UNION Gallery is pleased to present A Moment in Time, the debut solo exhibition by British painter Bob Baxter. The exhibition brings together the artist’s latest paintings produced in his London studio.
Baxter’s large, striking paintings are life sized and hold powerful depictions of anthropometric figures. The beings stand on the edge of order, and we are unsure if their presence is of our world. The scenes are void of narrative structure, taken very much to the viewer’s discretion; elements of action, speed, conflict, intimacy, meditation, fill the canvases.
The current body of the works depicted in the space have taken influence from long exposure photography. Blurred representations of intertwining figures come together in a mass of movement yet create a fixed moment in time by Baxter. The works challenge figuration in every manner.
The works are as much about the painted surface as their pictorial representations. The physical properties blend the painted figuration with raw textures, balancing between the visual language and painterly mark-making. The surfaces are brutal yet hold a sophistication in the understanding of application of painting mediums on canvas. The artist’s movements are considered violent fueling the energetic power of self-expression within Baxter.
Baxter’s presentation of smaller works is where he has produced a specific project, choosing to delve into the individual compositions of the figures; they are self-contained beings, restricted by the canvases edge. The works lack the interaction of the figures within the represented compositions, the close curation allows the beings to interact with each other. Showing the different temperaments of the represented characters allowing the viewer to find their emotive actions.