Confident bright yellow is present throughout Reidy’s show with dynamic
politico blue arrested calmly under navy triangular tie clips and pegs,
beautiful exact shadows levy up into the form, holding them altogether – block
and elastic in the same measure. If Modernist theory proposes that an artist
working entirely to the ‘dictates of the medium’ á la Newman’s ‘zips,’
an appraisal free from the dictates of the figurative follows. In Greenberg’s
words “make sure the experience is there first.”
Reidy aspires to “shapes that are pleasing to the eye” and holds a
fascination with contemporary architectural structure and design. However his
use of colour, the planar unfolding and layering of these prints suggest more
complicated readings of his work. Defining a unique measure for opacity,
cutting by hand and an almost incomprehensible obsession for the “even flush of
colour” that makes up the body of his degree show demonstrate an artist wholly
dedicated to the pursuit of his craft. Balance, form, shape and colour – the
subtlety of the ‘holding space’ of his planar vision reminds me of Clyfford
Still:
“The best works are often those with the fewest and simplest elements… until
you look at them a little more, and things start to happen.”
Written by Christina Mullan
Christina Mullan is an artist and PhD candidate at GMIT.
Luke Reidy has been nominated for an RDS Visual Art Award and is about to undertake a year-long print based residency.
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