Splendid isolation
Tom Farrell
Splendid isolation is an exhibition of figurative paintings composed from a union of sporadic source material. Farrell employs the spirit of the ‘cup-up technique’ a literary approach that engages chance and free-association. Instead of cutting up fully realised texts to create something new, the artist lets the work present itself through film, music and art history. Reordering a visual language through the tradition of painting, attempting to activate and then mine the artist’s subconscious in pursuit of an authentic vision. The result is a series of narrative works featuring sleepwalkers that inhabit dramatic interiors. Great struggles occur, grand gestures are contemplated and pursued. The works meditate with ambiguous intent.
Tom Farrell is a contemporary figurative painter, an honours graduate from the ANU School of Art and Design and recipient of the Torres travelling art scholarship.
