Ian Mitchell’s Landlines – new exhibition at Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre

Monday 17 June to Saturday 31 August

An exhibition of unique landscapes depicting the Yorkshire coast and countryside opens at Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre next month.

Landlines, by Staithes-based artist and printmaker Ian Mitchell, can be seen in the theatre’s gallery from Monday 17 June to Saturday 31 August.

Ian’s unique delineation of the landscape is based on a stripped-down reality and pays homage to early 20th-century travel posters, drawing on the reductive style of German and Swiss design of the same period. 

Ian says: “Using my original sketches and photographs, I work digitally to refine and reduce the source material down to minimalist forms and shapes, discarding clutter and using artistic licence. I started this journey about 20 years ago when I began experimenting and utilizing software from my background as a graphic designer.

“I’m always in search of the ‘view’, but looking towards a minimal reductive outcome. For me, it’s all about the design, composition and aesthetics of a view.

“My representation is often cheated and either exaggerated or underplayed, but the interpretation is always based on a reality. The viewer brings their own experiences to the reading of the work.

“My work to date has been routed in the British Landscape tradition of natural scenery. However, I am increasingly drawn to contemporary man-made landscapes: the concrete modernism of architecture, bridges and the sea defences.”

Ian and his wife, fellow artist Stef Mitchell, have a gallery and studio at Staithes. 

Landlines can be seen in the gallery at the SJT from Tuesday 23 April to Saturday 15 June. The gallery is open from 10am to 6pm, Mondays to Saturdays, except during show times. Entry is free.