I met Glenn Ibbotson at the Guildhall and find his work both intriguing and disturbing. I have included him mainly for his film Tatsuko see below which connects with what I have been researching in this section. The film is about place and time.

http://www.smokingbrushfineart.com for more of his artwork

I cover a broad range of subject matter; landscape, interiors, still-life, portraiture and life painting, all in a representational idiom. My central interest is the human figure. My approach to each of the genres in which I operate is one of flexibility; developments in any one area may or may not directly influence my activity in another. This may seem rather schizophrenic, but exhibition audiences appear to discern an overall coherence to the body of work as a whole.
Glenn Ibbitson
Nant 2007NANT STUDIOS

Studio location: Nant; Pantybwlch. Newcastle Emlyn, Carmarthenshire SA38 9JF
O.S.grid reference SN 325 374
tel. 01559 370 276
2 miles S.of Newcastle Emlyn on B4333. White gibbet sign to Nant. Follow lane to house and barn studios. ample parking in forecourt between outbuildings.

glenn ibbitson 1 glenn ibbitson 2

glenn ibbitson 3 glenn ibbitson4

glenn ibbitson

The central focus of Glenn’s art is the human figure and landscape, painted in a representational idiom. Drawing from direct observation forms the foundation of all his art practice. This observational discipline is grafted to a strong sense of narrative and concept, encompassing social issues -trafficking, state surveillance, consumer profiling.

This visual repertory, which spanning a wide range of media can be traced back to a career as a scenic artist [several years with the BBC in London] for film, television and theatre. This work provided opportunities to practice trompe-l’oeil techniques and visual trickery on an industrial scale. He has since employed this experience to investigate various artistic techniques of [mis]representation, producing a visual discord; a blurring of the line between the genuine and the fraudulent, reality and illusion.

Glenn now works full-time from his studio in West Wales.

His work is represented in private collections across six continents.

Consignment

Archery Practice

Mermaid Drifting

‘Hauntingly beautiful, dramatically gripping yet enigmatic, Tatsuko draws the viewer into a world dominated by a strange landscape, where the familiar becomes alien and human relationships are intense yet completely distant.

The story is simple: a hooded man arrives at a remote farmhouse. The artist who inhabits the house, goes about her daily self absorbed routine, oblivious to the dark figure watching her. Slowly he begins to inhabit her territory, watching, waiting. Scuttling away when she is near, yet closer to her than her own breath. Is he real, or a shadow? Is he malign, or a guardian angel?

The film’s cinematography is breathtaking, making the most of both the wild Welsh landscape, and the way that ordinary interiors can be imbued with suspense. In their majestic stillness, the shots breathe the artistry of Antonioni, while the enigmatic yet intense story echoes Tarkovsky.

Ibbitson’s status as a master painter can be seen and felt in every frame. Tatsuko, as well as being hugely entertaining, is an object lesson in how that most traditional of art forms, painting, can be a discipline and a catalyst to electrify and deliver art cinema of the highest quality.’

http://tatsukoproj.blogspot.com/

Gillian McIver co-director Studio 75 Arts, London

Watch the film trailer here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NwVwNk0NuA