Alexander Heaton
Monday, June 8th, 2009
A wrote a review on Alexander Heaton for a magazine a while ago. here’s a section of it.
Heaton who was mountaineering in the Valais region of Switzerland, saw his group leader turn and point at the morning light which was revealing the beautiful Matterhorn and announced ‘The horn that matters’ (the title of one of his recent shows). Heaton now paints using oils that come from minerals found within the great mountains producing sincere, narrative scenes that evoke feelings of wonder and childlike fragility. Apart from making you want to enter the painted scene, you are made to feel quite at ease in the company of the painting. The lucid colours and striking compositions are surprisingly un-daunting, probably because of the fondness and respect in which they were painted. And although hinting at catastrophe they are a calm progression from some of his earlier unreal, apocalyptic works, a progression I hope he pursues, as aside from travelling the Alps work like this prove a kind escape from our hectic city lives. His work depicts a scene of complete solace. Water mills and homes built into the mountains; with the daunting Alps lurking ominously in the background, whilst goats graze in the foreground, implying a feeling of complete contentment in an epic landscape.
