into an almost tapestry-like format.
Whilst this intoxicated imagery does seem a little rough around the edges, it’s impossible to escape the artist’s highly perceptive talent for visual storytelling, as well as his passion for the expression of art itself:
“Art has similarities to the mechanics of mysticism, the currency and value being
largely subjective, the effect questionable and the interpretation often so utterly
broad as to render it almost meaningless. But I am able to live by art’s honesty
that it is man made, and that I don’t need a medium to explain it to me.”
Whether or not you bask in the simplicity of art, get yourself down to WORKPLACE in the next few weeks – you’ll be sure to clap eyes modern masterpiece.
