Anthony Banks solo exhibition Corduroy Roads is the inaugural show of 8 Holland Street, St James’s Park. The was curated amongst design classics from the 8 Holland Street collection of modern & contemporary British artworks, 20th century Scandinavian & European furniture, ceramics and textiles in the Tennant Gallery of St James Park - a new home for artists and makers.
‘Corduroy Roads’ refers to the creation or repair of informal roads over otherwise impassable terrain, using trees and other found objects available to hand. Temporary structures and repairs are often never improved upon, slowly becoming embedded within a landscape.
Banks’ paintings are landscapes of repair and restoration, collections of moments that are built slowly and given time to settle. The wooden frames which surround each painting have been conceived with this in mind, they deliberately display the physicalities of working and process.
A painting can be ten years old before the artist has gauged that the marks are finally settled - finally done. This breadth of time is a pattern of production for Banks.
The artist's work pivots on decisions and altered situations - mistakes are made and that is good, the canvas is put aside for a while, then he returns. The eye is drawn by familiar scenes that call to mind illustrated books of birds and ephemera as well as influences from the Omega Workshop and The Shell Guides.
