Ariel Luke

Ariel Luke, a painter who has specialised in gardens, has assembled a collection of twenty one contemporary artists, including herself, who have an interest in painting gardens, having as part of her research visited the artists' studios. Not surprisingly the range of work is wide, from the stylised precision of Graham Bannister and atmospheric realism of John Pearce, to the unconventional aerial views of Adrian Berg or more traditional ones Dick Smyly, the exotic splashes of colour of Jeffrey Hessing to the probably familiar austere canvases of David Inshaw. Other artists included are Ivor Abrahams, Jennifer Bartlett, Robert Bates, Adrian Berg, June Berry, Michael Dillon, John Doyle, Annabel Gault,, Angela Gladwell, François Houtin, Natasha Morland, Johnathan Myles-Lea, Ramiro Fernandez Saus, John Shelly and Johnathan Warrender.

Each artist is allocated four or five pages and is represented by several examples of his or her work. The range of media includes oils, watercolour, silkscreen printing, etching as well as mixed-media pieces. The text entry for each artist provides brief biographical notes in addition to a few comments on the artists' approach and technique, and what has influenced them. There are around 130 illustration of which about 120 are in colour, the monochromes begin either etchings or some of the photographs of the artists. Many of the illustrations are full page in size.

It is a fascinating survey, not only for the wide variety of work included, but that it draws attention to the fact that there are significant artists specialising in this field. If there are any criticisms to be made of the publication, firstly the date or birth of the artists is not provided, one can only guess at their relative ages from what dates in their careers are given. While there is sometimes a brief mention of the techniques the artist employs, it is just enough to be tantalising, not enough to be satisfying. The book does not include an index or any other references. However it is a well produced book which provides a most interesting survey.… (plus d'informations)