Gary Solomon

Resonance

7 – 17 May

I am an artist who is inspired by tribal art and children’s art and the art movements Dada, Arte Povera, Cobra, Roar and Abstract Expressionism. I am strongly influenced by hidden beauty that I see in the urban environment. Such things as weathering, indentations in concrete, text on walls, and nature in all its abundance and wildness.

I am an intuitive artist and for me art is a spiritual expression of who I am and what I truly care about. I often like to sit quietly before painting so that I can focus inwardly. And then I find that it is easier for me to immerse myself in the creative process and be in a state of felt sense.

In my art I use raw and simple line and an economy of means within a multi layered textured surface. Often layers of paint and collage are applied and then sometimes scraped away to reveal the textural effect desired.

My sculptures are often constructed from found objects such as wood and metal and natural elements and they often have a figurative, tribal and playful quality to them. Recently I have assembled many of my sculptures using hundred year old industrial molds.

I love using collage in my work as I often discover unexpected magic in applying the collage and then sometimes scraping it away. Often the remnant left can be very beautiful.

For me all the throwaways of our society that I find, and are seen by the mainstream as having little or no value, are for me the raw material of my art and I love recycling them in my art. To me there is untold beauty in an old weathered, lump of gnarled wood, or a worn piece of metal or scrap of drawing or crumpled cardboard or paper.