Canadian painter Stephen Gibb, at first glance, constructs multi-character, fanciful images of chaos and anxiety with seemingly no harmonic or thematic continuity. But what appears to be random figures and agents orchestrated in an epic composition, is actually a carefully calculated and deliberate construction.
When the images are broken down into their language-based roots, something striking happens. The literal meaning jumps out with as much vitality as the striking colours, and the relationship between the image and the concept often carries through with steadfast continuity like in the painting Caught.
Caught, by Stephen Gibb, oil on panel, 36″ x 24″, 2018
While riffing on the theme “caught” and exploiting language and idioms of speech that utilize the word, such as “caught red-handed” Gibb has thematically tied together what otherwise would be construed as disparate, unrelated images. As one decodes the painting with this virtual key, idioms like “caught with your hand in the cookie jar” or “caught between the devil and deep blue sea” help to unify the subjects portrayed in the painting. The associations are sometimes very tenuous, forcing the viewer to contemplate the painting with more intensity. This demand on the viewer is what Gibb is hoping for—a concentrated effort, a slowed, deep thinking to resonate in parallel with the effort that went into making the painting.
“If the viewer can take themselves out of themselves, then I have done my job” says the Canadian painter. “I want people to slow down and immerse themselves in the painting—this isn’t some decorative punch line that you get at a glance. This is more like a short story, that demands you challenge yourself a bit and extract something for yourself.”
The implicit contract between the artist and the viewer has been strained by aloof art-for-art’s-sake posturing and ignored so often we sometimes forget that the artist is aware that someone is going to confront it and mine it for meaning. With Gibb’s more ambitious paintings, there is a treasure waiting to unearth.
Canadian painter, caught thinking
Canadian painter Stephen Gibb, at first glance, constructs multi-character, fanciful images of chaos and anxiety with seemingly no harmonic or thematic continuity. But what appears to be random figures and agents orchestrated in an epic composition, is actually a carefully calculated and deliberate construction.
When the images are broken down into their language-based roots, something striking happens. The literal meaning jumps out with as much vitality as the striking colours, and the relationship between the image and the concept often carries through with steadfast continuity like in the painting Caught.
Caught, by Stephen Gibb, oil on panel, 36″ x 24″, 2018
While riffing on the theme “caught” and exploiting language and idioms of speech that utilize the word, such as “caught red-handed” Gibb has thematically tied together what otherwise would be construed as disparate, unrelated images. As one decodes the painting with this virtual key, idioms like “caught with your hand in the cookie jar” or “caught between the devil and deep blue sea” help to unify the subjects portrayed in the painting. The associations are sometimes very tenuous, forcing the viewer to contemplate the painting with more intensity. This demand on the viewer is what Gibb is hoping for—a concentrated effort, a slowed, deep thinking to resonate in parallel with the effort that went into making the painting.
“If the viewer can take themselves out of themselves, then I have done my job” says the Canadian painter. “I want people to slow down and immerse themselves in the painting—this isn’t some decorative punch line that you get at a glance. This is more like a short story, that demands you challenge yourself a bit and extract something for yourself.”
The implicit contract between the artist and the viewer has been strained by aloof art-for-art’s-sake posturing and ignored so often we sometimes forget that the artist is aware that someone is going to confront it and mine it for meaning. With Gibb’s more ambitious paintings, there is a treasure waiting to unearth.
See more about Canadian artist Stephen Gibb