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Art Seen In Western Australia

“Ralph Stanton’s canvases also celebrate paint. He lays down multiple layers of pigment to create rich textures that seem to explore the physicality of the medium. His works call to the viewer from a distance while close inspection rewards us with glimpses of some underlying activity. The texture and hints of other colours suggest something else lay just beneath the surface, the memory of another idea perhaps. The startling red of Magenta Sunset demands attention while the churning, almost diagonal sense of movement of the surface mesmerizes. The overall power is checked by one small vertical and one horizontal slash of ‘multi-coloured’ white. These marks provide handles we can cling to as we continue to search deep into the painting and discover remnants of other ideas. But are they the artist’s or our own?

“Stanton constructs with the paint; the viscosity of the medium is worked as are colour combinations. It is the process of painting, the layering of colour and knowing when to stop, that seems to appeal to the artist. These exhibits invite tactile inspection but when we move closer we don’t touch, instead we seem to fall into infinity.”

Published in “Art Seen In Western Australia” by Judith McGrath – May 2006