Evocative paintings

Press, 8 November 1978, Page 14

Evocative paintings

Sam Mahon “Paintings,” Gwenda Turner “Paintings and Etchings,” Morgan Jones “Sculpture.” C.S.A. Gallery. Until November 15. Reviewed by Michael Thomas.

The crusty brown walls of a French cafe and the taste of vin rouge are conjured up in the portraits of staunch-faced Frenchmen by Sam Mahon in his latest exhibition at the C.S.A. Gallery.

A combination of acrylic paint and crayon has been used in many of the pictures which include rural scenes and a variety of other subjects ranging from the female form to old boots.

The paintings suffer from lack of simplification, however, and there seems to be little regard for texture, mass, and the general feel of the individual character of each subject. An exciting variety of sculptural pieces in wood and old leather by Morgan Jones fits well into the front gallery of the C.S.A. Each work exploits the contrasts between the cracked and gnarled surface of old leather and the smooth curves of finished wood. There is a basic symbolism about several items, but none are quite vigorous enough to tran-

scend being merely, wellmade objects. Gwenda Turner shows a collection of her most recent tempera paintings and etchings. While some, such as “The Closed Door,” are mellow and appealing, the illustrative aspect of the pictures seems to limit any innovation in technique or aim. The paintings are sufficiently competent technically to succeed as illustrative pictures, and as an authentic record of old houses, but the etchings display monotonous lines and little sympathy with the etching process.