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I first saw Helen Clapcott's Born in Blackpool and now living in Macclesfield with paintings at a friend's home in illustrator Ian Pollock and her two children, Helen Clapcott Surrey. They immediately caught studied Fine Arts at Liverpool Polytechnic and the Royal my eye; there was something Academy Schools and has received both a Green Shield quintessentially Foundation Award and the David Murray Landscape Award. English about them, something of the quietude, tonality and beauty of the work of She has had solo exhibitions at Stockport Art Gallery, Salford Eric Ravilious and of course one City Art Gallery, The New Ashgate Gallery, Farnham, Scolar cannot help but be reminded of Fine Art, London and has exhibited regularly at the Royal LS Lowry because of the subject Academy Summer Exhibitions. It has been ten years since her matter. But apart from the topography (Lowry regularly visited first show in London and we are delighted to welcome her back Stockport and painted the viaduct amongst other locations) and and hopefully to find a wider audience for this exceptional both being Northerners, there is little in common. There is no painter. impasto in Clapcott's painting, no bold expressionist gestures – not possible with egg tempera painting which requires total We would like to thank Andrew Lambirth for his enthusiasm and control and precision. support and his insightful essay. Over the past thirty years Clapcott has painted these delightfully We look forward to welcoming you to the gallery. obsessive works, depicting the mutation and evolution of a once industrial valley, now a commuter corridor. Stockport has been dominated by 'the three Rs' — river, rail and road — and now boasts a motorway, a congestion of roundabouts, slip roads and even a pyramid. One of the few artists working in egg tempera, Helen Clapcott's paintings have been continuously researched through drawing on location, each taking many months of meticulous work. They are not critical, nor do they defend a cause or corner. They are a celebration of light, and show a deep appreciation of a uniquely idiosyncratic urban landscape. 2 H ele n C la p c ott Gordon Samuel