Ray Watchman: The Coming Light

Taylor-Jensen Fine Arts is pleased to present what we believe to be the first solo-artist exhibition outside of Canterbury focused exclusively on the earthquake devastation in Christchurch and its surrounds. The Coming Light – Paintings for Christchurch by Palmerston North artist Ray Watchman is a body of work created in the aftermath of and as the artist’s personal reaction to the February 22nd, 2011 Christchurch earthquake and aftershocks. The Coming Light will open with a public reception for the artist on Friday 3rd February from 5 to 7 PM at the gallery.

Consisting of 30 oils and acrylic abstract works on stretched canvases, the exhibition is dedicated to the city and its people. The works are being given their first public showing to coincide with the first anniversary of the February tragedy; Watchman stresses that the exhibition is not intended as a memorial but rather “a meditative journey, inviting viewers to contemplate for themselves the profound questions about life that arise when confronted by a disaster of such magnitude.” The Coming Light, Watchman’s second exhibition at Taylor-Jensen Fine Arts, will continue through 28th February. A percentage of sales will be donated by the artist and the gallery to Christchurch earthquake restoration funds.

By virtue of its name and the aspirations of its colonial founders, Christchurch is a city with a rich Christian heritage. Watchman has drawn freely on that region’s imagery “to provide a vehicle for the journey this exhibition invites viewers to participate in.” Christian themes are evident throughout the work particularly in one dark 5-panel series featuring stylised representations of the Cathedral’s destroyed west window. Many of Watchman’s works for this exhibition are meant to reflect life here and now – “…A commentary on the human spirit’s ability to rise up no matter how cruel and overwhelming the odds…” The title of the exhibition draws from the artist’s belief that “the light of God, or the light of the human spirit . . . is the light that is always coming.” His works celebrate the people of Christchurch rebuilding their shattered lives and city in ‘the coming light’. Watchman also knows that “this is a small country and I’m sure most Kiwis would have been impacted by the Christchurch earthquakes to greater or lesser degrees.” This exhibition is meant for all of us to contemplate what perhaps we can no longer take for granted.

In addition to religious-themed paintings, Watchman has painted four abstract works in which he maps out the shattered city-scape in juxtaposed and jagged blocks of colour creating unique representations of the Christchurch CBD.

Ray Watchman is a largely self-taught artist who, until he started painting full time early last year, after his retirement from a career as a professional journalist and editor, had concentrated almost entirely on portraiture. The artist’s changing circumstances allowed him to both paint full time and to explore the world of abstraction; the earthquakes in Christchurch also moved him deeply and profoundly affected his painting style and desire to represent more than an individual on a single canvas. Having lived for a short time in Christchurch in the mid-1960s and having sung with the Durham Street Methodist Church Choir, Watchman’s pathos for the city and its people is deep-seated.

Ray Watchman has work in the collection of the Palmerston North Public Library and last year was a contributor to ‘ArtAid’, a charity art auction which raised funds for the Christchurch earthquake relief. His previous exhibition was Double Header, a joint portrait showing with Fielding artist Barbara Dawkins. A work from The Coming Light series is currently entered in the 2012 Molly Morpeth Canaday Art Awards competition at the Whakatane Memorial Complex, Whakatane.

Event listed by Stuart Schwartz

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