This is the second group exhibition of artists that have been involved with Brancaster since its inception in 2013. The Chronicles, in this time, have featured artists who have offered up their studio practice for scrutiny and wider discussion. The ensuing discussions have evolved from transcripts to films, and the work, having gone through the baptism of critical fire, has developed in, at times, quite unforeseen ways. There is no house style, no unifying approach, just a desire in each artist to push their work on, on their own terms, at their own pace, in their own way. If there is a commonality, it is the desire to make work with ambition and to see what abstract can be to each artist. 

The work in this exhibition is primarily two-dimensional (due to the logistics and particular operating procedures of the museum).  It is a shame we cannot see any sculpture on this occasion. The work on show is diverse, eclectic and demands our attention. In an age when the ambition in art is often to produce things that lurch towards a form of entertainment or crass titillation, the works here do no such thing. Rather, there is a desire in each artist to root us to the spot and ask questions of our engagement with their work. The rewards in such an engagement are greater. For one thing the passive act of regarding becomes a more active form of looking – seeing how decisions are made, over time, in the unfolding new reality of a form of art which we can call “abstract”. Yet, no artist here is fully comfortable with such an assertion; they are all much more cagey in their ambition, unsettled even, full of curious doubt and trying to be ever alert to the next discovery. No great claims are made, no worlds turn on a thought. It’s quiet, steady and probing. Everyone is in it for the long haul. 

The work will posted on the site and comments are welcome: this is what the DNA of the Chronicles is all about. We thank Noela for all her hard work in curating the exhibition and we thank the Museum in the Park for giving us the space for the duration of the show.

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