There are a couple of things along the East Sussex seafront that I really love. These include the exotic Driftwood Garden in Seaford and the seafront at St Leonard’s. Think art deco Marine Court, street food beach cafés and the work of local artists encased along the arches of the promenade. So, the Hastings Arts Forum caught my attention. It’s an organisation that supports the arts locally and regionally. They have an exhibition space at the Gallery at 20 Marine Court and this month, Seaford artist, Mark Glassman is exhibiting.
Introducing Mark Glassman
Living close to the sea and beach has been an ongoing inspiration, reflected in Mark’s paintings which have over time become increasingly abstract. Instead of trying to illustrate a particular location they are more distillations of the experience. Mark works in his shed studio at the back of Driftwood Garden, where paint is splattered, thrown, brushed, diluted and washed over to express elements of the sea, the beach and surrounding landscape and to create interesting textual surfaces and contrasts. His recent work has involved cutting into existing paintings to reveal unexpected layers of contrasts and meanings creating a process of reconstruction and consolidation.
The recently, seemingly, never-ending, period of lockdown and pandemic has acted as a form of therapy and given Mark increased focus with a continuous daily creative process. In this sense, there have been positive aspects to what has often been a scary, anxious, tragic and depressing time.
The exhibition
Mark’s current exhibition, “BEACH & SEA” is at Hastings Arts Forum in the gallery at 20 Marine Court (opposite the seafront) and reflects his continued preoccupation with the beach and the sea and the expressive potential it offers him. The exhibition runs from 17th – 29th May.
See his other work at www.markglassman.org.uk or follow him on Instagram at @artmark100.
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