Towards Abstraction is a solo exhibition by Paul Riley. It is defined by a distillation and abstraction of the natural landscape of the Dart Valley. Please scroll down to view the exhibition.
In his own words Paul describes ‘Abstraction’, and what it means to him, in the catalogue from the show.
(available upon request)
Abstraction
“I had been developing new ways of looking at still life painting, putting objects and plants into imaginative juxtapositions. These experiments led me to reappraise my approach to landscape painting. For many years I have been keen on the Zen way. I have adopted the Oriental way of using the brush to express my feelings for the subject no matter what. The Zen way with the brush stems from Calligraphy which is pictographic in origin. I have often noted that single character words done in a cursive style have very powerful abstract elements. These stem from the mind of the painter and denote a passion for the stroke.
In my work I am now trying to interrelate my response to the landscape with the same kind of passion. This is resulting in a kind of abstraction, a distillation as it were of all the elements. I have focused on the sky, water, weather, seasons, sun and moon as the most potent landscape components that best express the power of nature. Some of my images don’t look particularly abstract in the manner of say Mondrian, You could say they are more abstract expressionist. These are labels. I only know that the more I see the more I need to express this.
I am abstracting/distilling.”
Photo By Owen Tozer
Sizes are Framed sizes in white.