Red Light, Green Light by Tim Garner

Red Light, Green Light by Tim Garner
Red Light, Green Light by Tim Garner

This ethereal composition is part of Tim Garner's 'Kids' series. A lone figure stands in the foreground of this painting, at the junction of Portland Street and Princess Street, which will be a familiar spot to Manchester's locals. The pavement shines glossily, reflecting the glow of the traffic lights, suggesting a recent drizzle.

This ethereal composition is part of Tim Garner's 'Kids' series. A lone figure stands in the foreground of this piece, waiting to cross at the junction of Portland Street and Princess Street in Manchester. The pavement shines glossily, reflecting the glow of the traffic lights, suggesting a recent drizzle. We are placed on ground level amidst the city streets - we can almost smell the wet pavement around us as optimistic skies beam above; a glimmer of hope after a heavy rainfall. The isolated figure fosters a darkness and stillness within this piece - Garner doesn't often paint people; his main concerns are the bones and structures of a city. Those familiar with Manchester will be aware of the hustle and bustle of the city centre, and how rapidly the cityscape changes - old structures are constantly being displaced to make way for skyscrapers and new builds. By including this lone figure amongst a city in motion, Garner has brought the city to a standstill - capturing a snapshot in time, bringing the city to a halt. Garner's works are snippets of Mancunian history - the cityscape will have undoubtedly changed since this piece was painted. “I think paintings tell you where they want to go” Garner appropriates the physicality of the city through a formula of of industrial materials such as metals and cement, paired with a colour palette of metallics and iridescent paints to imbue texture, light and depth. The glowing lights in this piece are made from hundreds of built up layers of iridescent pigment, with each layer capturing and reflecting light in its own way. The glowing green, golds, and reds, juxtapose to the matte elements of the rest of the painting - these contrasts are what makes Garner's works so distinctive. Through this rigorous process, Garner's works 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. Garner views painting as a way of interpreting what's around us in a way that's both physical and metaphysical - his works have their own agency in their ability to guide the eye and tell a story of a dynamic city.

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.