Coast

The ArtSpace launched 'Coast' in Feburary 2007, looking at the British coastline. "It's a really atmospheric collection," says gallery co-owner Greg McGee, "There comes accompanied with the coast as subject matter all kinds of dangers of airbrushed, over romantic tweeness, but our artists each bring something unique to the table. Sure, there are a few crowd pleasers here, but there are a few more provocative pieces too."

Interestingly, it's not the provocative nature of some of the work but the inclusion of York based artist Malcolm Ludvigsen that has for now attracted the most grumblings. "It's fair to say that we've had a few people in over the last 2 weeks who claim to have had enough of seeing Ludvigsen's paintings around the city. There's Ludvigsen fatigue in York! But Malcolm's got nothing to apologise for."

One of the criticisms thrown at Ludvigsen is that he's 'too traditional': "I don't mind this at all," says the Professor of Mathematics turned worldwide selling oil painter, "I'd much rather do my own thing, traditional though it may be, than be original like everybody else. I simply paint the things I find visually interesting." Malcolm puts his commercial success down to the fact that they're painted en plein air, "Somebody once said that a brush stroke done in nature is worth twenty in the studio, and it's this that gives them their vibrancy."

Comercial success has brought a considerable amount of negative grumbling, with one local conceptual artist calling Malcolm's work 'pot boilers'. "Malcolm's at an intersting point in his career. He's gathering supporters in tandem with detractors - his work is ubiquitous, and he has a distinctive style that irritates certain people," says Greg, "Maybe it's the tall poppy thing."

"From a gallery's point of view, Malcolm is great to workn with," says co-owner Ails Denholm, "He's very professional, he's tirelessly sociable, and he's very prolific, and he's dependable: he turns up to drop work off or pick it up. His work is certainly collectable. He's upped the ante - he's everywhere because he puts the hours in, and sometimes he gets it just right. In a sense, he's a challenge to tother local artists - stop thinking about it, just do it. When he connects he's up there with local maters such as David Baumforth." York born David Baumforth shares the walls with Ludvigsen along with Baz Ward, Andy Fullalove, Rory Motion, Val Rolls, Anthony Ratcliffe and Mick Oxley."Baumforth is out there on his own. York gets to see his work far too seldom - there's a rage in there that isn't in Ludvigsen's, but that's all the more reason why they should shre the stage," says Ails.

"No pun intended, but Baumforth's really our flagship for the 'Coast' exhibition," says Greg, "He's an internationally established name, with support from Financial Times Art Critics, Sister Wendy Beckett and Jackdaw Magazine. He's also hilariously honest, a real old school character. And his work is pretty breathtaking: you can't fake conviction, and that's what he's got."

"I execute and present my pictures with all the professional sophisticated skill, feeling and vision that I can muster", says Baumforth, "those who paint purely for financial gain run the very real risk of severely compromising their worth."

"Baumforth and Ludvigsen are like the Lennon and McCartney in this exhibition, the Stanley and the Simmons" jokes Greg, "Light and dark. And their work is augmented even more by the other top notch artists we've got on board. Baz is a legend amongst York artists - Milladdio introduced him to us at one of our launch parties, his Bile Beans painting fromn the 1980s is a classic. We're honoured to include his work from his beautiful 'Staithes Series'.

South Yorkshireman Anthony Raytcliffe's large woodcut prints, handprinted in small editions, have proved to be the most successful from the exhibition so far. "These are deep, heavy statements of beauty,' says Greg, "We're happy to see people are snapping them up. People's tastes are perhaps changing in a more adventurous direction. The bracingly clement 'Day in Whitby' is from one of two women artists in the exhibition, Yorkshire born Val Rolls. "We've wanted to include her work for some time, and 'Coast' allows her to show off her skills with oil paint."

"Rory Motion is back with us - he's a sweetheart, a real Renaissance man. His pastel pieces on Staithes are gorgeous," says Ails. The ArtSpace is for the first time bringing in artists from outside Yorkshire. "Northumbrian Mick Oxley's seascapes flings brine from the walls. And Sheffield lad Andy Fullalove - genuine name bytheway - brings some calm to the waters with his Rothko-esque abstracts. there's a real community of artists in York, there has been for years, way before I thought of The ArtSpace," says Ails, "But it's good to bring in new blood to remind us all that standards have to stay high. Imports are just as vital as exports in York's artscene, and with Malcolmn selling his work in places as far flung as Mexico and Dubai, who know 's where we'll find our next artist."

LINDA WORMALD june to july 2007

LINDA Wormald's first solo show opens this weekend at The ArtSpace in York.

Her exhibition notches up another first too: the inaugural show devoted to the work of only one artist at the gallery in Tower Street.

"We've spent the first year-and-a-half of our existence holding group 'concept' exhibitions, but we feel that we're earning our spurs - enough to offer all of our wall space to just one artist from time to time, " says gallery co-owner Greg McGee.

"The question was never 'Who do we start off with?' We'd heard Linda's name so many times, it was like she was some sort of local legendary sprite of the woods.

She's the Zorro of the York art scene!"

Linda, right, had attended one of the ArtSpace's Art Jamming sessions, a post-work evening of painting and wine-drinking to the accompaniment of live music.

"I'd heard of The ArtSpace on the York art scene, and I came along to get a feel of the gallery and enjoyed the experience, " she recalls. "And of course I introduced myself to Greg and Ails Denholm."

