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In Deep

Solo show at Locks Gallery in Philadelphia of six large paintings 5' x 7' and 5' x 5' with seven smaller works 24" x 24' were exhibited. These most recent paintings, of shimmering light on water, investigated its reflective qualities and the way in which its movement or disturbance alters the surface appearance: psychedelic and abstract.

The distortions depicted, whether from the dark ghostly shadows of an underground lake, or the bright day-glow of the reflected artificial light in a competition swimming pool, were made using glitter, glass and thick varnish to augment the painting and re-enforce the presentation of the illusion of the viscous and the liquid.

The paintings further the dialogue between the figurative image presented and the expectation and understanding of figuration by the audience. The surface of the image is heightened through a low-grade animation as one moves and the light catches the resin. This serves to remind of the underlying artificiality of paint and the illusory aspects of ‘straight’ painting. This investigation furthers the argument between illusion and perception, as the paintings instantly show how the viewer gets caught in a state of flux, between the material and what the material represents.

Heightened by the application of the collage across the canvas, the illusion of depth is stunted by the constant reminder of the paintings’ surface. The glitter prevents entry into the image, refusing to sustain the initial effect of the receding picture plane. The illusion is lost and the image breaks down into its component parts as the materials reveal themselves.

In conjunction with the exhibition, I was invited to talk at Tyler School of Art and also at Moore College of Arts "In Conversation" programme interviewed by Barry Schwabsky.