- Venue
- Holy Biscuit Gallery
- Starts
- Monday, April 14, 2014
- Ends
- Monday, May 12, 2014
- Address
- 1 Clarence Street Shielfield Newcastle Tyne and Wear NE2 1YH (OPPOSITE THE BISCUIT FACTORY)
- Location
- North East England
Barry Clasper’s “diary paintings” record a turbulent time in his life, a period he recounts in his book Real Men Don’t Cry. And his expressive bang-bang-bang abstract works The last time I saw a tampon paired with a teacup was in the wonderful film Ghost World (2001) in which Margaret, an art student, placed these two ‘found objects’ together with the explanation, “I guess I see the teacup as a symbol for womanhood, such as tea-parties in the olden day, but instead of tea I was trying to confront people with…” her teacher gleefully adding, “this shocking image of repressed femininity.” But here they are again – the tampon and the teacup – in the promotional material for Barry Clasper’s new exhibition, Real Men Don’t Cry. But what does it all mean? Who knows, but answers can surely be found in his book – also called Real Men Don’t Cry – which details the kind of rocky relationship that makes Taylor and Burton’s look like a walk in the park. The explosively expressive paintings he carried out during this seven-year period speak of an inner turmoil, with occasional flashes of bliss, and make up a powerful body of work that should prove to be a wild ride when it opens in Newcastle this April.
