KieltySaur

Among the many artists currently on show at the Angel Arts Bistro, one avid scrawler stands out. Deep positive lines in graphite cut across a white expanse, in a firm assertion of space- from the marks emerge planes, monsters and men, colliding and coinciding in a dizzying spectacle. The story behind the images lies only with the artist himself, whose identity is betrayed to the viewer by the signature he was obliged to leave behind. It says simply, 'Linus'.

Not yet a major figure in the Nottingham arts scene, Linus was still well-informed enough to turn up to the private opening of the premier exhibition at TAAB. The venue opened last week on Nottingham's Angel Row under the ownership of Jil. Linus's presence at the opening no dount owed to the fact that his mother was exhibiting also, but nepotism played no part in his rise to the challenge of fillling an empty space with semiotics charged gestures. Reminiscent of the work of COBRA group artists, the drawings nonetheless possess a great deal of mystery. One cannot simply walk by without feeling tugged back sharply for closer inspection. The figures in their space command the viewer's attenttion becasue their significance is witheld from us, we do not know what or who they are or what their story is. See here apparently the man with the big hat, is it safe to extrapolate that he in some way represents the burdened human? And that the various creatures around him are the pressures ad escapes we undoubtedly come across in this life? Such morbid representations of the psychological suffering of man can scarce be said to have been seen since the work of Goya.

Unlike Goya, however, Linus has room in his drawings for people other than mistresses and patrons. In the true spirit of wall art he shares his space with other artists whose doodles lace in and out filling the gaps between scenes.This type of behaviour is exactly what Jil had in mind for the bistro, a community forum forlocal artists to utilize and gain the experience of seeing their art up on a wall. Only one week old at the time this article is being written, TAAB had already attracted the interest of Nottingham Trent University, Creative Launchpad (*a resource centre connecting creative artists to the people and places they need), and the Long Journey Home- an East Midlands initiative to connect artists lkiving in exile from their native countries to schools and platforms in Leicester Derby and Nottingham . These organizations are forming a steering group for the venue for its future work in providing work/exhibition space for Nottingham artists, not least of all Linus.