Richard Boyd-Dunlop: If You’re Not Living On The Edge

22 June – 10 July
Preview: Tuesday 21 June, 5.30 – 7.30 pm

Richard Boyd-Dunlop’s visually striking new exhibition If You’re Not Living On The Edge You’re Taking Up Too Much Space consists of bold, brightly coloured large scale works which exhibit a new mastery of medium for the artist. Dominating the background of these works is the fabric they have been painted on, with highly reflective geometric patterns shimmering and undulating under the applied paint. Yet Boyd-Dunlop hasn’t used a single paint brush on these pieces, instead the background paint is applied using spray-paint through various stencils and the foreground image is screen printed. His slow moving away from traditional painting techniques is complete in this series of works. This new technical combination is both bold and ambiguous as the layered colours created a field of shimmering imagery.

In contrast to the very contemporary application of his medium, Boyd-Dunlop employs a central figure in a very traditional way. His muse, dancer Freda Stark, one of the favourite dancers in the Civic during the '40s, presented herself in a highly colourful and striking way. Her personality is encapsulated in the boldness of these works, the elephant and Taj Mahal stencils in the background reflecting the imagery of the iconic Civic theatre itself.

Boyd-Dunlop’s work over the last decade has often made comment on humanity and its relationship with the environment, but with this exhibition his focus is more of a cultural expression of humanity. This series is a visual celebration of bold and colourful creativity, a striking combination of new and old painting practices.

Event listed by Pierre Peeters

View their other events or contact promoter