The Renaissance Project 

A Review of Andrew Grant’s Exhibition at 107 Projects, Redfern

Article published in Tharunka: "Disability", April 2017

Open for viewing until 12^th March 2017, The Renaissance Project (2017) brings together the work of Andrew Grant, where he has displayed figurative paintings and abstract landscapes that explore the increasing loss of identity in the struggle with his disability as his muscles degenerated. At 27, Andrew Grant was diagnosed with a degenerative neuromuscular condition called Inclusion Body Myositis, through which he has increasingly lost functions of his legs and most of his left arm. 107 Projects says, of the solo exhibition from Grant, “the Renaissance period was seen as a cultural bridge between the middle ages and the modern era, a time of innovation and rebirth. Today the arts provide people with a disability the same opportunity to bridge the cultural divides and find a new voice.”

Grant’s pathway into art began when he decided that hospitality wasn’t going to work for him anymore, leading him to complete an Advanced Diploma of Fine Art at TAFE, followed by a Bachelors of Fine Art at the University of NSW. Painting has given Grant a way to explore his artistic capabilities and has given him a way to put things into perspective, taking his practice into a meditative state. Grant shares, “art has become the thing that fills that void and the thing that replaces all those fractured pieces. I think it’s the art that holds me together a bit – sort of like the glue at the end of the day.”

Grant has chosen to exhibit so he can generate more income to continue his practice, and with 11 out of 20 sold upon the opening of the exhibit and steady stream of sales since, it's indicating that it’ll be a sold-out show. Grant has the potential to become a full-time artist. The unity between Andrew and 107 projects is apparent within the curation of the show; space and emotions are generated between the paintings as you turn and take in the grandeur of his works. Grant has been working with 107 projects since 2013, and his close relationship with the curator James McDonald has meant that the gallery space is wisely used to maximise the impact the works have on the spectators. Director Jess Cook shared with me that some audience members have commented on the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde ‘feel’ of the exhibit: portraits lining the right side of the room, portraying intimate and personal emotions contrast against the landscapes on the other side, isolating the viewer in between. But, it is a testament to Grant’s style and skill that the connection between the pieces, and the sense of being caught between the internal and the external, that show his perception of what it means to have a disability.

The Dr Jekyll figures on the left are beautiful, soft, and calming, the models still and expressive. Containments of emotion, each with their own little personality. Sanguine, Echo, and Copus Caecus (2016/7) are dominated by orange paint. Different hues swirling around the light, nude bodies. The paint application creates a tension which is continued through the body language of the models. They hold themselves close, fingers applying pressure to their bodies, holding themselves tight within the calm, organised chaos around them. The models refuse eye contact with you; instead, they look away continuing the theme of isolation and desperation. Paint drips fall throughout the paintings, battling with the juxtaposing soothing paint swirls.

Lethe and Loreley (2016/7) are encompassed with blue paint and offer a seemingly calmer image. Yet, moving closer you can see the reoccurring discomfort. Their bodies are submerged in water or canvas, negotiating the space between the texture of their atmosphere. They appear to be lost with the landscapes; the women are transitioning between moments and space; they look away, the refusal to look at the audience or painter creating not tension, rather interest and curiosity. The paint cracks, while the thick application of the paint engulfs the subject’s hair in Loreley. Different tones of blue swim across the canvas, balancing between the softness of the brush and sharpness of the palette knife.

The serenity of the paintings continue, and Narcissus and Isabella (2016/7) are entirely still. The artworks have the women balancing within their landscapes. In these, and the star of the show Pasithea (2016/7), the influence of Renaissance paintings is evident, with a thick velvety background highlighting the translucent skin of the models, delicate and fragile in the paintings. Grant says “I’ve represented [my identity] with figures in the paintings that are fractured and disintegrating and that are in vulnerable and contemplative positions. I’ve tried to capture the essence of living with a disability.” Grant successfully transfers his insecurities that he battled with before his diagnosis, onto the viewer.

After the figure paintings, the exhibit shifts into a different realm, yet the brush strokes and the deep colours continue Grant’s expressive style and tone. Landscapes have been played with, at times abstracted in form, yet leaving an honesty of expression that allows the audience to lose themselves within the paintings. Grant shares that it’s about “having fun painting, and enjoying paint and colour.” This lightness and experimentation are evident in Gleann and Misanthrope (2016/7). The paintings use deep, heavy brush strokes within an abundance of layers. The forms generated through the skill of Grant’s application of the palette knife’s edge and the fun of a dash of colour glimpsing through the abstracted landscape. The atmospheric sky transforms to surreal landscapes of red or green, with a break in the linear disrupting the painting.

Grant’s artistic skills draw upon the broad history of art, The Renaissance Project taking influence not only from the period of the same name, but also nodding to the techniques of Modernism, and those of early impressionists of the 20th Century. Grant’s application of these qualities reminds us of how incredible and essential painting still is. Even in our own time of mechanical reproduction and social media digitisation, we are thrown headfirst into a submersion of paint and canvas that allows us to admire the skill of Grant’s applications and the beauty of fine art. Leaving the exhibition, what is clear from Andrew Grant’s collection, is that despite identifying as a “disabled artist”, it is quite simply, art.