Terry Frost's escapist, exuberant creations at Newlyn Art Gallery and The Exchange

This article originally appeared on Culture24.

Ben Miller visits Newlyn Gallery and the Exchange in search of Terry Frost

Newlyn Art Gallery & The Exchange curators have been concerned to portray Terry Frost, (1915 - 2003) who worked for Barbara Hepworth between 1949 and 1951, for what he truly was: a figure who took his escapist, exuberant creations far more seriously than he took himself.

They accept that his art has latterly been seen in some quarters as something of a decorative brand, with the fun of his paintings that conjure pagan goddesses, breasts, love, light and carefree beauty among their subjects - at risk of overwhelming his stature as an artist to be reckoned with.

Living in St Ives during the 1950s, Frost was part of that close circle of emerging British modernists working with abstraction, including Roger Hilton, Patrick Heron, Peter Lanyon and Bryan Wynter; names now synonymous with the Cornish town.



One of the key ideas behind this centenary exhibition is to show lesser-known works by Frost, including key paintings, collages and  sculptures from his formative periods working in Yorkshire and Cornwall.

Frost was an extremely popular figure in a county where his views of the quay at St Ives captured the atmosphere of a walk along the coast.

A notable example of this is the charming Black Green and White Movement on Blue and Green II, loaned from the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. But the variety with which he portrayed the atmosphere of the Cornish coast can be seen everywhere within the airy space of the Exchange.

Walking Down the Quays - a dark blue complex of squares apparently drawn from the depths of the sea - hangs near Walk Along the Quay, a thin rectangle of yellows that aims to translate time and motion into geometric forms, framing his visual experience rather than the scene. It rocks the viewer's eye through blocks of colour and a consistent surface texture.

Ever the optimist, despite spending most of World War Two imprisoned in Stalag 383, which is the subject of a film at the gallery during the opening weekend of the exhibition, Terry Frost's career, from art school figuration beginnings to more gestural, subtly compositional pieces, embodies his warm and generous spirit.

His army-sized family have been heavily involved and equally generous in the creation of the exhibition. Events take place this weekend at the galleries, visit http://newlynartgallery.co.uk/events-workshops/ for details.

• Terry Frost is at Newlyn and The Exchange until January 9 2016

Source: http://www.culture24.org.uk/art/painting-and-drawing/art539105-terry-frosts-escapist-exuberant-creations-at-newlyn-art-gallery-and-the-exchange