James McGrath: Ocular/Fleurs

The Cat Street Gallery welcomes back James McGrath for his second solo show at The Cat Street Gallery in Hong Kong.

Ocular/Fleurs is a re-imagining of traditional perspective techniques. The imagery tattooed onto new surfaces – on the curve of a mirror ball, within the books of a library, and amongst a bouquet of falling flowers – offers us a glimpse into the mind of the artist and the sensual world he depicts. Just as we are coming to understand this opulent world, it is destroyed. The result is dramatic, decadent and steeped in melancholy while simultaneously representing the unpredictable nature of ideas.

Drawing from baroque sensibilities, McGrath is ever engaged with layers of historical imagery, digital media and traditional art making. Behind the illusion of light and shadow that play in the folds of his drapes, religious and mythical themes reflect Baroque theatricality. His works are in themselves ocular mirrors of the past, specimens of natural history and sensuous 17th century paintings.

McGrath was introduced to painting as an assistant to Australia’s most celebrated expressionist painter, Arthur Boyd. Over the last ten years he has exhibited in New York, London, Sydney and Paris.