Theatre, Stage, Landscape 1986

Curator: We're looking now at "Theatre, Stage, Landscape", an acrylic on canvas painting rendered in thick impasto by Jeremy Henderson in 1986. What are your immediate thoughts? Editor: A theatrical storm, perhaps? All those blues feel incredibly dramatic, almost staged, like a backdrop to a tragedy. I find it moody, bordering on melancholic. It feels like being on the precipice of something big, about to break. Curator: I see that theatrical reading. The artist uses acrylic paint to build up a heavily textured surface; those visible brushstrokes become like layered stage flats, suggesting depth and atmosphere. Do you think this technique serves a specific purpose here? Editor: Definitely. The impasto technique allows Henderson to manipulate light and shadow so dramatically, giving the whole landscape an almost tangible sense of instability. It brings the means of production to the foreground; we're constantly aware of the artist's labor, building and layering. Like a stage set itself! Curator: The expressionist brushwork, those emotive daubs, contribute to its raw intensity too. The landscape becomes almost secondary, distilled to the emotional qualities – an impending storm, perhaps? Editor: Exactly. It's like the idea of a landscape being processed and conveyed as an emotive expression. The scale of production—the physical effort and material transformation—adds a significant dimension, reflecting shifts in production and art-making values. I think it transcends pure representation. It’s as much about *doing* as seeing. Curator: A dynamic play of form and feeling indeed! Its expressiveness speaks of the landscape and hints towards a wider sense of environmental unease prevalent in the 1980s as industrial practices impacted the earth, or is that over-reading? Editor: I'd say your analysis resonates. In a broader sense, thinking about material production and excess, environmental concerns of the era would certainly fit well into your take. I like the implied threat. Curator: A world on the brink, portrayed on a constructed stage, reminding us of our collective vulnerability, right? It certainly sticks with you. Editor: It does make you think differently, that's for sure! Makes me wonder how artists today grapple with those same heavy ideas and make something new.