Tom Cullberg

2 January - 9 February

Cullberg’s painting is charged by the action of the portrayed subject, a subject whose movements entertains and intrigues the eye of the viewer. In ‘Small Moments’, the paintings are coloured by the desires and discomfort inherent in many of our day-to-day interactions. A relationship is set up between his characters and the viewer speaking both of intimacy and alienation, and at times giving rise to a disquieting voyeuristic sensation.

The figures depicted seem to vibrate into the background and in this way lose their solidity as the air thickens around them in mid-action. Even his architectural subjects resonate with the history of the ‘Small Moments’ which they contain. There are shadows present in these works, shadows that allude to the uneasiness within the moments. In Skateboarders (in different minds), the shadows that arise are those of bikini-clad girls, larger than the skateboarders they enfold them, and one wonders who thought of whom.

Cullberg uses found images as well as his own snapshots as a starting point for the figures, objects and places that feature in the paintings. Through adding and subtracting visual and emotional layers, an altered reality emerges that presents us with both the tangible and the intangible. The blurred faces and abstracted landscapes display few traces of their origin and identity. Their specificity belies in their gesture and location imbedded in the brushstrokes. The images bring forth questions: who are these people, what are these houses?

Opening reception: Wednesday 2 January at 6pm

listing of past exhibitions with links to details & images