Jim’s big night out at Harrogate gallery spawns a touch of Vic Reeves mania

Space was at a premium at a packed RedHouse Originals gallery at Cheltenham Mount as people crowded in to see his new collection of work – and the artist himself who chatted and mingled and, at one point, even led the crowds on a tour of his own show.

Called Yorkshire Rocks & Dinghy Fights, when Vic Reeves-mania had died down, the diverse exhibition revealed itself to be imaginative, entertaining and intriguing.

Featuring more than 50 original paintings created in 2022, including neo-impressionist landscapes depicting heritage site Brimham Rocks and watercolours of noir-themed altercations on water, the style and content was wide-ranging, linked consistently by Dada-eque ideas and coherent execution.

After being jokingly asked by the Harrogate Advertiser whether he had really done all of this this year, Jim Moir said he was easily bored and worked on impulse on whatever idea struck.

"The best day was when I went to Brimham Rocks at 6.30am to see the sun rise with my son, who is a film director, filming it.

"I did three paintings of the rocks by 10.30am, it's one of my favourite places."

Although best known for his comedy double act with Bob Mortimer, Moir has a long-established artistic reputation, exhibiting at the likes of the Saatchi Gallery in London.

Redhouse Original gallery's Richard McTague said: "Long before the character of Vic Reeves brought success, Moir was a practicing artist.

"His unwavering passion for painting and sculpture has been integral to his career; his artwork in the 1990s and 2000s was ever-present on TV screens as the backdrop to his comedic visions."

The playful sense of humour remains in everything Moir touches, whether brash and colourful, or dark and restrained except, perhaps, in his studies of birds which spawned a book.

Yorkshire Rocks & Dinghy Fights - Jim Moir is at RedHouse Originals Gallery from Thursday, September 22 to Saturday, October 8 at 15 Cheltenham Mount, Harrogate.