Never mind photographers, illustrators, painters and other artists, the portrait is something everyone will all have attempted at some point. Even those who did not end up as creative professionals will have sketched a caricature of their teacher in their school days, or attempted the elusive self-portrait. The crayon scribbles depicting one's place in a happy family next to parents and siblings is arguably one of the first experiences we have at attempting to communicate a narrative with pictures whilst capturing the key characteristics of other people - usually in a fairly rudimentary way.
These are among the reasons why portraiture can be so captivating. From documentary photo essays appearing every day in our biggest newspapers, to renaissance sculpture of the 15th century, to the impressionism of Van-Gogh to the unmistakably (later in life) mad style of Picasso (and an overwhelmingly large treasure chest of others that is beyond the scope of this meagre article!), the humble portrait offers something for everyone. We are gazing in through a window on to world of another human, imagined by the artist. There is something intrinsically voyeuristic about the medium: what better time in popular culture has there been to exploit that than now?
Here we have an example of how painting and video can sit alongside each other and bring a new element to the medium. To help promote Mitch Griffiths' current exhibition The Promised Land, Ray Winstone's daughter Lois stars in a short film directed by Michael Driscoll.
[youtube width="600" height="500"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXKT5ywLL4Y[/youtube]
The video is possibly more disturbing than the scenes in the paintings and leaves less to the imagination. It communicates more – the weather, the atmosphere, the location. It is stretched over 1 minute 23 seconds, but the painting is capturing just one fleeting moment. Is this why it was the only scene Griffiths was compelled to include 4 variations of in the show? In the video we seem to have a victim of some kind of crime left in the cold through no fault of her own. And on a beach? There's a real sadness to it. The images in the show somehow have a harder edge. You will have to go and see for yourself.
The Promised Land is now showing at Halcyon Gallery (Mayfair, London) until 5th June - www.halcyongallery.com. It's free. Go and see it.
Griffiths, 3 times nominated for the prestigious BP Portrait Award, hit the headlines last year for his clandestine meetings at Halcyon Gallery where British starlet Keira Knightley posed for the artist. Again teaming up with celebrity elite, Griffiths’ painting of Ray Winstone clothed in the Union Jack forms part of his current sell-out show at Halcyon Gallery, which runs for the next few days.
In The Promised Land, Griffiths throws a very timely spotlight on the ills of modern day British society, calling into question national identity, self-obsession and throwaway culture. The overriding theme of transience creates a stark contrast to the permanence of oil on canvas. This is your last opportunity to see Griffiths’ work before he unveils Keira Knightley’s portrait and a new study of Ray Winstone at his 2012 Iconostatis exhibition, which is set to be a blockbuster show.
Griffiths started drawing at a young age, and found himself studying graphics at the same college I had the pleasure of attending - South Devon College of Arts and Technology (as it was then). But, quickly realising that that it was not the path for him, he totally immersed himself in the culture of the Old Masters, read books on art history, made frequent visits to the National Gallery to study the masterpieces in detail and taught himself how to use oil paints.
In 2002 he held his first solo show in London at the Enid Lawson gallery in Kensington. Paul Green, president and founder of Halcyon Gallery visited the exhibition and subsequently contacted Griffiths to discuss a formal working arrangement. Halcyon Gallery started representing Griffiths permanently in 2004.
His large-scale oil on canvas portraits depict disturbing scenes of modern life with often alarming realism and candour. The Muse is Dead (above) takes the classical image of the muse and immediately unsettles any preconceptions the viewer may have of this historic figure. The muse, who is being simultaneously cradled and grabbed by two paparazzi and a surgeon, deals with the ephemeral nature of celebrity and the shortening attention span of a society which idolises a person or an object one minute and quickly discards it the next.
The Flag Bearer’s Daughter (top of page) depicts a girl wrapped in the British flag with a distressed yet defiant air. The viewer can only speculate as to what kind of trauma she has endured and whether the black marks on her face are smudged makeup or in fact the remnants of war paint. Is the flag providing a comfort or was it the cause of the suffering? Perhaps the girl is a personification of Britain? Patriotism is a subject which fascinates Griffiths – his particular concern is the widespread discrepancy between what people perceive it to be and what it actually is.
The iconographic composition of Consumption (above), which shows a man preparing to hang himself while holding Tesco bags filled with empty plastic bottles, draws the mind to notions of sacrifice and religion. On his face an expression of rapture suggests that he is looking forward to relinquishing the trappings of material life.
Mitch Griffiths is one of the UK’s most accomplished artists whose captivating and expressive portraits have been widely recognised through art prizes including the BP Portrait Award. His remarkable talent has attracted an international following with celebrity portrait commissions and sell-out shows.
For more information contact: Anna Kirrage at Halcyon Gallery on 020 7647 8327 or akirrage@halcyongallery.com
See all his paintings online at his website www.mitchgriffiths.com but you really need to go and see these impressive pieces in person to fully appreciate them.
Written by Joe Dollar
