Surf by Stanley Cursiter

The National Gallery of Scotland has a temporary exhibition of Stanley Cursiter’s artwork going on at the moment. Cursiter was both an artist and keeper (which I understand to be like a curator), later director, of the National Gallery of Scotland. The exhibition, in one of the side rooms to the main hall, is filled with a selection of works throughout his career.

Walking through the room, I was surprised and delighted by the range of his works. I liked his “Synthesis of the Supper Room at an Arts Club Reception”, a Futurist piece that caught my attention the moment I saw it. A collage of different faces and expressions and drinkware, the piece makes my imagination go wild; I feel like I am in the world of painting.

Another work that caught my eye was “Surf”. The work shows a brown coastline where, at the intersection of the coast and the sea, there is a wave of white water pushing forward. The way the water is painted, and from the perspective used in the work, it looks like the water is coming directly towards you, ready to push you back. There is something of a contradiction in the water: the colours are beautiful and peaceful, yet the wave at the front appears forceful.

My favourite part of this painting is the use of colour. The white stands out and brings back memories of the times when I have seen white water on the coast. The light blue behind the white, too, catches my eye.

When I got back from the gallery, I shared this painting with a few friends. Joe pointed out the sense of movement in the painting. I didn’t catch this at first, but when I thought about it the water reminds me of the way that wind was used by the Impressionists, like how Monet, through his brushstrokes, made the trees in Poplars on the Epte seem almost as if the wind was blowing onto the trees. Cursiter’s piece feels alive in this way, as if the sea is moving even though the painting is still. As a viewer I can sit in endless anticipation of the wave coming in, enjoying the colours of the water before I am soaked by the water.

Surf makes me feel relaxed, as if I am with and by the sea. While I am unfamiliar with the exact place the painting depicts, while looking at the work I feel like I am at the sea side, waiting for the water, enjoying the breeze, the fresh air – making memories.

Joe Surf Synthesis of the Supper Room at an Arts Club Reception Stanley Cursiter Poplars on the Epte