Posted on January 13th, 2012 at 12:23 am by 
A lovely sunny day….. what better than to take the day off and popped down to Chichester, West Sussex with a friend and we spent some time in the Pallant House Gallery. The exhibition we both wanted to see is the EDWARD BURRA, it did not disappoint, it opened on the 35th anniversary of his death and runs until February 21st 2012.
Of course you can’t take photos of the work but a gorgeous rotund tummied man said I could take a few snaps of the gallery (for this read  landing) he was most helpful and rather lovely, he had an overwhelming passion for this artist and was more than happy to chat and pass on a few bits of gossip to us.
The gallery space is truly stunning. Walking past a FRANCIS BACON and a couple of PETER BLAKE’s…plus two magnificent paintings by MICHAEL ANDREWS.. sheer genius. Another one of my favourites is FRANK AUERBACH, oh what that man could do with paint! This gallery has a fantastic collection, other names to look out for: BOMBERG, CAULFIELD, FREUD, HODGKIN, NICHOLSON, MOORE, PIPER and so many more.
look at this dude…only word for him, spooky but amazing.
the one below with the couple on a train….’no photos please’….
Anyway more about Burra,
“Through a selection of around 70 major works from across the artist’s career, this exhibition focuses on Burra’s sharply-observed social commentary and unique draftsmanship“.
The show features Burra’s iconic images of everyday people at leisure in bars and clubs, the black culture of 1930′s Harlem, the sub-culture of harbours and ports, his macabre and slightly scary dancing skeletons and stunning late landscapes. The exhibition also explores the influence of jazz music and cinema, and his forays into the darker sides of humanity, his work with watercolour on paper is out of this world, he is a master of the medium.
He is probably best  known for paintings executed in the 1920s and ’30s depicting seedy urban scenes and of course for telling the RA, in 1961, a big fat NO to the request to consider becoming an associate. .
At a time when the trend-setters were obsessed with abstraction, Burra was painting people: boozing sailors; dockside barmaids; zoot-suited hipsters hanging on Harlem street corners….
I am no art critic but when you just stand and study the work at first you can’t believe it is watercolour, you can see the brush strokes, the colours, the blood, sweat and sheer unadulterated skill Burra possessed.
Highly recommend it.
