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Graham Marchant: 2022

Graham Marchant: The Mist That Follows Rain. Artsite Contemporary 08-30 October 2022

INGALLERY.1 and ONLINE

08 – 30 October 2022

Graham Marchant: THE MIST THAT FOLLOWS RAIN

The majority of the works in the exhibition are new works made since relocating in 2021 from Balmain in the Inner west to Leura, in the Blue Mountains of Sydney.  It is a real privilege to have lived on the shores of the Sydney Harbour and to now be immersed in the beautiful landscape of Leura.

This is Graham Marchant’s fifth Solo exhibition with Artsite Contemporary Galleries.

During my morning walks, observing the neighbouring gardens and the exploring the trails around my studio, I became enthralled with how the mist that followed the rain enveloped everything, blanketing the landscape, and dissolving space. The opaque skies concealed and at times revealed a transformed view of the existing terrain.

The different landscape, the seemingly constantly changing light, the quietness and the enveloping nature of the atmospheric moods of the mountains, had me grappling with a changing colour palette. What a contrast in colour between the landscape of the Blue Mountains, compared to that of Sydney!

Besides the dramatic change in the landscape, the very noticeable difference was the climates’ effect on the landscape, quickly transforming the scene before me, shadowing, hiding, revealing small vignettes while shrouding all in an enveloping mist.

Most of these locations are accessible from my studio so I was able to re-visit regularly for reference as work progressed from my initial sketches and studies to the completed works you see here. They are landscapes I continually revisited, adjusting and changing the painting as I became more familiar with different atmospheric conditions.

The studio still-lives are a continuation of my preoccupation with detail and the juxtaposition of mostly home grown flowers, against my extensive collection of fabrics, quilts and calligraphy images, acquired all over the world in my travels. As a keen gardener, poppies and orchids have always been a “fixation”, if not an outright obsession. The  subtlety of light weather, natural, artificial or moon light, on these delicate blooms is extraordinary. As an artist, the nuances of the subtle transparency of the poppy petal, the almost invisible texture of the orchid are as challenging to paint, as to grow. ~ Graham Marchant, September 2022.

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