WINNERS JOIN RICH TRADITION

12:00AM Saturday September 13, 2008 By T.J. McNamara 

 One of the finalists in the big award show was Glen Wolfgramm and more of his hectic paintings can be seen at his exhibition Big Time at Oedipus Rex. These big, assured paintings are surely all about the impact of the city.

Predominantly red and black lines slash across the canvas, although here the artist has introduced more green and blue than hitherto.

Everything in these works, no matter how complex, is sharp-edged. This effect is attained not with conventional methods but a painstaking system of masking that produces the sensation of many layers. The technique may be time-consuming but the effect is as spontaneous as classical jazz.

It conveys the rushing lines of tarseal and noise of the city. On some of the more uptight forms, a hint of South Pacific motifs locates the paintings in this part of the world. This effect is particularly notable in a work such as Rain and in Kin, where there is a row of spectators like birds on a powerline.

This is an excerpt from the NZ Herald review by TJ McNamara 13 Sepember 2008

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