Vulnerable hybrid creatures organically evolve from the layers, accretions and drips of paint that are applied in a form of painterly pas-de-deux by collaborative painters Damian Dillon and James Birch. A complex and organic choreography of put and place, erase and replace characterizes the spontaneous and seamless creation of these ensemble works as both artists, operating ’a la prima,’ act with a rapport of purpose on the one painting. They work with a spontaneity and immediacy and lightness of touch, with brush and aerosol, then with turps and cloth, to pull back and seek out the ephemeral and fugitive image in their mark-making.
The paintings are hybrid in both concept and creation. This creative partnership developed from the artists inhabiting a shared studio space and these collaborative works are expressive of their complementary aesthetic and mutual mind space. The works are raw but subtle and characterized by an emotional sadness.
