A Couple of New Paintings

Continuing the idea of folded/folding paintings, here are two new works inspired by concertina doors, the type of which you see on lifts or building service entrances such as this lovely rusty example on the AWRE site at Orford Ness.

AWRE - Lab 4 - Orford Ness - Door

Nic Pehkonen - AWRE - Lab 4 - Orford Ness (1), 2016

Detail

Nic Pehkonen - AWRE - Lab 4 - Orford Ness (2), 2016

New Paintings

Here are various views of some completed paintings that I have been working on this year. As my studio comes up short in terms of ceiling height, photos had to be taken with the works flat on the floor although this is also less than ideal as in most cases I couldn't achieve the necessary elevation to photograph them square on. Never mind.

As points of reference, I have included additional images which may go some way to explaining where the idea for each painting has come from...

Nic Pehkonen, Double Opening, 40cm x 180cm 

Nic Pehkonen, Double Opening  (other way up!)

Nic Pehkonen, Double Opening (detail).

Inside one of the test laboratories on the AWRE site at Orfordness 

Nic Pehkonen, Beam, 30cm x 227cm

Nic Pehkonen, Beam (other way up)

Nic Pehkonen, Beam (detail)

Supporting steelwork for duct pipes at Orfordness

Nic Pehkonen, Orange and Turquoise, 49cm x 230cm (max dimensions)

Nic Pehkonen, Orange and Turquoise (other way up)

Nic Pehkonen, Orange and Turquoise (detail)

Nic Pehkonen, Red and White, 49cm x 230cm (max dimensions)

Nic Pehkonen, Red and White, (Other way up)

Nic Pehkonen, Red and White (detail)

Orfordness, an endless source of inspiration...

Nic Pehkonen, Yellow and Turquoise, 25cm x 230cm

Nic Pehkonen, Yellow and Turquoise (other way up)

Nic Pehkonen, Yellow and Turquoise (detail)

Not a building but a close-up of a bulldozer radiator grill

Nic Pehkonen, Grey Panel, 86cm x 90cm

Sizewell A Power Station, main reactor building exterior

Nic Pehkonen, Grey Panel (detail)

Nic Pehkonen, Grey Panel (detail)

New Work

Here is something I have been working on for a while. Its a bit of an experiment really that combines two ideas, the first of which came about in the summer when I was photographing some of my paintings and had a pile of them laid out on the floor. The top one happened to be full of holes which meant the colours of the painting underneath were revealed through the openings. It looked great so I thought why not make a painting deliberately this way?

The other idea is something I have had in the back of my mind for ages which is to make a work painted on both sides, designed to be hung facing either way.

Combining both these ideas has resulted in a piece that can actually be displayed in four different ways - here are all the permutations;

Yellow over Green

white(ish) over green

Yellow over turquoise

White(ish) over turquoise

Four paintings for the price of one!!!

Solo exhibition - Centrespace Gallery, Bristol.

I will be having a solo exhibition at the Centrespace gallery in Bristol from 10 - 15 October.

Nic Pehkonen at Centrespace, Bristol. October 10 - 15, 2014

There will be around a dozen both new and older large-scale pieces on show, all reflecting the various architectural influences which continue to dominate my work.

My Cannondale SM2000 - again!

It seems that my bike certainly gets around. Stolen and recovered in the UK last year but now apparently being offered for sale on ebay in the USA…

My bike, apparently now in two places at once - my house and Denver, Colorado.

According to the ebay seller, "artbroker4u", the bike was recently purchased at an estate sale.

It is a nice bike which is why I still have it, happily taking up space at my house!

New work in progress

Here are a couple of new paintings I have been working on over the last few months and which are now finally approaching completion. The first painting is in two sections which are designed to be hung right up against each other. In the image below one section is hanging over the top of the other but you can hopefully imagine how they would look side by side from the shape of the piece in front (see the drawing below to get the idea). I need to find a suitably large free space in order to be able to hang and photograph the painting as I want it.

Nic Pehkonen, Yellow painting, (in progress), household emulsion paint on unstretched canvas, each section approx 6' x 6'

Nic Pehkonen, drawing design for yellow painting

As with most of my work, the ideas behind this painting have evolved over time from a variety of sources and subject matter so the reason it looks the way it does is mostly due to a visual coming together of this…

Orfordness, Lab 2 Blast-doors

and this…

Sizewell A, Perimeter wall section.

and this…

Uranium Oxide (Yellowcake)

The second work currently in the pipeline is:

Nic Pehkonen, Double Duct Pipe, 2013, 8' x 2' (approx), Household emulsion Paint on unstretched canvas

The idea for this painting comes from the pipes in the building below, the ends of which can be seen protruding at ground-level. I need to try and find out the exact function of these pipes within this test laboratory. Perhaps they were part of some sort of ventilation system? Either way, they look intriguing as they disappear into the wall. The tall cross-shaped openings set into the walls are going to feature in a new painting, which I have just begun.

