'Ancoats Investment Opportunity' by Tim Garner presents to us the sombre Great Ancoats Street under an apocalyptic Mancunian sky, which mirrors the murky pavement below. Here, Garner has placed us on ground level amongst hazy grey hues, immersed within the juxtaposing architectures of the old and new Manchester.
- Media: mixed media on board framed
- Dimensions: 91 x 51cm
- Price: £2800.00
'Ancoats Investment Opportunity' by Tim Garner presents to us the gloomy Great Ancoats Street under an apocalyptic Mancunian sky, which mirrors the murky pavement below. Tim Garner has placed us on ground level amongst hazy grey hues, presenting us with a dynamic view of this well-loved area of the city centre, where old architecture juxtaposes with the new. The city has already transformed since this painting - in the vacant distance we can now see the Etihad Campus - a prime example of how quickly the city can change, which locals will undoubtedly be aware of. Garner is fascinated with how quickly new builds pop up as historic buildings come down - his works provide a window into this dynamic change of environment. They become snapshots of history, making these specific moments of stillness permanent on canvas, within a city that never stops changing. “The cement is to appropriate the physicality of the street” Garner's works highlight the anti-landmarks of the city, the scenes that go forgotten - he tries to find the magic within these spaces, turning them into pieces of history that demand our time and attention. Garner's works are full of contradictions, and have a way of capturing both the stillness and movement of a city in a way that gives each work its own sense of life and agency. Garner works with a combination of industrial materials such as metals and cement to appropriate the physicality of the city, such as the dirt and grit of the Northern city streets, paired with a colour palette of metallics and iridescent paints to imbue texture, light and depth. His works are made through a rigorous process of applying layer upon layer of thinly mixed ground paint onto the surface, taking any time from ten days to three weeks to complete. Through this process, Garner has created his own pieces of Mancunian history, which would be a valuable addition to any art collection.
Based in his home studio in Stockport, Tim Garner is an artist who captures cityscapes through his own avant-garde lens. Inspired from his time living between Manchester and Paris, Garner works from photography and photo collage as his primary references, taking advantage of their visual immediacy and accuracy. Paint and cement are then used as a way of injecting emotive layers of meaning, forming Garner's distinctive style and flair. Through this process Garner has established his own visual language, which is imbued with character. His works are comfortingly familiar to a Northern audience, whilst enlightening and educating wider audiences. A piece of Mancunian history, this artwork would be a valuable asset for any contemporary art space, collection or home.