Sign of the times

I'm very conscious of not talking to the point where peoples eyes glaze over. Being a sophisticated male, adept at noticing changes in mood, I know this is likely to be a bad sign. I love cars and motorbikes but know that if I bleat on about it too much, you will leaving thinking "What kind of freak learns that kind of stuff". In a gallery it is especially important because art still has the air of elitism that leaves casual shoppers feeling like a philistine should you not know the work from Tom Roach for example.

We like to be genuine about our artists and its really important to not get too hung up on artspeak. Concerning art, there is a real need to minimise the outrageous and baffling statements that seem to accompany fine art. The last thing I would want is for someone to have the same disbelief my wife did on hearing Natalie Cassidy is a size 12 on Strictly.

I have a friend who Brands companies (He branded mooch in fact). I have genuinely good conversations with him on fonts. Admittedly I wouldn't talk to anyone else about this lest they feel that time has stopped and they are trapped in boring conversation hell. Everyone has their expertise and interests and everyone has a geek inside them that they are reluctant to announce to the public.

So here be the most mundane post of all. Signage. The look of the gallery is really important so I got really excited when new signage went up the other day. It's an effort to reduce the number of people that stumble on the gallery having walked past every day and not sussed out that we sell art.

The piece de resistance is the white "mooch art" on the counter which looks like a work of art in itself. When my friend sees it he will reach a climax of helvetican proportions. People will flock to see what extraordinary visions of loveliness they can behold when drawn in by some simple lettering that promises artistic nirvana.

When you get there it will be Phillipa who will engage you with riveting conversation. And in coming to mooch art you will definitely familiarise yourself with tom roach (get it?).

Artist Focus - Alan Knight

I stood in the middle of the studio and with my mouth open, peering up onto the high walls of the mill. I did a slow 360. No space was left uncovered by Alans artwork and it was like being inside a kaleidoscope. There was art everywhere and I said, "Wow you can paint". I love the smell of oil paint and the air was thick with it because Alan uses bucket loads of the stuff. Thickly applied with a knife, it is almost inconceivable that such artwork can be created with the tools laid out in front of me.

Formerly a professional guitarist he clearly has a creative spirit. He came to painting later in life and has been refining his technique for a number of years. Only recently though has he hit on a style and technique that engages people. Sometimes I have seen it in the last hour of an artist painting where it all comes together and the piece has that added magic that makes people love it.

I get the impression that Alan paints automatically. If he produces a terrible painting (which I'm sure he has in the past) he will talk about it in the same way as a masterpiece. Self effacing and modest, Alan is unlikely to be seen pulling a gimmicky stunt to gain publicity. This only makes me respect what he does even more.

He will, and is, gaining a reputation for just being a great artist rather than for any other superfluous reason. He lets the work do the talking which in the art world takes longer to build a reputation, but it is a method that will win much respect and admiration in the long term. The people that have bought his work know that they have made a discovery.
He points out an article in a recent magazine that lists him as being an artist to watch out for in terms of investment value. I didn't doubt it and think his work will never be this cheap again.

People in the art business will never normally say the "C" word. Lest they devalue something they are desperately trying to talk up. Even "Affordable" is sometimes frowned upon. The connotations with cheap are that it is nasty but I don't have any such reservation in saying it. Alans work is worth more than its cost. It is cheap. Peculiarities of the English language have given cheap a bad name, but by definition a luxury super car can be cheap even at £500,000 and in 10 years I am sure people will consider the prices paid for his work now are low.

Alan talks me through his work, he is inspired by the surroundings. The colour and textures are outstanding and he has urban to more pastoral landscapes up on the walls and stacked up against one another. The focus is Greater Manchester and Cornwall where he spends his holidays. These are increasingly turning into working holidays as the popularity of his work is taking off but he doesn't regret this.

Leaving the studio I felt I had met a true artisan, a man who would have painted in any century he was born. I have seen a lot of artwork and it is very rare to find work of this quality painted in oil with a pallet knife. It looks like a lot of fun and It almost makes me want to paint myself.

Alan's work is on display at Mooch art in the Triangle.

The past week at mooch

I was standing in front of a small crowd introducing John Robb who was to unveil the portrait painted by Sarah Mayhew by pulling on the red silky material. Normally I'm okay getting up in front of people and speaking but the past couple of times have been slightly awkward. I said something along the lines of "So let me pass you over to John who's going to tug on the ermmm.. errr thing. My poor brain was struggling to come up with a word that sounded better than "sheet" but I ended up just looking a bit simple. Channel M were filming so it was caught for posterity.

Thursday night was preview night again. If you haven't been before it's when we unveil lots of new artwork, invite the artists/art lovers along and generally have a bit of a celebration of their work over some food and wine. It's all relaxed and mainly a chance to chat to the artist and have first dibs on the artwork on offer. Its one of the slightly frustrating things about an artists collection that there are some pieces that can be sold 5 times over. When it concerns original art you get few chances to bag the popular pieces. If you're lucky I will come over and put my foot in my mouth.

This past week has been a really busy time at mooch. Yesterday we had the EDL (english defence league) parading around Manchester. These guys weren't out for a cup of tea and a gentle stroll around the city centre. The pub opposite the Oldham street gallery was the gathering point for a big group that attracted an equivalent number of policemen. 4 vans, 4 mounted horsemen and another 7 police officers (one with video camera) had things pretty much under control. There was a huge amount of tension mostly because the the EDLs rivals the UAF (United against facism) decided to mount a counter march. The stand off was in Piccadilly gardens and there was a very strange atmosphere in the city.

I shut a little early but otherwise all was good. If anyone came to the gallery to find it closed, I apologise but didn't fancy having a run in with a fascist nutter. The city is back to normal now and the area isn't dangerous. I just hope the EDL don't make a habit of doing this sort of thing.