Mark Thompson’s paintings and drawings reconstruct his personal travel experiences and observations and filter them through memory and allegory. The moody, mostly monochromatic works show architectural structures in the midst of detached wintery environments, almost as if they are poised, as Thompson puts it, on “the edge of a village where civilization fades away”. Elements of both landscape and streetscape create a sense of two worlds converging.

The feeling of being “between two states or places” is captivating for viewers. The images seem to deliberately evoke the visceral qualities of actual encounters, or mark transitional moments like when a street light is about to flicker on, or recall the feeling in the air right before a snowfall. Ominous roads through silent, cold places point toward the expression of psychological or emotional journeys, while the quietude of his scenes lends them an introspective tone.

Thompson was educated at The Slade School of Fine Art in London and recently relocated to Germany where he continues to live and work. His paintings have been informed and inspired by exploring places such as Iceland, Scandinavia and Alaska, usually travelling alone. Created in the studio rather than on site, the paintings appear to be part narrative and part history.

www.ggibsongallery.com

Allyn Cantor