An exhibition to honour the late Gary Campbell

The title for this exhibition is derived from the book Certain Chairs, written by Barbara Blackman in 1968.

The chair can be seen throughout Gary’s oeuvre. The room is set perfectly for a dinner party, a crystal ball reading, or just tea and cake in the afternoon. Gary’s early silk paintings were always without people but there was often a sense of anticipation, what was about to occur? Or maybe some event had just finished. There has also been an element of humour in Gary’s artwork, a feeling that at any stage the inanimate become animated and the chairs and tables were ‘set to party’ regardless of people being present.

Gary held a deep fascination for the ‘everyday’; he believed in the power of objects that they too had a story to tell or may trigger thoughts and memories of the past.

In the months October to November 2018 Gary produced 160 collages of chairs, 30 of which are on display here in the gallery - his art practice became an evening ritual, a focus but also an escape.

Keith Giles