Cathy's Art Diary

Grand exhibition at the Halycon Gallery of new work by Mitch Griffiths. Griffiths paints contemporary themes but in a highly finished Old Master style. They dominate the space but also pull you in to look at the fine detail and to lead you to wonder at their almost photographic finish. I find the subject matter a bit overblown for my tastes but would like to see them hung with older pictures to compare the technique and examine the contemporary themes treated in a mythical way alongside previous artists that have employed that style. Closes 31 May 2022  

Thoughtful exhibition at Halcyon Gallery looking at how three artists use national and political figures and imagery to look at identity. The show included a classic set of Andy Warhol’s Chairman Mao screen prints which fascinatingly reproduces an image in different colourways so it ceases to have its original meaning and an impact. These were shown alongside some powerful portraits of individuals wrapped in flags by Mitch Griffiths, from a soldier in conflict to a vulnerable young woman in an American flag. The works are so highly finished and realistic I had to check online that they were paintings not photographs. However my favourites were Dominic Harris’s digital butterfly works. In the one shown here butterflies make up the American flag but if you touch the surface they break free and fly around the image. In another they fly away and return in a different colour. Larger individual works hung together react to sound and fly away if you clap or shout. Thank you to the securi...