Tony Swain

‘Water Through Window, Husband Mental’, September 3rd — October 1st

For Tony Swain’s debut solo show at The Modern Institute we are pleased to present new works on paper by the musician and artist.

There is something incredibly refreshing and vitalic in the new work by Swain. Deriving their material source from newsprint and magazines, Swain’s paintings have a strange air of familiarity. Seemingly random patterns are produced from a starting point as oblique as a shadow or colour on the newsprint. The final result being at times a surreal, fantastical landscape or a depiction of an intimate, but unrecognizable object.

When you study the works, it seems as though Swain is involving you in his private surreal world, with influences from music and from the built environment. The original print and Swain’s finely painted transcription become indistinguishable. It is through this process that Swain manages to invert the print material with unusual and unassociated surreal attributes. The resulting collage has a part fantasy painting and part realist ‘photoprint’ quality.

Tony Swain was born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland in 1967 and lives and works in Glasgow. Swain studied at Liverpool Art School and Glasgow School of Art, graduating in 1990. Recent exhibitions include Transmission Gallery, Glasgow (2004).

For further information please contact:
Wendy Grannon

THE MODERN INSTITUTE
Suite 6, 73 Robertson Street, Glasgow G2 8QD +44 (0)141 248 3711