The artwork showcases a vibrant, fantastical scene with a predominance of pastel colors and organic forms. The central figure, a nude woman, is depicted in a relaxed, dreamlike pose amidst a backdrop of swirling, whimsical elements like bubbles and sea creatures. The composition is intricate, with a detailed, decorative pattern filling the background. The artist employs a surreal, contemporary style, imbuing the piece with a sense of imagination and wonder. This whimsical, imaginative work likely reflects the artist's intention to explore themes of the subconscious and the human experience through an otherworldly, visually captivating lens. ...
Wendell Gladstone is a painter who works with acrylic and gesso to create texturally rich canvases. Applying paint like a collagist, Gladstone works in his signature palette of warm ochres and ambers, pastel greens and blush pinks to craft enticing dreamscapes. Pre-Raphaelite figures with long flowing hair populate his paintings, languishing in fields or peering through windows. The works possess a deep sense of mysticism and romanticism with emotive signifiers such as melting candles, fallen petals and tear droplets continually surfacing. Influences from Art Nouveau and the Pre-Raphaelites filter into his illustrative register and there’s an undeniable magical realist strain within his oeuvre. His characters could easily be plucked from the pages of an Angela Carter or a Gabriel García Márquez’s novel.Surreal paintings emerge from this rich mixing of sources, leading viewers down the various psychological turns within Gladstone’s sombre yet alluring realm. ...
