ARTISTS TALKING

Opened in 1935 and designed by Eric Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff, the Grade I listed building of De La Warr Pavilion on Bexhill sea front is one of the most stunning and best preserved examples of modernist architecture in the country. It is fitting therefore that the gallery has chosen to feature the work of Polish artist Antoni Malinowski who is renowned for his architecture-inspired, site-specific works which look at the relationship between interior and exterior space. A huge wall drawing, made from rich, black roofing felt dominates the lower gallery and echoes the curvaceous form of the building. It is clear that Malinowski – now based in London – has been inspired by the sea as well as by the building itself. The diagram-like drawing, which appears to enter the gallery through a high window, seems to map out the movement of waves. Either side of the wall drawing are two pairs of long narrow paintings hung one above the other. Their format is reminiscent of the clean lines of the window frames, but their earthy colours are more suggestive of a stormy sea. Hung alone in the airy upper gallery are two fire-red paintings seeming like a mirror image of one another. However, on closer inspection their wave-like images differ both in the depth of tone and in the variety and texture of the subtle brush marks. The wave is the symbol of all energy for Malinowski who has long been intrigued by its simple form. The deep tones and vibrant colours of the paintings reflect the drama of the constantly changing weather conditions which batter the sea-facing structure of the De La Warr Pavilion. The clean lines of the wall drawing mirror its modernist architecture. Malinowski has produced a series of powerful and elemental art works that compliment the space perfectly.