Orfordness, View inside Lab 4

New work in progress

Here are a couple of new paintings in progress;

Nic Pehkonen, Broadmead Multi-Storey Car Park, 2013, approx 45cm x 45cm

I have been thinking for some time about producing much smaller works on the theme of concrete architecture and these are the first experiments.

Nic Pehkonen, Orfordness, 2013, approx 70cm x 25cm

They are basically going to be collages, the plan being to stick the painted canvas cut-outs to pre-painted boards (not the boards in these photographs). I imagine I will probably use 18mm plywood, painted in solid colours to maximise the visual impact of the architectural forms.

Forthcoming Exhibitions

Some of my paintings will be featuring in two group exhibitions in Cheltenham in the coming weeks.

Starting on Friday 23rd November at CentreArts running until December 8th and also the Cheltenham Group of Artists 2012 Winter exhibition at the Parabola Arts Centre from 7th-15th December.

Nic Pehkonen, Leckhampton Hill, Acrylic on canvas, 2003

For further details/opening times etc please visit;

http://www.centrearts.co.uk

http://www.facebook.com/CentreArts

http://cheltenhamgroupartists.org

http://www.parabolaartscentre.co.uk/what-s-on-theatre-and-events/

New Painting

I have recently completed the painting (based on the interior of one of the concrete A.W.R.E test laboratories at Orfordness) that I documented as work in progress in an earlier post . Here is the now finished work.

Nic Pehkonen, Lab1, 2012, height 182cm x width 182cm.
Household emulsion paint on unstretched canvas hung off 4 x tarpaulin clips

Orfordness

The ex-military test and research site at Orfordness on the Suffolk coast is an ongoing point of reference in my work . The combination of the wide-open landscape interspersed with an assortment of intriguingly shaped buildings and the footprints of structures long gone has resulted in a unique and fascinating mix of natural and man-made forms.

View across to the A.W.R.E site

Nic Pehkonen, Lab4a, 2009, Emulsion on unstretched canvas, 200cm x 60cm

For those who like their facts and figures, Orfordness is the largest vegetated shingle spit in Europe (approx 2000 acres in size and 10 miles long) and is also home to a lighthouse but it is more popularly associated with the history and architectural legacy of its military past.

Brick building with Orfordness lighthouse in the background

Land at Orfordness was purchased by the War Department just before the Fist World War and evolved over the years as a classified research and test site. Experiments were carried out on ballistics, camouflage, aircraft weapons lethality and vulnerability and also aerial photography. 

Bomb Ballistics Building

Orfordness also played it's part in the early pioneering development of radar and from the 1950s it played host to the Atomic Weapons and Research Establishment (AWRE) where a variety of unique buildings (laboratories) were constructed to perform tests on the (non-fissile) components of nuclear bombs. These buildings are arguably the most visually striking structures on the site with their unique, concrete forms decaying slowly in the surrounding shingle landscape.

Lab 4

Lab 4 roof

Nic Pehkonen, Lab4c, 2010, Emulsion on unstretched canvas, 200cm x 60cm

Inside one of the Test Laboratories

Nic Pehkonen, Inside Lab4, 2010, Emulsion on unstretched canvas, 183cm x 183cm

During the Cold War another part of the Orfordness site was developed in a collaborative effort between the US and UK governments to construct  a huge and massively powerful "Over-the-Horizon" radar designed to monitor military activity beyond the Iron Curtain. This project was codenamed "Cobra Mist" and although construction was completed (at enormous cost), it never worked properly and following a series of trials which failed to eliminate persistent background noise, the project was abandoned in early 1973.

Lab 1

Nic Pehkonen, Duct Pipe, 2009, Emulsion on canvas stretched over plywood (3 panels), 120cm x 120 cm

The AWRE site was also wound up in the early 1970s and apart from a very brief period of activity shortly after the Falklands War, Orfordness was effectively finished as a test establishment although a considerable amount of work was carried out to clear large amounts of live/unexploded ordnance left behind from decades of testing (and which is still being uncovered to this day!)

Lab 2 Blast Door

The site was eventually purchased by the National Trust in 1993 and was officially opened to the public in 1995. In my opinion the National Trust has done the right thing with the site. They have an enlightened approach and employed a zero restoration policy on most of the buildings and mercifully there is no horrible trademark shop or tearoom - just a very basic lavatory block in the way of facilities.

Lavatory Block

For those who want to find out more about Orfordness, I would definitely suggest a visit in the first instance. General opening times can be found on the National Trust website and I think there are still occasional guided tours where access is allowed to parts of the site not normally accessible to the general visitor. 

The Black Beacon - one of very few restored structures on the site.

I would also strongly recommend one of the very few books written about Orfordness. "Most Secret - The Hidden History of Orfordness" is by Paddy Heazell and published by The History Press in association with the National Trust.  Despite the fact that a lot of the work on Orfordness was secret he has nevertheless carried out a great deal of research and succeeded in putting together a fascinating history of the place, based on available information.