Kristina O'Donnell's miniature
paintings and drawings demonstrate a genuinely historical
sentiment. Technically outstanding renditions of figures, faces
and objects are concealed behind thick layers of varnish that
enclose the subject. As viewers we are enticed into a close
inspection of the work whilst the image simultaneously recedes
and therefore prevents us from achieving our desired intimacy.
O'Donnell's works are concurrently timeless and time-bound.
Tim Parr also makes beautifully rendered miniature paintings and
is inspired in particular by the period in 17th century Holland
that saw scientific developments in optics that lead directly to
the wider use of microscopes and telescopes. Contemporary
accounts described the wonderment experienced by a strange new
world where parasites were transformed into grotesque monsters
and grains of sand into huge boulders. Parr clearly revels in
this wonderment as tiny fantastical figures inhabit the natural
world; the everyday becomes dislocated and the familiar strange.
Claire Pestaille explores hidden narratives of paintings from
the past, disrupting traditional, conservative and conventional
portraiture. By extending the narrative of the original through
subtle interventions Pestaille aims to draw out ... |
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