Anna Freeman Bentley's paintings use architectural imagery to explore
the emotive potential of space. Grounded in an interest in the baroque
her source material includes junk shops, restaurants, private members
clubs, flea markets, and designed interiors. Central to her work is an
investigation into surface, tension, and the atmosphere evoked by these
different interior surroundings. The spaces she depicts are empty, yet
visual signifiers point to evidence of people and social happenings.
This, Freeman Bentley's third publication to date, is centered on the
relationship between painting and cinema and is divided into sections
dedicated to major paintings on canvas and panel, and a number of works
on paper (all works 2021-22). Freeman Bentley's work here is focused on
sets from "The Colour Room" (2021), a movie that tells the story of the
early career of celebrated British ceramicist Clarice Cliff
(1899-1972).
The foreword to the book is written by Rollo Campbell and Matt Incledon
of Frestonian Gallery. An essay by writer and critic Thomas Marks draws
out the importance to her work of historic and contemporary cinema and
temporary architecture. Marks notes a change in palette in these new
paintings, with Freeman Bentley embracing pastels and tracing parallels
between the artist herself and Cliff. An interview with Georgie Paget,
co-founder of Caspian Films, production company for "The Colour Room",
meanwhile, provides insight into the artist's particular interest in the
artifice of film props and of the movie set as a layered space "steeped
in meaning, purpose, and potential." The two discuss the reciprocity of
painting and cinema in detail, recounting Freeman Bentley's experiences
on the movie's sets and discussing her working processes, beginning with
taking photographs on set, through to oil sketches and the later
development of large-scale canvases.
The publication is edited by Matt Incledon and Matt Price. It is
designed by Joe Gilmore, printed and bound by Gomer, Wales, and
co-published by Frestonian Gallery, London, and Anomie Publishing,
London. The publication coincides with the second solo show by Anna
Freeman Bentley at Frestonian Gallery, by whom the artist is
represented. The exhibition, also titled "make believe" is divided
between two sites: the 2022 Armory Show, New York, and Frestonian
Gallery, London.