Two days later, Linda took round a small portfolio of her abstract work. "Greg liked them. Well, he said it in a more exciting way than that. He said they were vibrant and sexy and offered me a solo exhibition, " she says.

"When we got together over that Art Jamming session we knew that she was the artist for the job, " says Greg. "She's 100 per cent professional, she's wildly passionate and she has an army of supporters."

The invitation came at the beginning of May, and Linda was given a free rein. "What was so attractive to me about doing this show was that Greg and Ails said I could show whatever I wanted, whereas a lot of galleries like all the work to be of one type, seascapes or whatever. That's why there's such a variety of pieces."

Linda, a diminutive 4ft 11in, has felt the weight of responsibility on her shoulders, but in a positive way.

"I feel the focus on me in the sense that I don't want to let the gallery down, but over the years - and I've been painting for 40 years - I've picked up a good following and I do feel that the opening night will be very successful."

The opening night is tonight, when live music will set the mood to match Linda's increasingly colourful pieces.

"The work is beautiful, so it'll stand up for itself, " says Ails. "The Spanish flamenco guitarist tonight will be great; there'll be an exciting atmosphere, we'll all enjoy some wine - but the artwork is the real star. It comes as naturally as breathing to Linda."

Linda says her passion is for the act of painting itself: "I've never really thought about why I've done something. It's just how inspired I am at a certain time: sometimes I feel so alive that I paint in red; sometimes I'm more subdued and a seascape will come out. I can be influenced by the music I play: I love the Rolling Stones!" she says.

"To me, painting is a tonic, a form of escape. We all have things we have to deal with in life, and painting helps me to cope? and pay the bills each month.

"Now, with this solo show, I feel it's a gallery where I can be adventurous and dynamic, and as Greg said, sexy in my work."

Linda Wormald's show runs until July 7

MALCOLM LUDVIGSEN october to november 2007

DO not be misled by the dramatic title of Malcolm Ludvigsen's new exhibition at The ArtSpace in York. Farewell Show will not be the end of the professor's prodigious painting exploits.

"It's not a goodbye Malcolm Ludvigsen show; it's a fond farewell to the style that has seen him sell well all over the world, " clarifies gallery co-owner Greg McGee.

"The paintings he's bringing out next summer are a real departure, very different. It'll be a Madonnaesque reinvention! It's a good move: he's a prolific painter, very professional, but he's also very shrewd."

Analysing that shrewdness, Greg says: "Malcolm is aware that there are York people irritated by the fact he's all over the city, and though he has always seemed unruffled by it, his new style shows a very different approach.

"Whether that's because of the grumblings or not, I don't know.

But you can't argue with the 'Ludvigsen brand' - it exports very well, and it's instantly recognisable. So this solo show is a tribute to the old, loose-limbed style and gives everyone a last chance to purchase a piece of 2007 vintage Ludvigsen."

In the tradition of Mark Twain, Malcolm allays fears of his demise.

"It's true that I'm having a change of style, but this is certainly not my final exhibition. At least I hope it isn't!

"Greg did make some sinister comments about artists selling better after their death, and he did intimate that it's about time I retired from painting, " he says.

"By the way, don't accept a cup of his hemlock herbal tea. It tastes awful."

Turning to the future, Malcolm intends to continue doing plein-air landscapes and seascapes, and nudes too, but in a more minimalist style with a slightly more intense use of colour.

"I've noticed over the years that the paintings I find the most satisfying to paint, and also the ones that sell best, contain as little clutter as possible - for example, a painting depicting nothing but beach, sky and sea, or perhaps even only one of these, " he says.

"It sounds boring, but it's the hardest thing in the world to get such a painting right, especially the colour and subtle changes of tone, and when it is right it tends to be a good painting. I've been encouraged in this respect by my American agent, who claims she can sell all I can produce if I use bigger canvasses and include only the bare essentials."

A painting holiday on the island of Tilos in Greece has inspired Malcolm, too.

"In order to capture the colours around me, I had to abandon my sombre Yorkshire palette for something much more intense and vivid, and this came as something as a revelation, " he says.

"I've always disapproved of using strong colours just for the sake of it, but painting in the vivid light of Tilos has, I think, taught me how to use strong colours properly.

Hopefully my new style will show this."

There will be no rest for Malcolm, who is preparing for the Edinburgh and Chelsea art fairs and the New York Art Expo, following exhibitions at the New Grafton and the Mall Galleries in London.

Meanwhile, back home in York, Farewell Show runs until Tuesday at The ArtSpace in Tower Street.

LESLEY SEEGER 'The Importance of Beauty'.

This is the final show of the very successful 2007 series of solo exhibitions at The ArtSpace. It is a very fitting culmination: after world class exhibtions by fellow Yorkshire big guns such as Doug Binder and Linda Wormald, Lesley ends the riff with her trademark, flirty, invariably uplifting colourscapes. Building on her assured sense of fun and ambience, Lesley's new collection of art is impeccably framed and finished with that flair that evokes good times, good wine and good music, sure to appeal to her collectors and newcomers alike.

Lesley is a qualified art therapist, and has experience of using the creative process in a variety of using the creative process in a variety of settings, including the NHS and NSPCC, indeed her work hangs in the corridors of York Hospital. She exhibits widely, including the Mashamshire Arts Festival, and the Ocean Terminal in Edinburgh.