Gareth Cadwallader

Initially making miniature paintings out of necessity, having not been able to afford a studio, Gareth Cadwallader found a distinct interest in the idea of absorption. His subjects are absorbed within their actions, analytically staring at, holding or balancing a piece of fruit, or observed in the milliseconds before dropping an object. The scale of his paintings invites the viewer to move towards the work, take a closer look and become captivated, both within the painting’s details and in the tension and suspense between precipice and climax. The ambiguity of the subjects and that within which they are engrossed – their relationship to the objects, their particular mind-state – is another way Cadwallader involves the viewer. Ultimately, the artist aims for the intensity with which his subjects concentrate on their actions to be mirrored by the viewers of his work.