Abstract take on cricket to bowl over visitors to gallery

The dense, colourful and intricate pictures and drawings by Geoff Keen do not feature literal representations of bat or ball, but are instead based on the art of the movements of players practising.

Mr Keen, who is exhibiting his work at Kingston Art Gallery in Humber Street, said: “Each gesture is the result of rehearsed sequences of movement like a bowler or batsman practising their skills, until the unplayable ball is bowled or until it is dispatched to the boundary with timing and style.”

The artist said he hoped the exhibition would encourage people of all abilities to pick up a brush.

“My new work offers a challenge to anyone who thinks that they cannot draw or paint,” he said.

“The rhythmic gestures and brush strokes are used in a very direct and seemingly uncontrolled way, representing the artist’s thoughts and ideas about painting.”

The gallery opened in a former fruit warehouse in July and is run by Kingston Art Group, which has been providing studio space for artists for 22 years.

It is open each Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 4pm and the exhibition runs until Sunday, December 18.