Wish-landscapes New paintings by Graham Fletcher
Wish-landscapes New paintings by Graham
Fletcher
Like fantastical topographical landforms, Graham Fletcher's new wish-landscapes trace the utopian and point towards a promised land yet to find its appropriate form.
In this exhibition, Fletcher¹s numerous experiments with paint and surface have manifested a diverse range of wish-landscapes from works that balloon and bubble outwards on the verge of volcanic eruption, through spiky stalactite-like tendrils that curl in accordance with the will of gravity, to pools and puddles built up from successive colourful layers of paint.
The title comes from the writings of the German utopian theorist Ernst Bloch in The Utopian Function of Art and Literature. According to Bloch, individuals are animated by "dreams of a better life," and by utopian longings for fulfillment. Thus these wish-landscapes, conceived by the imagination of the artist, represent the search for a landscape of virtual perfection.
ENDS