Craig Murray-Orr

A feeling of serenity and calm is what one is faced with when entering the Ingleby Gallery. The minimalist contemporary space is perfect for the work of New Zealand born artist Craig Murray-Orr. Murray-Orr's landscape watercolours of soft washes and organic colours couple with ambient depictions of ambiguous locations to draw the viewer in. The colours – soft aubergines, grainy blacks and murky beiges – bleed together to create a haunting and somewhat ethereal effect. Murray-Orr cleverly uses these colours to effect the mood of the viewer and the way in which one perceives the pieces.

But the ambience and ambiguity of Murray-Orr’s work has been done before, resulting in the majority of his works appearing generic. However, ‘Cowboy’ undoubtedly stands out with its childlike humour embedded in a black line drawing of a mounted horseman. Reminiscent of Picasso’s ‘Dove of Peace’, one can’t help but smile when looking at it, and it provides a refreshing contrast to the artist’s calm landscapes.

Another feature of the show is Murray-Orr’s sculptural work. The mahogany guns are impressive and the smooth, balmy wood provides a marked counterpoint to the nature of the weapon, but one can’t help but feel they are a somewhat unusual addition to what is otherwise, a pleasant exhibition of landscape pieces.