The obvious is a concept that doesn’t interest Theresa Reilly-Cooper, it’s her subjects and their relationship with space, executed through the humble medium of pencil and an inimitable use of realism that makes her one of the most exciting illustrators to come out of Manchester in years.
This Spring, for the first time, Reilly-Cooper is presenting a body of work that reflects her obsession with people, clothes and craft in an exhibition that feels both traditional and unusual, yet contemporary and classically cool.
Her illustrations, straddling portraiture and fashion, are a unique and personal viewpoint of Manchester’s most interesting. Unnervingly tactile yet composed purely of patient graphite work, the collection focusses on the intimate nuances of her subjects. Faithful to the very last detail, drawing attention to hair, veins and moles, while obliterating parts of the image; sometimes the head, sometimes the entire figure, expertly utilising the negative space to present a wholly inhuman yet deeply warm perception of the model.
The show, running from 18 April to 30 May 2013 at the award winning Joshua Brooks venue on Princess Street, Manchester, is rare chance to see a selection of Reilly-Cooper’s newest work in the flesh, experienced up close and personal at their most intimate.
Theresa Reilly-Cooper
A Collection of Works in Pencil
18 April to 30 May 2013
Joshua Brooks, Princess Street, Manchester
Mon-Sun 1200 – 2300 (Free)
Launch Night
Thursday 18 April 2013 / 2000hrs
With Beach Cult DJs
