Brendan Moran: Surface to Surface
4 June, 2013 - 28 July, 2013
Little Gallery
Brendan Moran, Surface to Surface (2012), Acrylic on MDF
The abstract geometric forms in Moran's works occupy a place between painting and sculpture, allowing the artist to renegotiate the relationship between painting and objects in the outside world. Moran has an interest in the kind of spaces paintings can occupy, and in turn the ways a painting can occupy a space. His works investigate areas within a building or location that are insignificant and unassuming. By constructing works within such sites, Moran attempts to recreate the sensation of the 'background noise' of the environment:
Moran is particularly inspired by the tangible aspects of an architectural environment that operate in the periphery of awareness; objects and areas that the audience is conditioned not to pay attention to. The artist carefully considers where surfaces meet (corners, doorways, ceilings), as well as fixtures and conduits which contain the behind-the-scenes elements which enable a building to function.
Exploring the synthesis of painting and architecture, and the extension of painterly practice through the use of technology such as CAD drawing or laser cutting, Moran questions the definition of painting and the conceptual framework from within which painting operates. The artist believes that with the introduction of these new technologies, painting now occupies a hybrid space which can challenge how painters understand their medium.