Silent Films 2017

Joshua Flint created Silent Films, using oil on canvas. The muted palette and ghostly figures here suggest a world that is half remembered, or perhaps half imagined. You can see how the artist is working between representation and abstraction, and playing with our sense of depth. The paint is applied in layers, with some areas thick and opaque, and others thin and transparent, allowing the underpainting to show through. Look at the way Flint uses color to create a sense of atmosphere. There's a real push and pull between foreground and background here. The figures look out onto this expansive landscape, but the horizon line is ambiguous, as if it's all unfolding in the mind. The gestures are so loose and free, it's like he's inviting us to complete the picture ourselves. Silent Films reminds me of Gerhard Richter's landscapes, which share that same sense of romantic longing. Both artists use the medium of painting to explore the boundaries between reality and illusion, and to remind us that art is always a conversation, an ongoing dialogue between artists and viewers.