WHEN I FIRST saw a painting by Christine Racher, I knew it was special. It was hung up in a cafe in a small coastal community, Pevensey Bay in East Sussex. Perhaps there was something about the seaside setting that caught my attention. The work reminded me of the paintings of Alfred Wallis, whose work helped to found the ‘St. Ives School’. Even better when I met the artist. She had never heard of him.
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THE INTERESTING THING about the work of Val Racher is the simplicity of construction. I first saw her work with collages in a local art exhibition in Pevensey Bay, a small coastal community in East Sussex. I liked the way in which statements, together with iconic figures from the past, like Winston Churchill, were constructed. The new linework, drawing scenes like Pevensey Bay, has a panoramic quality. Would love to see the scene warped round a mug, for example.
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SIMON MONTGOMERY
