Graeme Wilcox : Looking Out
Graeme Wilcox graduated from Glasgow School of Art in 1993. Since then, he has continued to practice as a figurative painter, working from his studio in Glasgow. His subject matter is almost always the human figure, usually depicted in moments of reflection or emotion. Many of his recent paintings have been re-imaginings of people or events seen as he journeys through the city. These paintings are an attempt to represent the strangeness and poignancy of people and everyday life. He often makes notes describing people and how they look or behave, and these act as aides-memoires for future work.
Graeme's paintings in oil sit somewhere within contemporary realism. Often the figure is rendered in a realistic manner against a blank or minimal background, suggestive of some urban space. He is interested in creating a subtle sense of movement or vibration within a painting using a hint of blurring which contrasts with the more static, realist paint handling employed elsewhere.
Much of the work in this exhibition draws on sights from the lockdown period: people exercising, people looking from windows and balconies. The idea for the monochrome series of paintings 'Night Walkers' arrived during lockdown when Graeme was using his front room as a temporary studio. Living on a quiet street, he became aware of the increased number of people passing by the window - both day and night - taking their daily exercise, like a slide show of people in profile.
Once back in the studio, there was a desire to make some work to commemorate this strange, dislocated period and the 'Night Walkers' series was one of the results. The title of these paintings also refers to Charles Dickens' essays: 'Night Walks' in which he describes the people and sights witnessed as he walked through London in the small hours. These monochrome paintings have associations with remembrance and the past, the figures existing in a vague time and space, like a waking dream, an atmosphere echoed in the other paintings in this exhibition.
