Jim Poyner and Nick Howard of Castle Howard, 'Photography: An Exhibition'.
By According To McGee Admin
Tower Street gallery launched its inaugural 'Photography' exhibition last weekend with a duo show from the Hon Nick Howard of Castle Howard and urban contemporary photographer Jim Poyner. Nick Howard, internationally well regarded for his photography, with subjects including artists Grayson Perry and Antony Gormley, brought a collection that focuses solely on Castle Howard and its surroundings whilst Jim Poyner's deal with urban graffiti in cities all around the world. It is a development that is long overdue according to gallery co-director Greg McGee. "On every level, Photography has taken a back seat to Contemporary Painting for the last 20 years or so. From a gallerist's point of view, paintings are a better bet because, commercially and culturally, they make such a big impression at the collector's house. Photography as a skill has been democratised by the accessibility of apps on handheld devices. We thought, if we're going to dedicate an exhibition to Photography it had better involve practitioners who innovate and strive for excellence. Give Painting a run for its money, in other words. As soon as we saw Nick Howard's collection, we knew the planets were lining up."
Nick Howard grew up in Castle Howard, one of Britain's greatest houses. His exhibition opposite Clifford's Tower is the latest chapter in a decades long evolution.
"As a child, I took some of my first photographs in York’s Museum Gardens, so it’s a real pleasure to have my images on show at According to McGee now." He recounts why and how he worked so hard and so quickly in harnessing the light inherent in this specific collection. "These were taken on a particular day, an autumn morning I’d been waiting for to capture the perfect shot of the red tree, the Swamp Cypress. It turns to that delicious red for a few days each year, just at the time mists, frosts, and sunlight combine to make magic out of even the mundane. I’d gone out far too early for the tree shot, just to savour those perfect conditions. As soon as I left the house it became clear that there was a lot more to shoot than just the tree. The light was changing every moment: I’d turn from one shot to take another and when I turned back, everything had altered, again. It became a race. Under conditions like that it’s impossible to capture everything you see but I managed to take home something of what I’d witnessed.
Which was something of a relief. I’d had in the back of my mind a challenge, self-imposed but real. I had to make a set of pictures at Castle Howard which would stand the test of time, which would enter the iconography of an iconographic place. As time has gone by, I feel more and more certain that I achieved that aim on that morning.
Castle Howard’s postal address is very simple: Castle Howard, York. To be offered the opportunity to show these pictures, some of my personal favourites, in York seems somehow to complete the whole process that started that day. I’m very grateful to According to McGee for making this happen."
Castle Howard’s postal address is very simple: Castle Howard, York. To be offered the opportunity to show these pictures, some of my personal favourites, in York seems somehow to complete the whole process that started that day. I’m very grateful to According to McGee for making this happen."
Jim Poyner, based in York, and regarded by many in the creative industries to be the finest photographer in the city, is happy to add this exhibition to his growing portfolio. He has moved towards a more relaxed creative approach, with loose limbed but precisely timed compositions taken at cities all over the world. "Iceland, Madrid, Berlin, Sydney. Jim has a knack for spotting house-sized, jaw-droppingly good graffiti and then capturing it in a composition that lets just enough of the surrounding context to play almost as big a part as the graffiti itself. There's humour in it, and there's the control of the showman."
Says Jim, “Having spent many years travelling and always documenting how cities are decorated by street artists, I’m delighted to have been asked to show some at the always delicious According to McGee”.
Gallery manager Sophie Austin, fresh from University of York's History of Art, led the curatorial decisons of the exhibition. "It was an easier job than you'd think," she says, "According to McGee is a gallery that has championed Contemporary Painting for 15 years. When Ails initially saw Nick Howard's lakeside portrait of Castle Howard, half submerged in diaphanous, caramel light, she saw instantly that Nick's approach to composition and colour scheme is very very similar to that of a painter. So it's too much of a divergence from what the gallery is so keenly followed by art collectors all over the UK. And the involvement of Jim Poyner's work opens the show right up, and brings a lively, restless synergy to the exhibition. You get the heritage beauty of Castle Howard given a sharp and cinematic quality, and there's the urban reportage of Poyner intersecting the street art of cities all over the world, all unified by his trademark confidence. It's a crucial show for collectors of Contemporary Photography, and it has given the gallery a new boost that has brought new clients. It's great to see Photography as an art form holding its own against Painting. These are authentic items of heritage or street art, harnessed by contemporary photographers at the peak of their powers."
Ails agrees. "'Photography: an Exhibition' is just the start of a series of shows. To kick start with Nick Howard and Jim Poyner has made perfect sense, and has brought a whole new level of interest from a new cohort of collectors. I think one of the most satisfying aspect of last week's launch is that collectors have told us that there's less and less need to go to London to add to their collection and more and more satisfaction in coming to York. As a gallery of 15 years' standing, that's incredibly gratifying to hear."
Charles Hutchinson
This article first appeared in York Press, 19/03/19
'Photography: An Exhibition' runs until March 30th.
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