When undertaking a new body of work, an artist must decide whether to continue with familiar processes and imagery or tackle entirely new concerns. The prospect is daunting: will consistency inhibit or nurture the creative process?; will a change of direction result in underdeveloped work which lacks authority and definition?
Maurice Desmond's landscapes, with their singular division of land and sky, have increasingly appeared rather formulaic. The abiding feeling here is of an accomplished painter restricted by a single vision. Yet, for his current exhibition, Soft Dreams/Hard Earth (which continues the land/sky subject), this view has diminished rather than intensified.
On first acquaintance, there seems only limited differences between the paintings - all united by a predominately greenish colour range. However, steady examination reveals more sophisticated use of pigment. Earth Force is the most colourful and tonally diverse painting on show, with a beautiful combination of whitened turquoise, lilac, red and lemon yellow. In fact, the painted surfaces throughout the selection are livelier than usual, with greater painterly presence enabled by vigorous impasto.
Yet, while the content of Desmond's paintings is not significantly revised, the conflict between reading the work as either landscape or purist abstraction seems more dynamic. While the paint emboldens the surface of the work, we tend to look for reference points in order to fix the intangible within the scope of our experiences. Therefore, in all likelihood, Desmond's paintings will open up before you like the unimaginably vast spaces they seem to represent; spaces full of potential.
Continues until April 11th.
