Martin Dutton: Parallel Themes retrospective for SW painter

Sicilian pots and stunning vistas are two things that have inspired Martin Dutton. Now there’s an extensive retrospective of his work, covering his whole 63-year career.

Martin Dutton is one of the leading South West contemporary artists. His retrospective, Parallel Themes, is at Teignmouth’s TAAG Gallery.

Visual narrative and emotional recollection

The exhibition covers work from his art school days through to the present day. And it will display Martin’s broad-ranging interest in ways of painterly interpretation. The physical world is a source of inspiration. As is the world of imaginative visual narrative and emotional recollection.

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The retrospective includes previously exhibited and unseen works. And it traces the evolution of his work through to what he now describes as a “Thematic“ approach.

Thematic approach

His interests and working process has led to clear definition of specific themes. Each theme has a particular subject matter, starting point and technical process to achieve the final image. These range from directly observed landscape paintings to abstracts developed in his home studio in Devon.

textured blue with tints of green abstract painting by Martin Dutton — Laguna Venezia Moonlight No 1

Martin’s abstracts often evolve from the realism of his in situ paintings through a process where Martin “gets to know” his subject. This results in intriguing complexity and a visual poetry which reveals itself as the viewer’s eye explores the image.

Prolific and diverse

“Whilst Martin’s prolific work has led to an incredibly diverse body, the extensive exploration made possible by his thematic approach offers consistency within each individual series as well as across his practice as a whole,” says Jacob Brandon, curator at Artizan Gallery.

“His identity is immediately recognisable irrespective of subject matter, from his traditional Devon landscapes through to his abstract Venetian Gothic series.”

The physical environment in which Martin works also affects his process. He uses whatever media, technique and compositional format is appropriate to convey the expressive idea he is aiming for. He may work on paintings for months or even years until the final narrative he is seeking is achieved. The results show a masterful use of colour and surface texture, underpinned by strong compositional organisation.

Parallel Themes will run at TAAG 4/5 Northumberland Place Teignmouth from 29 June to 12 July. There is a private view on Saturday 29 June at 6pm.

For more information on Martin’s work visit art-hub.co.uk/martindutton.

top image: Cathedral (detail)