SUE TOMPKINS

The wall-based canvases mark a shift away from the legible words and phrases key to recent works. In them tertiary colours, amorphous shapes and streaks of gold play a more central role. Words dissolve into gestures made in thick impasto with sections of PVA glue and other media, adding additional body to their surfaces. The works were painted directly with the artist’s hand, with Tompkins drawing out repetitive slants, diagonals and circular motions – dots and circles pervade, often coming to resemble flowers or celestial bodies. The paint is dispensed first and then mixed directly on the canvas to create dynamic tonal and chromatic changes. In this way, the physical application of the paint creates an opportunity for editing, and the final compositions are paired back and singular. Each bears the marks of successive layers and revisions. Tompkins’ associative and intuitive gestures hint towards an ever-elusive meaning or hidden personal intention and the gestural nature of the paintings can be understood as an extension of Tompkins’ performances, elaborating on the affective possibilities of words.

A new work, Love Ahead, which gives the show its title was performed on the opening day.