PHILIP WISCHER
‘THE EDGE OF REASON’ - Exhibiting 4-28 May, 2012.
The recent series of works by Philip Wischer engage the viewer to reflect on the brevity of beauty. Skyscapes dominate and are often held or encased within simplified shapes. Part abstract, part real, and even surreal, these works beckon consideration. Where is ‘the edge’ – and how do we make sense of time and place?
The paintings do not seek to ‘make sense’ but sit comfortably within their entity – thus alluding to that point where reason doesn’t matter.
Shapes form windows to see through to other places – they suggest hope grasping at a fleeting moment linked with the use of sunsets and ladders as metaphors.
For the artist, this series of work is also as much about the way objects are configured within a composition as it is about subject.
“The main recurring motif began as a simplified tree form but developed throughout this series into more of a speech bubble, Facebook icon and even references Roald Dahl’s ‘James and the Giant Peach’”.
The dominating reds and oranges grew from the artists earlier series of ‘Black Saturday’ paintings, and of many years spent in the Gibson Desert. Philip Wischer has held exhibitions in Tokyo, New York, Massachusetts and Melbourne. We are pleased to welcome him to Gallery 34.