Tim Maguire’s paintings and prints are cinematic in scale and romantic by nature. As a painter, Maguire is known for his rich color palette and consummate technical skills. Interested in the theme of ‘Vanitas and its symbolic reference to mortality and the fleeting nature of our lives, Maguire has in the past referenced 17th Century Dutch and Flemish still life paintings as frozen moments in time, an affirmation of temporality and the duality of the artist’s still life magnifications, preserving the subject matter forever whilst at the same time drawing our attention to the inevitable passing of time and decay.
This major exhibition surveys Maguire’s art practice from 2002 to 2017 where his use of digital photography has modified his painting techniques, incorporating a color separation process derived from color photography and printmaking. Maguire explains:
‘By constructing my paintings as transparently as possible, I seek to make the process apparent, so that every gesture remains visible. And as it is inherent in the nature of paint to dry, each layer is itself a little battle with time…Due to the vagaries of materials and climate, the drying time is always unpredictable. So I need to work fast, with big brushes and loosely approximate gestures…The nature of my colour separation process means that flaws in my representation are only visible after the application…at that point I might realize that I have put too much yellow or magenta in the preceding layers, by now well-dried and beyond changing’.
Exhibited for the first time, a purpose-built lightbox will be constructed in the exhibition space. This is a recent development in Maguire’s art practice where he prints directly onto translucent acrylic panels using the same print separation process and introducing light from behind the picture plane in a celebration of light, time and color, proving that Maguire is the painter’s time traveler. (Newcastle Art Gallery)
Captured by: Evolv3d Media
