Minne Fry: A Retrospective
–
This coming March, we are delighted to welcome Minne Fry to the Coningsby Gallery for ‘Minne Fry: A Retrospective’. The exhibition, curated by Sharon Newton, will present a range of oil paintings, watercolours and etchings spanning Fry’s impressive and varied career, and will be on display from 19 - 24 March 2018.
Nature has always been and remains an important point of departure for Fry’s work. She is perhaps best known for her semi-abstract landscapes, which form emotional responses to elements of the natural world that resonate with her – skies, woods, mountains, winter trees. This non-representational interpretation eschews literal depiction and thus literal perspectives of landscape, favouring instead what the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins referred to as ‘inscapes’.
Beauty and emotion are without a doubt at the heart of Fry’s approach to painting, and are expressed through her use of vivid colour and the organic flair of her mark making. Her natural sensitivity towards these elements in nature are further complemented by her interest in music, poetry and literature, and it is of no surprise then that the theatre has often been a subject matter of great interest to her. Regardless of subject matter however, throughout her oeuvre Minne’s playful curiosity and warmth towards that which cannot often easily be expressed in words or representational imagery is made event.
Over the past 50 years, Johannesburg-born Fry has confirmed and maintained her position as both an active and well-regarded figure in the field of British contemporary art. She first exhibited in London the early sixties at the New Vision Gallery run by Denis Bowen, where the critic Eric Newton bought one of her paintings. Fry’s reputation was initially established through her work in oils. In the 1980s, she began to experiment, developing her skills and practice through use of watercolours and subsequently mastering the art of printmaking at London’s Morley College. Her oeuvre now encompasses works created in oils, acrylics, watercolour and etchings, made on paper, canvas or wood. Her capacity for growth as an artist, and her taste for innovation, has undoubtedly contributed much towards her continued success and relevance.
Among her repertoire of previous mixed and solo shows, Minne has exhibited at the RA Summer Exhibition and the Royal West of England Academy Autumn Exhibition. She has also displayed work with online gallery, Eyestorm, for 15 years, and has exhibited regularly with the National Society of Painters, Sculptors and Printmakers - where she was awarded the painting prize in 2017 - and with the Morley Printmakers, winning the etching prize for 2017.