'Temporal Echoes' - Gudrun Ståhl Sharpley

Gudrun is a figurative artist who revels in working with figures and faces, shapes and colours, focusing on movement within her work as her main theme.

Over the years, Gudrun has studied old masters and new and influences in her work reflect admiration for the drawings of Leonardo da Vinci and the photographic and graphic realism of Dutch renaissance painters, as well as much 19th to 21st century work.

Abstract Expressionism must get a special mention. With all good art, composition which generates movement within a work is key to any successful outcome, abstracts included.  Gudrun is particularly taken with abstract works of Clifford Still with his seemingly blank canvasses which demonstrate a subtle internal composition, and with George Bellows's figurative work which revels in his use of paint, often on a very large scale.  In the world of portraiture many artists can be named as influences, but, unsurprisingly, John Singer Sargent tops the list, particularly with his watercolours.  Gudrun admires an extensive range of artists and is interested in contemporary developments.

When Gudrun was privileged to be able to exhibit her work at The Orchard Gallery, she took to heart the request for her work to bear some relevance to Gunby Hall and Gardens.  Very quickly she made many links to the past and present, hence the exhibition title of Temporal Echoes.  There is a wealth of history associated with Gunby Hall; music (in particular Vaughan Williams), Shakespeare (from the quotations within the Hall), Sir Charles Darwin, and portrait painters, art and past inhabitants ... the list is ever extending as connections are explored. 

Lord Tennyson does of course generate a wide range of connecting threads, one being from his work 'The Princess', for example, which links directly to Gilbert and Sullivan's work, 'Princess Ida'.  Gudrun’s exhibition work also includes direct references from the Hall, Garden and volunteers, though some are more subtle than others.

The work in this exhibition delights in having been generated through all of these links, directly and indirectly.  A particular reference for Gudrun's inspiration while she was working on this exhibition is from Shakespeare's 'Midsummer Night's Dream': 

     "Lull'd in these flowers with dances and delight",  Act II, s I

an oft quoted phrase which encapsulates much of the content of the exhibition works.

Please contact Gudrun directly either via email or telephone if you want more information about her and her work, or if you would like to purchase work.

gsharpley@gmx.co.uk  07769 343752  www.gudrunsharpley.co.uk