Dominique Knowles

Dominique Knowles’ painting compositions evoke the emotional tapestry of shared experiences, exchanged glances, reciprocal care, and the poignant sense of loss that accompanies the lifelong journey of tending to an animal companion. The immediacy conveyed by the paint captures the often swift transition to death, despite years of dedicated efforts to prevent it. The warm ochre hues pigments he uses, which seem to embody the fusion of existence with the earth, resonate with an enduring sense of memory akin to the primal depictions of animals on the walls of ancient caves. These paintings depict memories rather than narratives, interweaving them within the very fabric of oil and linen, offering a ceremonial experience for both the artist and the observers who engage with each piece. Executed with pigments meticulously blended by the artist himself, the act of applying brushstrokes to the canvas parallels the sensation of brushing a horse's coat. Both the act and the materials possess a ritualistic presence, weaving together disparate moments and experiences. ...

Layr was founded by Emanuel Layr in Vienna, Austria in 2011. The gallery program focuses on contextualizing and confronting notions and artistic manifestations of the conceptual with the relevant social, political and cultural issues of today. Based in a city with a long history of oscillation between hemispheres—East and West, North and South—, the program strives for interplay between artists from different generations and cultural or discursive backgrounds. In December 2022 Layr moved to a new gallery space, the former premises of a supermarket in Vienna’s city center. ...