'sage' (after Friedrich) Painting

Extracting elements commonly found in Romantic landscapes, the artist's aim is to explore the gap between our perception and the reality of these sublime places. First recreated as lo-fi facsimile in cardboard, paint and glue, it has then been delicately rendered in oil, joyously revelling in every torn edge, rough surface, and crooked joint. Based on Friedrich's 1829 painting 'Oak Tree in the Snow' ‘Sage' combines these smaller elements into a coherent whole. At first glance, the painting is recognisable as a traditional landscape, but further scrutiny undermines this reading. A bank of snow comes into focus as sheets of polystyrene; a hazy sky is recognised as a loosely hung sheet; blobs of plasticine reveal themselves beneath branches – quiet acts that interrogate ideas of the spectacular and the sublime. The work is unframed, it has a raw linen edge sealed with a clear primer, with evidence of the primed surface of the painting. It is supplied ready to hand with d-rings and picture wire. Signed and dated on reverse.