AGH Gallery is pleased to present recent works by Joseph Grahame in an online viewing room titled ‘Nature is the Law: Morphing Sensitivity’.

Access the link to the online exhibition: 
Drawings and works on paper

Joseph Grahame delves into process-orientated abstraction, exploring unconventional materials through continuous experimentation. His paintings serve as reflections on improvisation, creative process, sustainability, and the practice of assemblage. Grahame’s visual language combines painting and drawing in his commitment to explore possibilities of abstraction. 

With each mark and regulation of colour, Grahame invites viewers into a dynamic dialogue between form and concept. 
 
The works are reflections on personal circumstances, however, the viewers are not merely observers but active participants in the journey of interpretation and discovery. Mark-making and drawing act as a catalyst for both a daily meditative practice and simultaneous catharsis. Allowing thoughts, movement and feeling to run freely ultimately determines the outcome of these largely improvisational works.
 
The result is the artist's contemplation on time, surroundings, fragility, nature, decisions, forgiveness, and evolution. Each drawing seemingly evolves into the next, evoking a variety of emotions. The series is driven by the notion that despite the decisions of modern civilisation, nature ultimately continues to flow and remind us that it will have the ultimate say. It acts as a reminder of what should be truly considered as important, and allows us to focus in on the present moment.
 
Fragility and forgiveness, irrevocable passage of time all contribute to our sensitivity, and make us look deeper and be more sincere about the present. 
 
The works on paper bring together layers of imagery confined and freed at the same time. Grahame begins by rapidly drawing the initial composition where gestural markings take intuitive directions; he then continues to build upon the composition coming back to it over the course of work. The drawings ultimately radiate the sense of movement. Dynamic and uncensored, his artworks employ bold interplay of colour and texture crafted from an array of materials including oil, ink, crayons and graphite; scrapped old drawings, dirt and studio-floor detritus. 
 
The works feel incredibly personal, filtered through the lens of daily encounters. Expressive and bold in colour, urgent lines and brushworks are destined to find balance between mark-making and need to synthesise sensitivity and looking inwards. The body of work represents manifestations of personal states connected to a spectre of dark and light forces. The outcome is a deeply sincere, intuitive guided approach that resonates with spiritual practices that have been consistent throughout Grahame’s practice in recent years.