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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nInstallation view of Graham Gillmore, The<\/em> End of Eloquence<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Gilmore\u2019s use of text is the confounding ingredient here. Or rather it\u2019s the text in combination with the painterly surfaces. The work won\u2019t slot easily into any particular category. We know how to respond to conceptual, text-based work. We also know how to look at abstract art. But Gilmore does not fit neatly into either of these boxes. This is what makes the show perplexing – and engaging. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The painting Babe<\/em> recounts the history of its making;\nhow the image was built from diaphanous membranes of colour. Gillmore uses oil\npaint in combination with commercial varnishes to create translucent glazes\nwhich he brushes and pours across the surface. The bright blue and green areas\nare windows in the red glaze that expose these initial, brighter layers behind.\nWe can read the action that resulted in the artwork. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another trace of action is the incised word \u2018Babe,\u2019 in the lower right corner. This word is more prominent than it appears in the photo as it\u2019s been carved into the surface with a power tool. The text is in a half cursive, half printed handwriting. The little comma after the word tells us that it\u2019s the beginning of a message \u2013 but one we won\u2019t get to see. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Graham Gillmore, Babe (A Love Letter),<\/em> 2020, oil on panel, 54\u201d x 48\u201d x 2\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Absurdistan is a painting where the text is more prominent. It\u2019s comprised of two attached panels with bright stripes of colour. On the left panel, the stripes are vertical and on right they tilt away at a slight angle. While wet, the paint has been disturbed to create ghostly organic shapes. Into the bright, slick surfaces, letters have been carved. It\u2019s a rag-tag collection, a mixture of upper and lower cases in various sizes. It could be read as ABSURdISTAn but also A SU I B Rd STANn. To me the painting suggests that in the face of absurdity, you can still find beauty, and humour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Graham Gillmore, Absurdistan,<\/em> 2020 diptych, oil on panel, 60\u201d x 80\u201d x 3\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was surprised to see that the dark areas apparent in the strokes of the letters are not paint, but holes where the router tool has cut all the way through the surface of the panel. Gillmore uses a synthetic plastic material to paint on. It is impervious to his paints and solvents and because it is bright white all the way through, his router marks automatically look bright and clean. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Graham Gillmore, Absurdistan<\/em>, detail<\/p>\n\n\n\n The End of Eloquence<\/em> is a tall, vertical painting. A\ndark glaze covers much of the surface but leaves open areas to brighter layers\nbehind. I find myself interpreting imagery in this piece: rainbows and a cloud.\nOr are we looking through dark curtains to a brighter space? A cup with\noverflowing foam? None of these visual interpretations stick for long. The\nvisual elements of light, dark and modeling invite interpretation but never\nresolve into anything definite. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The text that has been inscribed appears in three different\nstyles. The scrolled \u2018The End\u2019 looks like the closing scene of an old movie.\nThe \u2018OF\u2019 is simple and minimal while the \u2018ELOQUENCE\u2019 word looks like printed\nhandwriting. It\u2019s as though three different voices are speaking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Graham Gillmore The End of Eloquence,<\/em> 2020 oil on panel, 72\u201d x 48\u201d x 2\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The<\/em>End of Eloquence<\/em>is also the title of the exhibition. Eloquence is the clear and persuasive use of language. Eloquence is the logical expression of a particular point of view. So, what would the end of this mean? Ambiguity? Confusion? Irrationality? I think the End of Eloquence<\/em> provides a glimpse back into the dream world, unfettered by the limitations of waking logic, an escape from workaday pedantic thinking. \n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n General Hardware Contemporary have extensive photographic documentation of the show at their website, but to really get the full impact of these paintings, it is well worth a visit in person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n