Back to the boat, and it is a fine boat, last week Canal Boat Contemporary was hosting Tony Rainbird and his painterly zing, this time, still in the same place – for the traditional canal narrow boat does move about – this time the boat has the work of Scott McCracken in the box.

The Box is an ex-post office notice board bought off Ebay, it fits perfectly on the side of the boat that’s just waiting there for anyone taking a walk along the toepath – “A floating gallery. Home of The Box, rolling shows on the outside of the boat – opening every Wednesday at 6pm” –  Just a box on the outside of a boat and once again this week, as it was last week, three paintings in the box in the sunshine.

Scott McCracken (b. 1987, Falkirk) is “a painter who occasionally writes about painting and organises exhibitions”, he is a very painterly painter. There are three pieces on show and it all honesty they’re not easy to see in the sunshine low down there so you’re kind of having to squat down and see through reflections of the glass that front the box but hey, really can’t complaint, this boat thing is brilliant, and from what I’ve seen and positive conversations I’ve had, random people are just finding the art and stopping as they pass by, thinking outside the box (or the white cube) indeed. 

The Art itself? Well Scott McCracken is a very painterly painter, a strong rewarding painter, the three pieces here are kind of typical of his current body of work. they are three, strident confident paintings that you do want to spend time absorbing, they are rich in terms of actual paint, in terms of application or process or the way he’s laid it all on, the way he works, he is very much a painter, part of that incredibly rich history and tradition of painting rather than making art, there’s a clarity in his work, or at least a search for clarity, positive decisions made, hint of geometric forms, paintings that throw questions at you. Three paintings that do indeed make you want to engage with more of his work in real life, I rather liked this first encounter, I rather like this boat thing… 

And once again there it is, on the toepath, here’s another #43SecondFilm…

Canal Boat Contemporary, can be found on the toepath between the Cambridge Heath bridge and the lock adjacent to Victoria Park on the borders of Hackney and Bethnal Green until 3rd June 2025.

Instagram: Canal Boat Contemporary / Scott McCraken

Previously – ORGAN THING: Tony Rainbird and his painterly zing in the box on the toepath at Canal Boat Contemporary, Victoria Park, East London…

As always, do click on an image to see the whole thing or to run the slide show…