the pleasure, passion,power and panache of painting

44
Gallery exhibition announcement
When artist Chris Cyprus first tried to capture
the magical colours of twilight in his beloved
Mossley, little did he know he was painting the
first of a series that would span over a decade,
run to 250 images and see him featured on prime
time BBC.
That series, called Northern Lights - instantly
recognisable for its palette of striking blues,
oranges and yellows - is now at an end. And
an exhibition at Contemporary Six near
Manchester’s Albert Square, will showcase 36
paintings, including the final composition.
The premise of the series is simple: scenes
of everyday northern life illuminated by both
the setting sun and the distinctive warm glow
of sodium street lighting. The subject matter
is down to earth and instantly relatable, from
pubs and chippies to bus stops, garages and
back alleyways And it quickly became apparent
that many others besides Chris – a former selfemployed
builder - were fascinated by the play
of natural and artificial light as the street lamps
first come on at the end of the day.
People loved the Gorton-born artist’s
unsentimental blend of northern grit and cosy warmth and prices started to rise from just £200 a painting at the start of the series to
the £450-£5K plus he now commands. One local patron has 15 of his tableaux dotted around their home (“It looks like a gallery,”
quips Chris), whilst a fan in Germany tops this
with 18 in their collection. The self-taught painter
has aficionados as far afield as the United States
and Australia - a combination of expats and
starry-eyed holidaymakers who wanted to take a
slice of the UK home with them.
Since 2005, Chris has captured the beginnings of
nightfall at settings around Greater Manchester,
including Saddleworth, Duckinfield, Oldham,
Ramsbottom, Mossley and Stockport, where he
lived for a time as a child. Further east, paintings
feature corners of Staithes, Robin Hood’s Bay,
Holmfirth and Huddersfield in Yorkshire. “One
of the luxuries of being based in Pennine country
is my close proximity to a wide range of striking
locations,” he said. “The UK is truly beautiful
in parts and the diversity of its landscape keeps
pulling me back”. But in 2015, his relationship
with his Northern Lights series took on a new
intensity.