Corner of John Street by Tim Garner

Corner of John Street by Tim Garner
Corner of John Street by Tim Garner

'Corner of John Street' is a cityscape within Tim Garner's exciting Northern Quarter series. This canyon-like streetscape gives us a detached perspective, as though we're floating over the city ourselves. A diagonally dissected shadow dominates the left of the painting, lending an added dimension and contrasting to the optimistic light peeking over towards the right.

'Corner of John Street' is another cityscape within Tim Garner's Northern Quarter series. This canyon-like streetscape gives us a detached perspective, as though we're floating over the cityscape ourselves; offering us a view we wouldn't often get to see. A diagonally dissected shadow dominates the left of the piece, lending an added dimension and contrasting to the optimistic light peeking over towards the right. This contrast creates a luminosity within the lighter areas, guiding our eye up towards Garner's signature skies, which are imbued with gritty greys and blues. This area of the city maintains and embraces both the old and new Manchester – it is a fusion of past and present, with its trendy new bars and eateries located within the rich, historical architecture. In this piece, we are presented with more of the historic structures within the city, whilst new builds loom in the distance, a constant reminder of the contrasts of the old and new. Those familiar with Manchester will be aware of how quickly the city can change – Garner’s paintings bring this to a standstill, showing the city at a specific moment in time, and making it permanent on canvas. Since this piece was painted, this street will inevitably already have changed. “Art is full of hidden languages” Industrial materials such as metals and cement are often used by Garner to appropriate aspects of the cityscape such as the dirt and grit of the Northern city streets. Garner wants us to feel as though we're in the cityscape ourselves - as though it would leave a residue if we were to touch the concrete pavement. Working with a toolkit of metallics and iridescent paints, Garner’s works are multidimensional; they're full of light and depth, made using a rigorous process of applying layer upon layer of thinly mixed grounds onto the surface. This process can take any time from 10 days to 3 weeks to complete, with each layer capturing and reflecting light in its own unique way. Here, Garner has captured a still moment in time, a snapshot of the mundane, anti-landmarks, expanded to a work of fine art. This is a prominent theme throughout Garner’s oeuvre, establishing a distinctive honesty within his works; any piece from Tim Garner's collection would make a valuable investment for any contemporary art collection.

Based in his home studio in Stockport, Tim Garner is an artist who captures cityscapes through his own avant-garde lens. Inspired from his time living between Manchester and Paris, Garner works from photography and photo collage as his primary references, taking advantage of their visual immediacy and accuracy. Paint and cement are then used as a way of injecting emotive layers of meaning, forming Garner's distinctive style and flair. Through this process Garner has established his own visual language, which is imbued with character. His works are comfortingly familiar to a Northern audience, whilst enlightening and educating wider audiences. A piece of Mancunian history, this artwork would be a valuable asset for any contemporary art space, collection or home.