JOHN VIRTUE
London Paintings

I am sitting by my keyboard and propped up next to me is an oval object. I have just measured it at 30.2 high by x 22.5 centimetres wide and is about a centimetre in width. At this intimate distance, the painted surface is quite abstract with the feeling of something represented, certainly a specific essence is being evoked, but if I divorce myself from my knowledge as to the content, the representation is unclear: I can see a broad band of black in the centre, a horizontal tache of white paint and a vertical passage of white below which continues to the bottom of the oval, widening it's path as it reaches the edge. Above, there is a kind of semi circle in black, which appears to grow out of the dark central band and tapering, surrounded by more white as it reaches the top.

Welcome to the London Paintings of John Virtue. The semi circle at the top is the dome and the spire of St. Paul's Cathedral in Lond. There is a painting currently hanging in the Annenberg court entracne o the National Gallery in London (where it will remain until April 2007) nearly 700 times larger, a panorma of London as seen from Greenwich. This makes the painting described above seem tiny and although small in format, it is monumental in scale. Even from a distance, the work evokes something both grand and sublime. virtue is one of those rare painters who can translate huge scale to small format without losing his way and retain the mystery and power of his work.

EXHIBITIONS

JOHN VIRTUE
London Paintings
paintings
New paintings from the Thames series following his acclaimed National Gallery London residency and exhibition
27 July - 20 Aug 2005

Exhibition features:

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Please note, works in previous exhibitions may no longer be available, please visit our stockroom for available works