Today was the last day of local artist John Patrick Bissett’s weeklong exhibition at Whitespace: Stand – Emblems of Imagination.
Bissett is interested here in flags, and the symbolic mechanism by which they transmit meaning.
All the paintings in this show have taken flags as their starting points, and then invited the viewer to embark on the story of a passage marked by ‘the application of paint, its layers, colours, textures, forms, patterns, viscosity, edges, linear qualities and brush marks’.
As an artist, he hopes that:
the chthonic imagery in these paintings, present beneath the surface, cryptic, part of an overall vocabulary of abstraction and historicity in the work, will hopefully engender positive responses in your thoughts.
You can find out more about his painting and philosophy on the website here.
Bissett loves this Gayfield Creative Spaces venue: the combination of large walls, uncluttered room, and oceans of natural light are ideal for illuminating the sometimes Hadean depths of these complex works.
He loves it so much, in fact, that he’ll be back with a second exhibition here in December. We’ll flag up the dates nearer the time.—AM
Works pictured, from top to bottom: 'Fraternity'; 'Days Then 2 …'; 'Semper fidelis'.