‘Relentless Forms’ curated by Sue Lucine is at the Urban Coffee Lounge in Smithdown Road until May 1st 2006.
This cafe is a bit of a relentless form itself, everytime I visit things have moved around, walls knocked down or put up. Now there’s a very nice small Fair Trade shop in the back.
Mostly figurative works by local artists this is a good show. Karen Henley’s small paintings of everyday life in bright colours welcome you as you enter.
Then Sarah Richards’ 3 larger oil paintings Self 1-3 on the far wall really grab your attention. How can portraits look so energetic? They are in stark contrast to Joe Bramall’s 3 Portraits which are simple and amusing black and white illustrations.
At the rear of the cafe are some etchings and prints by Pamela Holstein, I like the blue lino cut ‘It could happen here’ and landscapes or shorescapes by Alina Vila who likes to experiment with colour and texture.
Then there’s that Fair Trade shop with its delicious coffees, gifts and soaps.