I have been a fan of Chris’s work for a long time and he’s got a new exhibition coming up soon.
Allotment artist Chris Cyprus has always had a thing about sheds.
“They’re the last man cave aren’t they?” he says.”Sheds are dens for grown men. We’re never more at play and more connected with the little boys that we really still are than when we’re building a shed out of nothing and painting it the kinds of colour we’d never dare to use in our houses.”
Just over a decade after he last exhibited there, the Pennine painter returns to Greater Manchester’s Saddleworth Museum & Gallery this May with a one man show entitled A Coloured North (13 May-11 June).
The exhibition showcases his last two years’ work and includes paintings on a number of themes, including his well loved allotment paintings – with sheds to spare.
“I’ve always loved sheds,” he says, and even before I started on my allotment series about a decade ago, I enjoyed sneaking a good shed or two into my landscapes.
“To me, they represent freedom, creativity and a return to simpler things.”
From the gleam of a highly polished tuba, to bright patchwork landscapes and orderly allotments brimming with a rainbow of homegrown produce, Cyprus’ paintings seek to celebrate the colourful splendour of the every day.
Of the 43 images that have been selected for his new show, over half have never been public display. Many depict familiar scenes of Saddleworth life, whilst others graciously observe the peculiarities of other northern towns and villages, including Burnley (Lancashire), the market town of Beverley in the East Riding of Yorkshire, Stockport (Greater Manchester), Robin Hoods Bay and Staithes on the North Yorkshire coast and Linthwaite in West Yorkshire.
You can find more about Chris here.
