Artist Statement continued

Homo Ludens is the notion that humanities inevitable iteration as a species is that of the ‘Leisured’ human. The theory suggests that as technology marches on, AI & automation replaces human endeavour in the workplace. As a result, humans must occupy their time with more recreational pursuits.

New Babylon occupies an unusual position in that it is regarded as both an artistic & an architectural project. Paradoxically, it conveys the potential as a utopian & a dystopian vision for humanity. It offers contradictory glimpses of a wonderful & simultaneously terrifying vision of the future.

I regard Brutalist architecture the ideal, realized embodiment of New Babylon’s vision for Home Ludens

As an student of modernist design theory & Stoic philosophy, these brooding monoliths of the urban landscape fascinate me. Brutalist architecture’s physical magnetism emanates a powerful, threatening presence. The attraction is not one of traditional aesthetic (to their credit, they cannot be described as pretty), rather, they exude an over-whelming sense of unapologetic gravitas that makes the built environment the dwell in vibrate. The British social commentator Johnathan Meades describes Brutalist buildings as “…architecture for grown-ups”. It is this sense of physical presence that I strive for in my paintings.

​​I started to record the difficult aesthetics of Brutalist architecture to visually represent detachment & 'placelessness'. Although my work is abstract, the architectural references are illustrated by the fictional structures I create.

​​The process I employ is a mix of additive & reductive mark-making. I apply layers of colour which are sanded back. I scrutinize the surface, masking out areas to salvage, then repeat the process. It is an on-going curation of accidents.

My own working paradox is that of working in two dimensions, whilst drawing from three-dimensional theory & discipline. My ambition is to convey the sense of vibrating presence Brutalist architecture emits via the two-dimensional plane of the ‘canvas’. This sense of presence is seen in the work of Clyfford Still & Mark Rothko. Both are examples of artists whose work dominate the spaces they occupy.

The nomenclature of my work is taken from Joy Division song lyrics. The lyrics convey a sense of unease & latent isolation, which compliments my ambition for Abstract Brutalism, with Joy Division providing the sound track.

Biography

Manny Blair was born in 1971 in the north west coastal resort of Blackpool, UK. He grew up in a house full of books which instilled an early appreciation of creative thinking.

After school he attended Blackpool & the Fylde College studying art & design. He acknowledges this, with hindsight, as the most important part of his art education. It was his painting instructor, Norman Travis, who recommended broadening his painting experiences under the tutelage of Stass Paraskos at Cyprus College of Art & so he enrolled at Cyprus College of Art, where he exhibited in a private gallery for the first time, receiving a favourable critique of his work in a national newspaper. It was at Cyprus that Manny was first made aware of the work of Euan Uglow, who was the first 'Artist in Residence' at the college a few years earlier.

On his return to the UK, he embarked on his Fine Art degree at the University of Sunderland where he studied alongside Turner Prize nominated artist, Richard Billingham. Not having banished his wonderlust, Manny took advantage of an international student exchange program & spent his second year at East Carolina University, NC.

Manny returned to his studies at Manchester Metropolitan University in the Landscape Architecture program. Immediately after obtaining his Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree, he decided to combine his art & design degrees with a Masters degree in Public Art. It was here he studied under Jason Minsky who taught him a level of professionalism & rigour in artistic practice that he had not previously experienced. Manny owes Jason a huge debt of gratitude.

New opportunities presented themselves in 2008 when he received a job offer in Calgary, Canada. Six months apart from his wife & two young sons enabled tentative roots to be put down in Alberta.

Having proudly become a Canadian citizen in 2014, Manny has spent his time establishing himself in the Canadian art scene. These years have been spent building a portfolio of new work, & co-founding Art Calgary , Calgary's first contemporary visual art fair.

​In 2022, Manny moved to Nova Scotia's South Shore where he continues to work. In December 2022, Manny became a National Gallery of Canada Board of Trustees member.

Manny's creative influences are many & somewhat disjointed. They include art world behemoths such as Francisco Goya, Marcel Duchamp, Francis Bacon, Clyfford Still, Constant Nieuwenhuys, Grayson Perry & Julie Mehretu; Architects, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Rudolf Schindler, Erno Goldfinger and Richard Neutra; designers Dieter Rams & Thomas Heatherwick. Manny is also a student of Stoic Philosophy.