Tim Birch

Roaming the untrammelled periphery can be vastly more intriguing than following the shepherded mainstream.

So intrepid types, meandering down Chorton's Wilbraham Road, shouldn't be too surprised to discover an understated art venue sharing its limited confines with a working hair salon - and no, this is not some crackpot pitch for the next reality TV show.

As for its name, look no further than the new work by artist Laura Arison hanging, aptly enough, in the Arison Gallery space within Arison Framers. Coincidence?

'No. It's dead easy,' assures Paul Rendel who convenes the Arison space. 'The original owners were Sylvia and [the late] Gerry Arison. It was established in 1976. The building's always been a picture framers. The gallery's a new thing.'

And, as serendipity would have it, the daughter of the Arison's is the artist Laura Arison [who as an aside, is the long-term partner of M-People founder and ex-Ha'ienda DJ Mike Pickering]. Voila!

Reservations

Paul is candid about some initial reservations. 'I was a bit unsure whether Laura would want to exhibit in the place where she was brought up.

Plus, I mean, Sylvia's still my landlady [laughs].' But he's not bashful anymore, 'Gerry was such a sweet guy,' reflects Paul, 'I'd like to think that he'd be quite proud of Laura's work coming back home.'

Hence the title of the show, Home Truths? 'Yes,' Paul confirms, 'And most of Laura's work is auto-biographical: good truths, bad truths, all of it.'

Given the salon surroundings, sharing is something that Paul's comfortable with. He agrees, 'It's really a combination of my framing and the art, and marrying the both together.'

I suggest that framing can be an art in itself. 'It's about choosing the particular frame to go with the particular work' I mean, I've been framing for 20 years now.'

Though quirky and curious, the family connection plus the hair salon/art space situation offer but superficial intrigue.

The real fascination lies in Laura Arison's work. However much these notably large paintings are autobiographical in nature, they are clearly rooted in figuration: interpreted by some as the return to humanity after Modern Art's abstraction.

Here, the figuration is of a kind that invokes the cranky, childlike style of Ken Kiff, whereby 'childlike' is not meant to prompt ridicule. In these esoteric works, symbolism is evident. For instance, 'a fish' has a cultural as well as perhaps a personal meaning, and such twin meanings reinforce with and/or jar against one another.

For the viewer, this casts doubt on interpretation. In other words, such imagery makes us strive a little further to consider their supposed content. Are these anonymous or self-portraits?

Public displays or private moments? Voyeuristic or intimate? What is sure is that they offer intrigue over the instant gratification that the everyday material world churns out.

The key to scooping such considered work might lay in Paul's admission that his programming is sparse. 'I only do three, maybe four, exhibitions a year.'

A sound policy inasmuch as, despite the lingering stench of snobbery, small and unconventional art spaces can be a home for quality over quantity.

Laura Arison: Home Truths is at the Arison Gallery until Saturday, April 19.

Tweet