Cactus Canyon

‘Cactus Canyon’, Acrylic on Canvas and Board 213x 78 cm is a painting by Jo Bruton Selected for the Marmite Prize for Painting. Block 336 London UK & Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda. Ireland 2016

Cactus Canyon examines how fragments of decoration can be understood as a different set of codes and signs for abstract painting. The space has become an environment for the female performer to navigate. Bruton continues to explore the archive as an expansive and collective record of personal and social histories. Found memorabilia from the circus and travelling shows provide open narratives around transformation and subjects on the move. There is an equation between the painter and performer where routine and gesture are repeated, isolated and repositioned in a process that is an inward as well as outward reality; an act of communication as well as constructed spectacle.

‘Cactus Canyon’ extends a dialogue and interrogation into this predominantly masculine territory of abstraction where Bruton's past paintings; Saloon Rosa and Cabaret, also open up a minimalist aesthetic to include personal and social histories. These earlier paintings were first exhibited in Warped Painting and the feminine Anglerow Gallery Nottingham alongside artists such as Valerie Jaudon and Shirley Kaneda. The publication recorded conversations between the artists and international debates around painting abstraction and otherness. ‘Cactus Canyon’ is a continuation of that debate and exploration into otherness and abstraction within works such as ‘Cosmic Candy’ and ‘Capitiane Can-Can’ where references to cheerleading and chorus girls are embedded within the work. The decorative as a subject has traditionally occupied the margins of mainstream fine art practice by using the chorus line-up which usually frames the main event it becomes the focus and central theme for the audience to correspond with. ‘Cosmic Candy’ and ‘Capitaine Can-Can’ were included in group exhibitions ‘Variety’ at the De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill on Sea in 2005 and ‘Working against the System’. At Gallery North, Newcastle and Transition Gallery, London. 2011 ‘Variety’ showcased artists using theatre in their work such as Mark Wallinger, Cindy Sherman and Susan Hiller. And ‘Working Against The System’, which challenged mainstream attitudes towards methods and materials within contemporary painting. Included DJ Simpson, Katie Pratt and Noel Forster. This formed part of the publication, ‘About Painting’.