One of many works in Tim Garner's portfolio concerned with the River Irwell, this piece depicts an urban hallway in Spinningfields, the financial centre of Manchester, to the Left Bank of the river. Towering new builds stand perpendicular, lining the sides of this painting, as a lone figure walks through towards a light at the end of the tunnel.
- Media: framed mixed media on board
- Dimensions: 46 x 71cm
- Price: £2800.00
One of Tim Garner's many works concerning the iconic River Irwell, this piece depicts a long urban hallway in Spinningfields, the financial centre of Manchester. Towering new builds stand perpendicular, lining the sides of this painting, as a lone figure walks through towards a light at the end of the tunnel. An open, beckoning blue sky draws us through this tunnel, and a hazy sheen covers this composition, as though bouncing off the shiny surfaces of the new builds on either side. The silhouette of the lone figure breaks through this haze, drawing our eye to the centre and creating a pleasing compositional balance. This area of Manchester is renowned for its corporate new builds and bustling bars and eateries, generating a constant sense of life and rhythm. Garner has a way of bringing this to a standstill, by drawing our attention to the moments of quiet and relief in between the hustle and bustle. Here we are encouraged to stop and take a breath; to appreciate the moments of stillness within a city that never stops moving. “The cement is to appropriate the physicality of the street” Garner has a distinctive way of appropriating the spirit and physicality of a city - his works are visceral and gritty, as though we would get a residue on our fingers if we were to touch the concrete pavement. His compositions are made up of a formula of mixed ground paints and materials such as metals and cement, layered rigorously to create textured and visceral compositions. This layering can take any time between 10 days and 3 weeks to complete, a process through which Garner perseveres until he feels his works come to life. He incorporates various visual languages and devices to guide our eye in and out of each composition, in a way that totally engages his viewer, but without being too formulaic. Through this process, Garner is able to capture still moments in time, snapshots of the mundane, anti-landmarks of a city, expanded to large scale compositions which demand our time and attention. With an oeuvre that is full of contradictions, Garner's works are distinctive, engaging, and have a way of interpreting a city in a way that's both physical and metaphysical. Tim Garner's works have their own sense of life and agency, and would make an undoubtedly valuable asset to 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.